HE WAS "awkward in shipping and awkward in politics" but he feels right at home in Hull.
Lord Prescott's career has taken him from childhood in Wales to leading a global fight against climate change.
From a ship's steward to Deputy Prime Minister, Baron Prescott of Kingston upon Hull has played a key part in shaping the political agenda not just in the city but across the country.
It was for his unheralded campaigns to tackle the effects of climate change that he was awarded an honorary degree, becoming a doctor of science in economics, by the University of Hull yesterday, 40 years after first graduating there.
"It is a surprise and it's remarkable but I am very proud of it," he said.
"The university plays a huge role in the city and I am honoured to receive this award.
"It means a lot to me but it also means it has chosen climate change and that is vitally important."
Lord Prescott went on to represent Hull East as the Labour MP from 1970 to 2010 and it was those four decades that reinforced his love for the city.
"I adore Hull, I adore its people. I like that kind of Yorkshire wit," he said.
"When I am getting a lot of stick from the press, they will come up to you and say 'Alright kid, keep going.'
"They have been some of my greatest supporters for more than 40 years and I am proud of my allegiance to Hull."
The former ship's steward and trade union activist used his acceptance speech to reinforce the importance to graduates of maintaining the fight against climate change.
"Whether or not what we are doing now will be successful will be seen in 2050 and I will have to say I will be dead," he said.
"So my message has to be to carry on the fight and make sure you make this planet a better place than the one you inherited when you were born.
"That is what has always motivated me."
His background in politics and the shipping industry has led him to becoming a leading voice in the fight against climate change and has pledged his support for Hull becoming a future renewable energy hub.
The former Deputy Prime Minister criticised the Government's decision to look to Ireland in order to develop onshore wind farms and urged people not to push potential investors away from the region.
"Why has the Government looked to Ireland? Because a lot of people in the East Riding are worried about their views instead of the prosperity of Hull and Yorkshire.
"We better get a common- sense reality."
