Editing Roy Jenkins (section)

==Peerage, achievements, books and death (1987–2003)==
[[File:Roy Jenkins, Chancellor of Oxford.jpg|thumb|upright|Jenkins robed as [[Chancellor of Oxford University]]]]
From 1987, Jenkins remained in politics as a member of the [[House of Lords]] as a [[life peer]] with the title '''Baron Jenkins of Hillhead''', of [[Pontypool]] in the County of [[Gwent (county)|Gwent]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=51132|date=25 November 1987|page=14513}}</ref> Also in 1987, Jenkins [[1987 University of Oxford Chancellor election|was elected Chancellor of the University of Oxford]].<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 652.</ref> He was leader of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] in the Lords from 1988 until 1997.

In 1988, he fought and won an amendment to the [[Education Reform Act 1988]], guaranteeing academic freedom of speech in further and higher education establishments. This affords and protects the right of students and academics to "question and test received wisdom" and has been incorporated into the statutes or articles and instruments of governance of all universities and colleges in Britain.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hayes|first=Dennis|title=Tongues truly tied|work=Times Higher Education|url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/165532.article|publisher=The Times|access-date=10 January 2013|archive-date=4 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004234801/http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/165532.article|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 657.</ref>

In 1991, his memoirs, ''A Life at the Centre'', was published by [[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]], who paid Jenkins a £130,000 advance.<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 676.</ref> He was magnanimous to most of those colleagues with whom he had clashed in the past, except for David Owen, whom he blamed for destroying the idealism and cohesion of the SDP.<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', pp. 676–677.</ref> In the last chapter ('Establishment Whig or Persistent Radical?') he reaffirmed his radicalism, placing himself "somewhat to the left of James Callaghan, maybe Denis Healey and certainly of David Owen".<ref name="Jenkins617">Jenkins, ''A Life at the Centre'', p. 617.</ref> He also proclaimed his political credo:

<blockquote>My broad position remains firmly libertarian, sceptical of official cover-ups and uncompromisingly internationalist, believing sovereignty to be an almost total illusion in the modern world, although both expecting and welcoming the continuance of strong differences in national traditions and behaviour. I distrust the deification of the enterprise culture. I think there are more limitations to the wisdom of the market than were dreamt of in Mrs Thatcher's philosophy. I believe that levels of taxation on the prosperous, having been too high for many years (including my own period at the Treasury), are now too low for the provision of decent public services. And I think the privatisation of near monopolies is about as irrelevant as (and sometimes worse than) were the Labour Party's proposals for further nationalisation in the 1970s and early 1980s.<ref name="Jenkins617"/></blockquote>

''A Life at the Centre'' was generally favourably reviewed: in the ''Times Literary Supplement'' [[John Grigg]] said it was a "marvellous account of high politics by a participant writing with honesty, irony and sustained narrative verve". In ''The Spectator'' [[Anthony Quinton]] remarked that Jenkins was "not afraid to praise himself and earns the right to do so by unfudged self-criticism".<ref name="Campbell680">Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 680.</ref> However, there were critical voices: [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]] in ''The Scotsman'' charged that Jenkins never had any loyalty to the Labour Party and was an ambitious careerist intent only on furthering his career.<ref name="Campbell680"/> John Campbell claims that ''A Life at the Centre'' is now generally recognised as one of the best political memoirs.<ref name="Campbell680"/> [[David Cannadine]] ranked it alongside [[Duff Cooper]]'s ''[[Old Men Forget]]'', R. A. Butler's ''The Art of the Possible'' and Denis Healey's ''The Time of My Life'' as one of the four best political memoirs of the post-war period.<ref>David Cannadine, 'Writer and Biographer', in Andrew Adonis and Keith Thomas (eds.), ''Roy Jenkins: A Retrospective'' (Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 295.</ref>

