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Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life
Roy Jenkins was probably the best Prime Minister Britain never had. But though he never reached 10 Downing Street, he left a more enduring mark on British society than most of those who did. His career spans the full half-century from Attlee to Tony Blair during which he helped transform almost every area of national life and politics.
First, as a radical Home Secretary in the 1960s he drove through the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the legalisation of abortion, abolished theatre censorship and introduced the first legislation to outlaw discrimination on grounds of both race and gender. Attacked by conservatives as the godfather of the permissive society, he was a pioneering champion of gay rights, racial equality and feminism. He also reformed the police and criminal trials and introduced the independent police complaints commission.
Second, he was an early and consistent advocate of European unity who played a decisive role in achieving British membership first of the Common Market and then of the European Union. From 1977 to 1980 he served as the first (and so far only) British president of the European Commission. Public opinion today is swinging against Europe; but for the past forty years participation in Europe was seen by all parties as an unquestioned benefit, and no-one had more influence than Jenkins in that historic redirection of British policy.
Third, in 1981, when both the Conservative and Labour parties had moved sharply to the right and left respectively he founded the centrist Social Democratic Party (SDP) which failed in its immediate ambition of breaking the mould of British politics - largely because the Falklands war transformed Mrs Thatcher's popularity - but merged with the Liberals to form the Liberal Democrats and paved the way for Tony Blair's creation of New Labour.
On top of all this, Jenkins was a compulsive writer whose twenty-three books included best-selling biographies of Asquith, Gladstone and Churchill. As Chancellor of Oxford University he was the embodiment of the liberal establishment with a genius for friendship who knew and cultivated everyone who mattered in the overlapping worlds of politics, literature, diplomacy and academia; he also had many close women friends and enjoyed an unconventional private life. His biography is the story of an exceptionally well-filled and well-rounded life.
1259 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 27, 2014
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About the author
John Campbell
239 books27 followersJohn Campbell (born 1947) is a British political writer and biographer. He is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh. His works include biographies of Lloyd George, Roy Jenkins, F.E. Smith, Aneurin Bevan, Edward Heath, and Margaret Thatcher, the last consisting of two volumes, The Grocer's Daughter (2000) and The Iron Lady (2003). A one-volume abridgment prepared by David Freeman (a historian of Britain teaching at California State University, Fullerton) titled The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, From Grocer's Daughter to Prime Minister, was published in 2009 and reissued in paperback in 2011. He was awarded the NCR Book Award for his biography of Heath. He is married with two children and lives in London.
Campbell was consultant to the 2009 production of "Margaret", a fictionalisation of Margaret Thatcher's fall from power, and the 2012 film "The Iron Lady'.
Campbell was consultant to the 2009 production of "Margaret", a fictionalisation of Margaret Thatcher's fall from power, and the 2012 film "The Iron Lady'.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 28, 2015
'What are you going to do about that sap, Jenkins?' my belligerent maiden aunt asked me in the 1960s. A student at the time, there was not much I could, or wanted, to do about probably the most liberal Home Secretary Britain has ever had. It was a measure of his success that he enabled many civilising changes to take effect and enraged my aunt by so doing. As possibly the best prime minister we never had, his achievements are documented in this book, but I was left doubting the far-sightedness of his vision; he knew he wanted ever-closer ties with Europe but was vague about the ultimate destination of project Europe; he knew he wanted a more relaxed and uncensorious society but would he have been happy with the extent to which society's norms have been reversed?
As a politician he had flaws: his pomposity put people off and he lacked the killer instinct to go for the jugular when the prospect of occupying 10 Downing Street beckoned.
As an individual he practised what he permitted, enjoying within a strong and enduring marriage, a string of affairs with grand ladies, and at Oxford having a homo-erotic relationship with Tony Crosland (who, I remember, as one of his opponents for the Labour leadership after Harold Wilson resigned was known as 'the thinking man's candidate with the drinking man's breath'). He also loved good food and wine to the extent that, when he was seriously ill in hospital, his sons smuggled half bottles of vintage claret past the guardian nurses.
