Roy Jenkins Biography Quotes 7 Report mistakes

Early life and education
Roy Harris Jenkins was born in 1920 into a South Wales mining community, the son of Arthur Jenkins, a prominent trade unionist who became a Labour Member of Parliament. Politics and public service were part of the family atmosphere, shaping a lifelong commitment to social reform and parliamentary democracy. After schooling in Wales he went to Balliol College, Oxford, where he read history and immersed himself in student politics. At Oxford he formed durable friendships and alliances with contemporaries who would become major figures on the British centre-left, notably Tony Crosland and Denis Healey. He also met his future wife, Jennifer (later Dame Jennifer) Jenkins, who became a notable public figure in her own right in heritage and conservation. The combination of intellectual curiosity, political ambition, and a taste for elegant argument that marked his undergraduate years never left him.

Early political career
Jenkins entered the House of Commons in 1948 and, following boundary changes, represented Birmingham Stechford from 1950 to 1977. Identified early with the reforming, revisionist wing of Labour politics associated with Hugh Gaitskell and Crosland, he believed in a mixed economy, civil liberties, and a modernizing state. He also established himself as an author of clarity and range, publishing studies of Liberal and Labour politics that enhanced his standing as one of the party's leading thinkers. Through the 1950s and early 1960s he honed his parliamentary skills and gained ministerial experience, becoming a trusted lieutenant to Harold Wilson when Labour returned to office in 1964.

Home Secretary and liberal reformer
As Minister of Aviation in 1964, 65, Jenkins dealt with difficult industrial and budgetary questions, but it was as Home Secretary, first from 1965 to 1967, that he became synonymous with a far-reaching liberalization of British public life. Working with Wilson, and giving parliamentary time and government support to backbench and cross-party initiatives, he helped bring about the abolition of capital punishment (driven in the Commons by Sydney Silverman), the decriminalization of homosexuality in England and Wales (with Leo Abse among the leading sponsors), and the legalization of abortion (through a bill introduced by David Steel). He pressed for stronger laws against racial discrimination and laid the groundwork for the Theatres Act 1968, ending stage censorship by the Lord Chamberlain. Jenkins's hallmark was to use the Home Office to advance civil rights and personal freedom while stressing order under the law, a balance that won him admirers and critics alike.

Chancellor of the Exchequer
In late 1967, after sterling was devalued, Jenkins succeeded James Callaghan as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He imposed tough, orthodox budgets designed to restore external balance and credibility, measures sometimes at odds with Labour's left but broadly supported by economic realists such as Healey. By 1969, 70 the external accounts had been transformed, and his stewardship was widely credited with returning stability. Although entry into the European Communities came later under Edward Heath, Jenkins's tenure underscored his belief that Britain's economic future required outward-looking policies and close engagement with Europe.

Europe, deputy leadership, and a second Home Office
After Labour's 1970 defeat, Harold Wilson remained party leader and Jenkins won election as deputy leader, symbolizing the authority of the reformist centre within the party. The relationship between European policy and party unity soon became acute. In 1972 Jenkins resigned the deputy leadership rather than vote against the European Communities Bill; he chose principle over a three-line whip, a rupture that marked him as one of Labour's most pro-European voices. When Labour returned to government in 1974 he served again as Home Secretary, steadying the department amid economic and political turbulence and campaigning for a Yes vote in the 1975 referendum alongside Heath and Steel. In the 1976 leadership contest after Wilson's retirement, he stood but was outpaced by James Callaghan and Michael Foot, reflecting Labour's shifting balance.

President of the European Commission
In 1977 Jenkins became President of the European Commission, the first and to date the most senior Briton to hold the post. From Brussels he worked closely with leaders such as Helmut Schmidt and Valery Giscard d'Estaing to advance monetary cooperation, giving the influential Florence speech that pressed the case for economic and monetary union and contributing to the creation of the European Monetary System in 1979. He presided over the first direct elections to the European Parliament and pursued a more vigorous, outward European role even as relations with the United Kingdom, now led by Margaret Thatcher, became strained over budget contributions. His presidency consolidated his reputation as a strategist of European integration.

The SDP and the Alliance
Disillusioned by Labour's leftward drift and its stance on Europe and defense under Michael Foot, Jenkins returned to British politics in 1981 as one of the Gang of Four, alongside David Owen, Shirley Williams, and Bill Rodgers, to found the Social Democratic Party. He contested the Warrington by-election, demonstrating the new party's viability, and in 1982 won the Glasgow Hillhead by-election. Chosen as SDP leader, he forged a close electoral alliance with David Steel's Liberals. The Alliance won a substantial share of the vote in 1983 but, under the first-past-the-post system, only a modest number of seats. Jenkins stepped down as leader, succeeded by Owen, as debate intensified over strategy and the future of the party.

Later career, Liberal Democrats, and Oxford
Jenkins held Hillhead until 1987, when he lost the seat to George Galloway. He entered the House of Lords as Baron Jenkins of Hillhead and supported the merger that created the Social and Liberal Democrats (later the Liberal Democrats), sitting thereafter as a leading Liberal Democrat peer. In 1987 he was elected Chancellor of the University of Oxford, a ceremonial and ambassadorial role that suited his love of scholarship and public life, and he kept it until his death in 2003. He was appointed to the Order of Merit, recognition of a lifetime's service to politics and letters.

Author and man of letters
Alongside his political career Jenkins built a second identity as a distinguished author. His studies of political history and biography were noted for lucidity, balance, and an eye for character. Works such as Mr Balfour's Poodle, his biography of H. H. Asquith, and later the acclaimed life of William Ewart Gladstone brought him literary renown, followed by a major study of Winston Churchill. His memoir, A Life at the Centre, offered a reflective account of postwar British politics, his dealings with Wilson, Callaghan, Crosland, Heath, Steel, Owen, and many others, and the dilemmas of statecraft in a changing society. He also wrote on chancellors and the British state, blending insider knowledge with historical perspective.

Personal life and character
Jenkins's marriage to Jennifer Jenkins was a lasting partnership, with each pursuing public-spirited roles while maintaining a lively cultural and social life. His friendships spanned parties and countries; he was as comfortable debating policy with Denis Healey or David Owen as he was discussing European affairs with Schmidt or Giscard. He cultivated an urbane style that put a premium on civility, intellectual seriousness, and legislative craftsmanship. Even opponents acknowledged his mastery of the Commons, his administrative competence, and his ability to deliver complex measures without losing sight of individual liberties.

Legacy
Roy Jenkins's legacy rests on three pillars. As Home Secretary he helped shape a more liberal and tolerant society through measured, bipartisan legislation on issues that had long been considered intractable. As Chancellor he brought stability after crisis, demonstrating the value of disciplined economic policy. As a European statesman and later a founder of the SDP, he defended the idea that Britain's modernity and moderation required engagement beyond party orthodoxies and national borders. He died in 2003, widely regarded as one of the most consequential British politicians of his generation, a bridge between Labour and liberal traditions, and a writer who did as much as any public figure of his time to make politics intelligible to the broader public.

Our collection contains 7 quotes who is written by Roy, under the main topics: Ethics & Morality - Wisdom - Justice - Life - Equality.