2001 United Kingdom general election previous autumn had shown the first Tory lead (though only by a narrow margin) in the opinion polls for eight years as they benefited from the public anger towards the government over the fuel protests which had led to a severe shortage of motor fuel. By the end of 2000, however, the dispute had been solved and Labour were firmly back in the lead of the opinion polls. In total, a mere 29 parliamentary seats changed hands at the 2001 Election. One of the more noted events of a quiet campaign was when countryside protester Craig Evans threw an egg
John Prescott her skirt as she opened the door for him to a meeting in her own house just after her husband became an MP; Prescott had not met McDougall before. Prescott and Pauline Tilston married in 1961. They have two sons. Their younger son, David Prescott, is active in Labour party politics and sought, but failed, to be selected for his father's parliamentary seat in Hull. Their older son, Johnathan Prescott, is a businessman. Pauline had a son by an American airman in the 1950s, whom she gave up for adoption. John Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (born 31 May