At the end of this magnificent and entertaining biography I was left with a great affection for a man of huge ability and generous spirit. He saw the best in people and deserved the happiness he achieved.
As a politician he had flaws: his pomposity put people off and he lacked the killer instinct to go for the jugular when the prospect of occupying 10 Downing Street beckoned.
As an individual he practised what he permitted, enjoying within a strong and enduring marriage, a string of affairs with grand ladies, and at Oxford having a homo-erotic relationship with Tony Crosland (who, I remember, as one of his opponents for the Labour leadership after Harold Wilson resigned was known as 'the thinking man's candidate with the drinking man's breath'). He also loved good food and wine to the extent that, when he was seriously ill in hospital, his sons smuggled half bottles of vintage claret past the guardian nurses.
At the end of this magnificent and entertaining biography I was left with a great affection for a man of huge ability and generous spirit. He saw the best in people and deserved the happiness he achieved.
June 2, 2015
This is a very good biography of an important figure in UK politics. He was at the heart of two of the fundamental changes in the country's political life - entry to the EU and the founding of the SDP with the gang of four. He was arguably one of the best Home Secretaries in memory; a great Chancellor of the Exchequer; a good President of the EU and throughout a good constituency MP and politician. He has a number of very good and readable biographies to his credit as well as a plethora of other writing on politics, book reviews and cities. We learn a great deal about his personal life from an early intimacy with Tony Crosland through serial adulteries while maintaining a proper home life with Jennifer Jenkins who comes over as well as Roy and for those of us who can recall Mrs Wilson's Diary, he will always be Smoothiechops.
John Campbell is sympathetic to his subject but does not hide his faults, failings and failures. For me this is about as good a biography as I shall find.
John Campbell is sympathetic to his subject but does not hide his faults, failings and failures. For me this is about as good a biography as I shall find.
February 4, 2015
An affectionate portrait...
Roy Jenkins was one of the most influential British Labour politicians of the second half of the twentieth century. The son of a miner, he was however far from working-class. His father had risen to become a successful Member of Parliament and made sure his son was given an advantageous education culminating in an Oxford degree. His socialism therefore was always of an intellectual kind rather than being rooted in the unions as his father’s had been. And like many socialists, especially of that era, he gradually moved from the left towards the centre. A prominent Cabinet minister in the ’60s and ’70s, Jenkins held at different times two of the great offices of state, as Home Secretary and Chancellor, and was accounted to be successful in both positions. In the first role he is credited with pushing through the socially liberal legislation that some later claimed led to the ‘permissive society’, while as Chancellor he was seen as having transformed the balance of trade and fiscal position of the UK, which were still suffering from the aftermath of WW2. Consistently pro-Europe, he was one of the strongest proponents for Britain’s entry to the Common Market.
Had the tensions between left and right within the Labour Party not become so toxic during the 1970s, there is very little doubt that Jenkins would have become party leader and quite probably Prime Minister. Instead, he decided to leave parliament to take up the post of President of the European Commission. But on his return, when the Labour Party was showing every sign of lurching even further to the Left, Jenkins ended up leading the breakaway group that was briefly known as the Social Democratic Party, before merging with the Liberal Party to become the Lib-Dems we (in the UK) all know and love today. Jenkins returned to Parliament for a while as MP for Glasgow Hillhead, but it was soon clear that the SDP was not going to fulfil the hopes of its followers by replacing the Labour Party as one of the two major parties in Britain, and Jenkins was defeated at the next election.
Alongside this lengthy political career, Jenkins had a second career, perhaps equally successful and certainly more lucrative, as a journalist and political biographer of, amongst others, Asquith and Churchill. Add in a complicated personal life, and a huge network of friendships with many of the most influential people of his time, and it’s clear that any biographer of Jenkins himself has his work cut out for him.
