Agenda

For the enemies of John Prescott, the humbling of the deputy prime minister over his apparent misuse of Dorneywood, the grace-and-favour house, no doubt feels richly appropriate. They will care little for the apparent hypocrisy of a self-styled defender of the working classes enjoying croquet, a sport associated with "toffs".

His critics will enjoy far more the chagrin of the minister responsible for the welfare of would-be first-time buyers, being forced to abandon the luxuries of the Buckinghamshire pile he seemingly craved.

Prescott's adherence to Dorneywood may represent all that is faintly nauseous about New Labour and its management of power, and perhaps demonstrate how the trappings of power intoxicate politicians of such firm conviction and principle. But though these past weeks and months witnessed the decline of Prescott's influence and dignity, they also bore testimony to an uncelebrated but significant triumph of the deputy prime minister.

Ten days after Prescott lost responsibility for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, his old department opened an exhibition of Design for Manufacture, the competition he launched last year for good quality and affordable homes.

When Prescott challenged the housebuilding industry to build homes for £60,000 or less, he did so in his familiar plain-speaking style. In the autumn of 2004, he said the level of subsidies housebuilders and housing associations received for building affordable homes was "completely unacceptable", given the "phenomenal profits" they enjoyed. "Why does it cost so much to build bloody houses in this country?" he thundered.

This was a Labour minister taking on the private sector in tones that must have had Tony Blair groaning and the traditional wing of the party cheering from the rafters. "Every one of them have record levels of profit," he continued. "Is that because the cost is going up or is it that the market dictates the profit you get? I'm calling on the housing industry to get tougher with prices." He went as far as to suggest leading housebuilders monopolised the industry in a manner akin to a cartel and threatened to bring in European housebuilders to build cheaper homes.

The industry responded sniffily, blaming Prescott for intractable planning regulations, accusing him of knowing little about housebuilding and house prices, and saying his ideas for building sustainable communities were fanciful. This was an industry that at the time was still lapping up the benefits of the house price boom at the beginning of the decade, reporting yet another record-breaking year, but yet to fully understand the impact on their soaring profits of the Bank of England's full-scale propaganda assault on house price inflation.

Prescott took on the private sector in tones that must have had Tony Blair groaning and the traditional wing of the party cheering to the rafters

One by one, the housebuilders began to treat the £60,000 proposal seriously. Forerunners like Redrow had already cottoned on to the needs of would-be first-time buyers with its Debut range. Wates claimed to be the first to respond directly to the challenge. Housebuilders started talking to architects and designers about alternatives to the traditional brick and block structure, such as steel and timber.

By the time of the exhibition, David Wilson Homes had developed its I-LIFE range and Barratt had launched its iPad apartments. Crest Nicholson found a housebuilding partner in Kingspan and an architect in Sheppard Robson for its SixtyK prototype. George Wimpey teamed up with the Richard Rogers Partnership, Persimmon was in on the act, and the influence of European continental styles began to infiltrate the fusty world of British housebuilding.

There is a way to go before such designs can be mass produced on a scale that would assist the vast ranks of would-be first-time buyers. There is not enough evidence of the government's Social HomeBuy schemes getting sufficient buy-in from mortgage lenders. Only then would we start to realise a firm market in new build affordable homes.

Prescott's former departmental colleagues have helped the process along by making surplus government land available, none of which, incidentally, is in the South-east. But it is only when local authorities buy into the idea of making their planning conditions flexible enough to prioritise affordable homes that housebuilders will have greater confidence to increase production volumes.

Some of the design ideas are lacklustre. But housebuilders are beginning to talk with some enthusiasm about design and building quality in a silent nod to Prescott.

John Prescott's career is controversial not just because of the style and manner of the man but because of several wrong turns in policy and decision-making, not least in transport, regional policy and local government. But the deputy prime minister, in his own way, has made a sizeable impact on housing. The policy may be best delivered by others but in the wake of "Croquetgate" his contribution should not be ignored.