In 1993, he was appointed to the [[Order of Merit]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=53510|date=10 December 1993|page=19644}}</ref> Also that year, his ''Portraits and Miniatures'' was published. The main body of the book is a set of 6 biographical essays ([[Rab Butler]], [[Aneurin Bevan]], [[Iain Macleod]], [[Dean Acheson]], [[Konrad Adenauer]], [[Charles de Gaulle]]), along with lectures, articles and book reviews.<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 690.</ref>
[[File:Roy Jenkins Grave.jpg|thumb|right|Jenkins' grave in Cat Street cemetery, [[East Hendred]], Oxfordshire]]
A television documentary about Jenkins was made by [[Michael Cockerell]], titled ''Roy Jenkins: A Very Social Democrat'', and broadcast on 26 May 1996. Although an admiring portrait overall, Cockerell was frank about Jenkins' affairs and both Jenkins and his wife believed that Cockerell had betrayed their hospitality.<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', pp. 684–685.</ref>

Jenkins hailed [[Tony Blair]]'s [[1994 Labour Party leadership election|election]] as Labour Party leader in July 1994 as "the most exciting Labour choice since the election of [[Hugh Gaitskell]]". He argued that Blair should stick "to a constructive line on Europe, in favour of sensible constitutional innovation...and in favour of friendly relations with the Liberal Democrats". He added that he hoped Blair would not move Labour further to the right: "Good work has been done in freeing it from nationalisation and other policies. But the market cannot solve everything and it would be a pity to embrace the stale dogmas of Thatcherism just when their limitations are becoming obvious".<ref>Roy Jenkins, 'Labour's most exciting leader since Gaitskell', ''The Times'' (23 July 1994), p. 14.</ref>

Jenkins and Blair had been in touch since the latter's time as Shadow Home Secretary, when he admired Jenkins' reforming tenure at the Home Office.<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 700.</ref> Jenkins told [[Paddy Ashdown]] in October 1995: "I think Tony treats me as a sort of father figure in politics. He comes to me a lot for advice, particularly about how to construct a Government".<ref>Paddy Ashdown, ''The Ashdown Diaries: Volume One, 1988–1997'' (London: Allen Lane, 2000), p. 346.</ref> Jenkins tried to persuade Blair that the division in the centre-left vote between the Labour and Liberal parties had enabled the Conservatives to dominate the 20th century, whereas if the two left-wing parties entered into an electoral pact and adopted proportional representation, they could dominate the 21st century.<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', pp. 700–701.</ref> Jenkins was an influence on the thinking of [[New Labour]] and both [[Peter Mandelson]] and [[Roger Liddle]] in their 1996 work ''The Blair Revolution'' and [[Philip Gould]] in his ''Unfinished Revolution'' recognised Jenkins' influence.<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 703.</ref>

Before the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 election]], Blair had promised an enquiry into electoral reform. In December 1997, Jenkins was appointed chair of a Government-appointed Independent Commission on the Voting System, which became known as the "[[Jenkins Commission (UK)|Jenkins Commission]]", to consider alternative [[voting system]]s for the UK.<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 710.</ref> The Jenkins Commission reported in favour of a new uniquely British mixed-member proportional system called "[[Alternative vote top-up]]" or "limited AMS" in October 1998, although no action was taken on this recommendation. Blair told Ashdown that Jenkins' recommendations would not pass the Cabinet.<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', pp. 712-714.</ref>

British membership of the [[European single currency]], Jenkins believed, was the supreme test of Blair's statesmanship.<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 720, p. 725.</ref> However, he was disappointed with Blair's timidity in taking on the Eurosceptic tabloid press. He told Blair in October 1997: "You have to choose between leading Europe or having [[Rupert Murdoch|Murdoch]] on your side. You can have one but not both".<ref>Paddy Ashdown, ''The Ashdown Diaries: Volume Two, 1997–1999'' (London: Allen Lane, 2001), p. 104.</ref> Jenkins was also critical of New Labour's authoritarianism, such as the watering down of the [[Freedom of Information Act 2000]] and their intention to [[Hunting Act 2004|ban fox hunting]].<ref name="Campbell719">Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 719.</ref> By the end of his life Jenkins believed that Blair had wasted his enormous parliamentary majority and would not be recorded in history as a great prime minister; he ranked him between Harold Wilson and Stanley Baldwin.<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 726.</ref>