John Campbell is the author of many political biographies and won the 1994 NCR Award for his biography of Edward Heath. He admits in the introduction to this book that he admired Jenkins a good deal, and hopes that he has not allowed this to stop him being critical when required. I, on the other hand, always found Jenkins to be a pompous, arrogant buffoon who was serially disloyal to the parties to which he belonged. So the question for me was whether Campbell would be able to persuade me that I, in my youthful ignorance, had misjudged the man.
The biography is hugely long and detailed, but written with a clarity and flow that make it a pleasurable read. I kept feeling that surely something could have been cut to make the size more manageable, but concluded eventually that it was the fullness and complexity of Jenkins’ life that led to the length, rather than any failing on the part of the author. There is a fairly heavy emphasis on Jenkins’ personal life in the early part of the book – specifically his relationships with Tony Crosland (another Labour politician), then his wife and his multiple mistresses. But happily, once Campbell had made his point about the unconventionality of Jenkins lifestyle (or perhaps one should say conventionality, since it bears comparison with that of politicians of earlier days), he allows the subject to fade into the background and concentrates much more on the political side of his life.
I did feel that Campbell’s partiality for Jenkins showed through too clearly in some places, letting him off the hook on occasion, and giving him a little more praise than necessary. In general, though, I prefer affectionate biographies to hatchet jobs, so overall Campbell’s approach worked well for me. I was somewhat less keen on the way he portrayed some of the politicians on the left if the Labour Party – it wasn’t so much that I disagreed with his depiction of them as that I felt he adopted an almost sneering tone at times that led his account to feel as if it were being somewhat biased by his own personal political stance.
Overall, though, I found this a well written and hugely informative biography. While sticking closely to his subject, Campbell sets Jenkins’ life in the context of the times at all stages and as such this is also a revealing look at the wider political history of the second half of the twentieth century. Jenkins lived a well-rounded life indeed, never allowing the pressures of his various roles to get in the way of the more hedonistic side of his nature, but Campbell convinced this reader at least that the charge of laziness that was sometimes made against him was unfair. While I still stand by pompous and arrogant, Campbell has persuaded me that I must retract the word ‘buffoon’ – no-one who achieved so much in so many fields deserves that title. And while he was disloyal to his parties, it seems he remained loyal to his core beliefs, which in the end may be more honourable - so I acquit him of that charge. Jenkins’ life was a full and interesting one, and this biography does its subject justice – highly recommended.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Roy Jenkins was one of the most influential British Labour politicians of the second half of the twentieth century. The son of a miner, he was however far from working-class. His father had risen to become a successful Member of Parliament and made sure his son was given an advantageous education culminating in an Oxford degree. His socialism therefore was always of an intellectual kind rather than being rooted in the unions as his father’s had been. And like many socialists, especially of that era, he gradually moved from the left towards the centre. A prominent Cabinet minister in the ’60s and ’70s, Jenkins held at different times two of the great offices of state, as Home Secretary and Chancellor, and was accounted to be successful in both positions. In the first role he is credited with pushing through the socially liberal legislation that some later claimed led to the ‘permissive society’, while as Chancellor he was seen as having transformed the balance of trade and fiscal position of the UK, which were still suffering from the aftermath of WW2. Consistently pro-Europe, he was one of the strongest proponents for Britain’s entry to the Common Market.
Had the tensions between left and right within the Labour Party not become so toxic during the 1970s, there is very little doubt that Jenkins would have become party leader and quite probably Prime Minister. Instead, he decided to leave parliament to take up the post of President of the European Commission. But on his return, when the Labour Party was showing every sign of lurching even further to the Left, Jenkins ended up leading the breakaway group that was briefly known as the Social Democratic Party, before merging with the Liberal Party to become the Lib-Dems we (in the UK) all know and love today. Jenkins returned to Parliament for a while as MP for Glasgow Hillhead, but it was soon clear that the SDP was not going to fulfil the hopes of its followers by replacing the Labour Party as one of the two major parties in Britain, and Jenkins was defeated at the next election.
Alongside this lengthy political career, Jenkins had a second career, perhaps equally successful and certainly more lucrative, as a journalist and political biographer of, amongst others, Asquith and Churchill. Add in a complicated personal life, and a huge network of friendships with many of the most influential people of his time, and it’s clear that any biographer of Jenkins himself has his work cut out for him.
