POOR Labour MPs. Today they are not just waking up with a thumping local election hangover.

They must also be kicking themselves that - in order to fit in a bit of last-minute canvassing - they missed yet another virtuoso performance by Yorkshire's finest stand-up comic, John Prescott.

The Deputy Prime Minister had told them not to bother turning up for Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, where he stood in for Tony Blair.

"Get out and do some campaigning," he had told the Parliamentary Labour Party. "I don't need doughnutting". (Translation: I don't need MPs to surround me in the Commons to make me look popular on TV).

How they must have regretted taking his advice as the early results rolled in.

Control of the former mining area of Bassetlaw was lost for the first time since 1979 and Burnley, Hastings, Oxford and Labour's traditional stronghold of St Helens went too.

By the time half of the results were in, Tony Blair was already down 200 seats - with delighted Tories claiming a major breakthrough and the Lib Dems - who effectively turned the polls into an Iraq protest vote - also happy.

With results from major cities such as Birmingham still undeclared, it appeared Labour could even finish third.

So Watching Mr Prescott tear into his opposite number, the well-heeled Michael Ancram, would have been much more fun for the party's MPs than banging on doors in baking heat.

He opened by paying tribute to the late President Ronald Reagan.

He told Mr Ancram: "As you made clear on Monday, the judgement about President Ree-gan, I must say on my part that whatever was said about President Ree-gan and there was, I must say that in fact whatever they said about at the beginning of his regime, he did contribute to reducing the weapons of mass destruction and I think that was a contribution to the world peace."

His pronunciation of Reagan was as if he was talking about the passing of TV cop DI Jack Regan, of The Sweeney, rather than the man known as the Gipper.

It provoked yells of "get it right" from the Tory benches, but Mr Prescott wasn't bothered.

He gave us a promise that if the result of October's regional assembly referendum in Yorkshire and the Humber is 'no', plans to scrap district councils in North Yorkshire will be abandoned.

"I have made absolutely clear if the people vote against the regional referendum for any changes none of the local government organisation changes as recommended in the referendum will take place," Mr Prescott said.

And he also got stuck into Mr Ancram, a Lord who could sit in the Upper House if he desired but prefers the rough and tumble of the Commons.

The Tories were being anti-European because they are scared of UKIP, Mr Prescott said in response to a question about a weighty document signed-off by the Foreign Office.

"I see that is why a Tory peer, Lord Willoughby, a proper Tory, like the honourable member, a proper lord, he said, I quote, 'expecting to renegotiate the EU treaty on our terms is like going to McDonald's and ordering a lobster thermidor.'

"As he said, 'it would be nice to have it, but it's not on the menu'.

"I don't know what it is about seafood and politics, but I couldn't have put it better myself."

How they would have laughed on the Labour benches, if they hadn't been slogging their guts out to little avail elsewhere.

Updated: 10:13 Friday, June 11, 2004