John Campbell is the author of many political biographies and won the 1994 NCR Award for his biography of Edward Heath. He admits in the introduction to this book that he admired Jenkins a good deal, and hopes that he has not allowed this to stop him being critical when required. I, on the other hand, always found Jenkins to be a pompous, arrogant buffoon who was serially disloyal to the parties to which he belonged. So the question for me was whether Campbell would be able to persuade me that I, in my youthful ignorance, had misjudged the man.
The biography is hugely long and detailed, but written with a clarity and flow that make it a pleasurable read. I kept feeling that surely something could have been cut to make the size more manageable, but concluded eventually that it was the fullness and complexity of Jenkins’ life that led to the length, rather than any failing on the part of the author. There is a fairly heavy emphasis on Jenkins’ personal life in the early part of the book – specifically his relationships with Tony Crosland (another Labour politician), then his wife and his multiple mistresses. But happily, once Campbell had made his point about the unconventionality of Jenkins lifestyle (or perhaps one should say conventionality, since it bears comparison with that of politicians of earlier days), he allows the subject to fade into the background and concentrates much more on the political side of his life.
I did feel that Campbell’s partiality for Jenkins showed through too clearly in some places, letting him off the hook on occasion, and giving him a little more praise than necessary. In general, though, I prefer affectionate biographies to hatchet jobs, so overall Campbell’s approach worked well for me. I was somewhat less keen on the way he portrayed some of the politicians on the left if the Labour Party – it wasn’t so much that I disagreed with his depiction of them as that I felt he adopted an almost sneering tone at times that led his account to feel as if it were being somewhat biased by his own personal political stance.
Overall, though, I found this a well written and hugely informative biography. While sticking closely to his subject, Campbell sets Jenkins’ life in the context of the times at all stages and as such this is also a revealing look at the wider political history of the second half of the twentieth century. Jenkins lived a well-rounded life indeed, never allowing the pressures of his various roles to get in the way of the more hedonistic side of his nature, but Campbell convinced this reader at least that the charge of laziness that was sometimes made against him was unfair. While I still stand by pompous and arrogant, Campbell has persuaded me that I must retract the word ‘buffoon’ – no-one who achieved so much in so many fields deserves that title. And while he was disloyal to his parties, it seems he remained loyal to his core beliefs, which in the end may be more honourable - so I acquit him of that charge. Jenkins’ life was a full and interesting one, and this biography does its subject justice – highly recommended.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
March 20, 2016
An excellent book worthy of it's subject. It's also astonishing how many of the issues that sparked Roy's interest remain current, and where previous speeches and articles have accurately projected where we are at present.
Whilst not being uncritical, the book also explodes many of the myths about Jenkins, particularly about his supposed laziness and the alleged attempt to distance himself from the mining heritage that he was brought up in.
It's ultimately to his great credit that he never attempted to be other than he was. His hinterland (as I recall him describing it as during the Hillhead by-election which was my first political campaign) was wide and varied and this is reflected in the book in full, alongside his writing and his prodigous reading habits (I am a mere second rater in comparison).
It's said to the point of being a cliche, but in the case of Roy Jenkins I'd suggest that this applies to the full - we will never see his likes again. We're all the poorer for that being the case.
Whilst not being uncritical, the book also explodes many of the myths about Jenkins, particularly about his supposed laziness and the alleged attempt to distance himself from the mining heritage that he was brought up in.
It's ultimately to his great credit that he never attempted to be other than he was. His hinterland (as I recall him describing it as during the Hillhead by-election which was my first political campaign) was wide and varied and this is reflected in the book in full, alongside his writing and his prodigous reading habits (I am a mere second rater in comparison).
It's said to the point of being a cliche, but in the case of Roy Jenkins I'd suggest that this applies to the full - we will never see his likes again. We're all the poorer for that being the case.
December 23, 2019
This is a fair and even handed review of Jenkins’ entire life, covering his politics, literature, and personal life. For example, Campbell well conveys Jenkins’ profound Europeanism, whilst appropriately pointing out that Jenkins himself was always vague as to what the end goal of European federalism was, beyond rejecting the idea of Britain playing ‘catch-up’. He is open about the love between Jenkins and his wife Jennifer, whilst acknowledging that Jenkins also had lovers throughout his life, as well as covering his early sexual relationship with Tony Crosland. Finally, Campbell gives Jenkins’ written works the right level of attention (not just the hits - it includes his reviews), whilst acknowledging that many of his later works could be ponderous syntheses of secondary sources.
I learnt a lot about the whole of Jenkins’ life in some great detail and finished the book feeling I had a sense of the man - not least his love of fine wine and high society!
If I had to criticise anything it would be the fact that the work assumes a high level of familiarity with post war British politics - at times certain events and individuals could have used a little more exposition.
Overall though, a very good introduction to all facets of Jenkins’ life, which works well as a general introduction to Britain’s transformation from postwar deference and hierarchy to a more modern, multicultural and open society - a transition achieved in no small part thanks to Roy Jenkins himself.
I learnt a lot about the whole of Jenkins’ life in some great detail and finished the book feeling I had a sense of the man - not least his love of fine wine and high society!
If I had to criticise anything it would be the fact that the work assumes a high level of familiarity with post war British politics - at times certain events and individuals could have used a little more exposition.
Overall though, a very good introduction to all facets of Jenkins’ life, which works well as a general introduction to Britain’s transformation from postwar deference and hierarchy to a more modern, multicultural and open society - a transition achieved in no small part thanks to Roy Jenkins himself.
September 14, 2017
Loistava elämänkerta, ja riittävän pitkä.
Ainoa britti EU-komission pj:nä. Sisä- ja valtiovarainministeri, erityisesti sisäministeri kausi 60-l lopulla ilmeisen tärkeä lainsäädännön höllentämisen takia. Myöhemmin labourin änkyrävasemmiston ja ay-liikkeen jyräämiseen kyllästymänä oli luomassa SDP:n 80-luvulla, joka myöhemmin sulautui liberaalien kanssa nykyiseksi lib demiksi. Pelastiko tämä SDP labourin vai pidensikö Thatcherismiä, lienee eri mielipiteitä herättävä. Elätteli toiveita, että Blair ja libdem voisivat myös sulautua tai mennä yhteishallitukseen. No, libdem meni Cameronin kanssa. Myös vahvasti intergaation, eurojäsenyyden ja suhteellisen vaalitavan kannattaja ja äänitorvi.
Tykkäsi myös punaviinistä.
Kirjasta saa tosiaan hyvän kuvan brittien politiikasta toisesta maailmansodasta aina 90-luvun alkuun. Välillä tulee mieleen edvardiaaninen aika, kun lounastetaan paljon, matkustetaan pitkiä kesälomia milloin kenenkin tutun ulkomaan huviloille (joissa Roy toki työskenteli väh 5h päivässä), käydään illallisilla. Ja ihmisisuhteetkin ovat kuin vuosisadan vaihteesta, toisten vaimojen kanssa pitkiä, vuosikymmenten suhteita.
Ainoa britti EU-komission pj:nä. Sisä- ja valtiovarainministeri, erityisesti sisäministeri kausi 60-l lopulla ilmeisen tärkeä lainsäädännön höllentämisen takia. Myöhemmin labourin änkyrävasemmiston ja ay-liikkeen jyräämiseen kyllästymänä oli luomassa SDP:n 80-luvulla, joka myöhemmin sulautui liberaalien kanssa nykyiseksi lib demiksi. Pelastiko tämä SDP labourin vai pidensikö Thatcherismiä, lienee eri mielipiteitä herättävä. Elätteli toiveita, että Blair ja libdem voisivat myös sulautua tai mennä yhteishallitukseen. No, libdem meni Cameronin kanssa. Myös vahvasti intergaation, eurojäsenyyden ja suhteellisen vaalitavan kannattaja ja äänitorvi.
Tykkäsi myös punaviinistä.
Kirjasta saa tosiaan hyvän kuvan brittien politiikasta toisesta maailmansodasta aina 90-luvun alkuun. Välillä tulee mieleen edvardiaaninen aika, kun lounastetaan paljon, matkustetaan pitkiä kesälomia milloin kenenkin tutun ulkomaan huviloille (joissa Roy toki työskenteli väh 5h päivässä), käydään illallisilla. Ja ihmisisuhteetkin ovat kuin vuosisadan vaihteesta, toisten vaimojen kanssa pitkiä, vuosikymmenten suhteita.
August 31, 2017
This is an exceptional biography, which is one of few political biographies I've read that justifies its length. Campbell is particularly good at chronicling Jenkins' pre-ministerial career - while I expected this to be of relatively limited interest, he makes strong use of Jenkins' letters to track his relationship with his wife and university colleagues (many of whom, obviously, ended up going into politics).
This was written before the EU referendum and so it's particularly striking to see how major elements of Jenkins' life's work (the splits within British left politics and EU membership) have continued dominating UK politics since his death. I'd recommend this both to someone interested in Jenkins' life but also to anyone keen to familiarise themselves with post-WWII UK politics (given the extraordinary breadth of Jenkins' career).
This was written before the EU referendum and so it's particularly striking to see how major elements of Jenkins' life's work (the splits within British left politics and EU membership) have continued dominating UK politics since his death. I'd recommend this both to someone interested in Jenkins' life but also to anyone keen to familiarise themselves with post-WWII UK politics (given the extraordinary breadth of Jenkins' career).
July 26, 2021
Superb political biography once past the unnecessary inclusion of the salacious revelations of the private adolescent relationship, such that it was, between Jenkins and Crosland. I doubt either would have appreciated such an intrusion. However, the book soon concentrates on the internecine disputes within Labour and then the schisms that eventually led to the SDP. I'd have liked a similarly detailed account of his time in Brussels. Having read superb biographies about Foot, Wilson, Heath et al., this biography filled in some holes in my knowledge. Obviously exhaustively researched and well written, covering my favourite period in British political history, so for me, a hugely informative and illuminating book.
May 5, 2019
An honest, revealing, well-written and outstanding biography of one of the twentieth century's stand out politicians
June 7, 2020
Fantastic biography, from which I learned so much. Roy Jenkins had a fascinating life and career which the author captures so well. I couldn’t put it down!
April 17, 2021
Excellent biography. Have my reservations about Jenkins but I learnt a great deal about him, and so enjoyed the ride,
May 22, 2020
No one is going to have to write another biography of Jenkins for - well, probably another generation. This is as comprehensive as it gets. It even covers Jenkins' tennis serve. I have to say I found the first 200 or so pages fairly bland. For me it only really started to get going when Jenkins became an MP. But maybe that says more about my interests than it says about John Campbell's writing. Touching on the writing: it is free of jargon, lucid and ridiculously easy to read. In this, it reminds me of Michael Bloch. A couple of things that really struck me were the battles in the Labour Party between the left and right and the inners and outers over Europe. The words spoken and the points made could just as easily be applied to what has been happening recently in the Labour Party - the Corbynistas v the centrists - and in the debates over Brexit. Plus ca change. Over the course of the book I came to respect and admire Jenkins. I particularly liked the fact that he was openly fond of fine wine and food (an epicurean rather than a sybarite). But there was one sticking point. His support for fox hunting. I know he was the libertarian's libertarian. But as a civilised man I would have expected him to see fox hunting for what it is: a cruel and barbaric 'sport' that degrades those who participate in it and those who support it. To be fair, I'm sure if he was still alive and I, or someone holding my views on fox hunting, were by chance to be a guest at one of his (claret-filled) lunches, he would at least listen respectfully to what we had to say and a civilised discussion would ensue. After which he would probably uncork another bottle. Cheers!
December 23, 2023
Roy Jenkins: A well-Rounded Life is just that - Jenkins lived one of the most complete lives of any 20th century politician, let alone human being.
His political achievements are numerous & indisputable; as Home Secretary he introduced key social reforms including the legalisation of homosexuality, easier abortion access and ending corporal punishment in prisons; as chancellor he rescued the British economy from its balance-of-payments deficit; as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party he pioneered Britain's entry into the Common Market; as President of the European Commission he introduced the precursor to the Euro, the European Monetary System; and as SDP leader helped drag the Labour Party towards the centre-left of British politics.
However, for many people these achievements are overcome by his failure to become Prime Minister. Despite having several opportunities to dethrone Wilson in the 1960's, Jenkins consistently marched his supporters up the hill only to turn around again at the last minute. In doing so, Jenkins displayed a consistent lack of ruthlessness which separates him from his Prime Ministerial peers. Why was this? I would suggest because Jenkins enjoyed the idea of being PM much more than the practicalities, and when push came to shove was unable to make the necessary moral and social sacrifices that come with high office. In politics this is often seen as a weakness, but I would argue Jenkins' career and relationships were more happier for it.
Outside of formal politics Jenkins enjoyed one of the most active and fruitful social lives of any politician, cultivating friendships with the great and the good via his unwritten rule to 'never dine alone'. He was also by all accounts an incredibly successful author, with his biography of Gladstone remaining pre-eminent.
Above all, Jenkins was one of the most complete politicians and individuals of his time, balancing a tenacious intellect with a charismatic disposition to achieve lasting political change.
His political achievements are numerous & indisputable; as Home Secretary he introduced key social reforms including the legalisation of homosexuality, easier abortion access and ending corporal punishment in prisons; as chancellor he rescued the British economy from its balance-of-payments deficit; as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party he pioneered Britain's entry into the Common Market; as President of the European Commission he introduced the precursor to the Euro, the European Monetary System; and as SDP leader helped drag the Labour Party towards the centre-left of British politics.
However, for many people these achievements are overcome by his failure to become Prime Minister. Despite having several opportunities to dethrone Wilson in the 1960's, Jenkins consistently marched his supporters up the hill only to turn around again at the last minute. In doing so, Jenkins displayed a consistent lack of ruthlessness which separates him from his Prime Ministerial peers. Why was this? I would suggest because Jenkins enjoyed the idea of being PM much more than the practicalities, and when push came to shove was unable to make the necessary moral and social sacrifices that come with high office. In politics this is often seen as a weakness, but I would argue Jenkins' career and relationships were more happier for it.
Outside of formal politics Jenkins enjoyed one of the most active and fruitful social lives of any politician, cultivating friendships with the great and the good via his unwritten rule to 'never dine alone'. He was also by all accounts an incredibly successful author, with his biography of Gladstone remaining pre-eminent.
Above all, Jenkins was one of the most complete politicians and individuals of his time, balancing a tenacious intellect with a charismatic disposition to achieve lasting political change.
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March 24, 2016A monster of a biography which took me 7 weeks to read. But every minute spent on it was well worth it. The breadth of knowledge the author shows is matched by the style he uses which draws the reader in. But most of all, it's the way he brings his subject to life that is most impressive. I'm old enough to remember the 1974 elections and the tractations which followed as well as Jenkins' fight with the Labour Party over the EEC, as well as his breaking away from the Labour Party to form the SDP. Another reason why this book was particularly interesting.
April 25, 2014
One of the best political biographies I've read in a long time. It is written by an admirer of Jenkins, which I mostly am not, but no matter. It is full of fascinating detail about a terrific period in English (I say advisedly) political life in the 1960s, and later on the debates on Europe - some of which will surprise those who only know these debates in a present-day context. Anyone interested in British political history should read this. Whatever their politics.
October 18, 2014
The term 'magisterial' is often overused when describing biographies of substantial political figures. However in this case it is entirely appropriate. Campbell meets the challenge of Roy Jenkins' "well-lived life" with a fully commensurate exploration of Jenkins' successes, failures and many interests.
Want to read
July 13, 2015Barnet Library
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