After [[Gordon Brown]] attacked Oxford University for indulging in "old school tie" prejudices because it rejected a state-educated pupil, [[Laura Spence]], Jenkins told the House of Lords in June 2000 that "Brown's diatribe was born of prejudice out of ignorance. Nearly every fact he adduced was false".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/2000/jun/14/higher-education#S5LV0613P0_20000614_HOL_83|title=Higher Education (Hansard, 14 June 2000)|website=api.parliament.uk}}</ref> Jenkins voted for the [[Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000|equalisation of the homosexual age of consent]] and for repealing [[Section 28]].<ref name="Campbell719"/>

Jenkins wrote 19 books, including a biography of [[Gladstone]] (1995), which won the [[1995 Whitbread Awards|1995 Whitbread Award]] for Biography, and a much-acclaimed biography of [[Winston Churchill]] (2001). His then-designated official biographer, [[Andrew Adonis]], was to have finished the Churchill biography had Jenkins not survived the heart surgery he underwent towards the end of its writing. Historian [[Paul Johnson (writer)|Paul Johnson]] called it the best one-volume biography on its subject.<ref>Johnson, Paul (2003). ''Churchill'', Simon & Schuster, p. 167.</ref>

Jenkins underwent [[heart surgery]] in the form of a heart valve replacement on 12 October 2000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1370415/Lord-Jenkins-has-heart-surgery.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1370415/Lord-Jenkins-has-heart-surgery.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Lord Jenkins has heart surgery|first=Adam|last=Helliker|date=14 October 2000|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and postponed his 80th birthday celebrations whilst recovering, by having a celebratory party on 7 March 2001. He died on 5 January 2003,  after suffering a heart attack at his home at [[East Hendred]], in Oxfordshire.<ref>{{cite news|title=Roy Jenkins dies|date=5 January 2003|work=BBC News Online|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2629269.stm|publisher=BBC|access-date=14 May 2010|archive-date=28 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928094102/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2629269.stm|url-status=dead}}</ref> His last words, to his wife, were, "Two eggs, please, lightly poached".<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 745.</ref> At the time of his death, Jenkins was working on a biography of US President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref>Campbell, ''Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life'', p. 740.</ref>

After his death, Blair paid tribute to "one of the most remarkable people ever to grace British politics", who had "intellect, vision and an integrity that saw him hold firm to his beliefs of moderate social democracy, liberal reform and the cause of Europe throughout his life. He was a friend and support to me".<ref name="Guardian">Michael White and Lucy Ward, '[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/jan/06/uk.liberaldemocrats Statesman Jenkins dies at 82]', ''The Guardian'' (6 January 2003).</ref> James Callaghan and [[Edward Heath]] also paid tribute and [[Tony Benn]] said that as "a founder of the SDP he was probably the grandfather of New Labour".<ref>'What they said', ''The Times'' (6 January 2003), p. 4.</ref> However, he was strongly criticised by others including [[Denis Healey]], who condemned the SDP split as a "disaster" for the Labour Party which prolonged their time in opposition and allowed the Tories to have an unbroken run of 18 years in government.<ref>{{cite news|location=London|work=[[The Guardian]]|title=Roy Jenkins: Gang leader who paved way for Blair|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/jan/06/uk.labour|first=Michael|last=White|date=6 January 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423043238/http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/jan/06/uk.labour|archive-date=23 April 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Writing in ''The Guardian'', Professor of Government at Oxford University [[Vernon Bogdanor]] provided this assessment of Jenkins:

<blockquote>Roy Jenkins was both radical and contemporary; and this made him the most influential exponent of the progressive creed in politics in postwar Britain. Moreover, the political creed for which he stood belongs as much to the future as to the past. For Jenkins was the prime mover in the creation of a form of social democracy which, being internationalist, is peculiarly suited to the age of globalisation and, being liberal, will prove to have more staying power than the statism of [[Lionel Jospin]] or the corporatist socialism of [[Gerhard Schröder]]. ... Roy Jenkins was the first leading politician to appreciate that a liberalised social democracy must be based on two tenets: what [[Peter Mandelson]] called an aspirational society (individuals must be allowed to regulate their personal lives without interference from the state); and that a post-imperial country like Britain could only be influential in the world as part of a wider grouping (the EU).<ref>Vernon Bogdanor, '[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/jan/12/labour.uk The great radical reformer]', ''The Guardian'' (12 January 2003).</ref></blockquote>

His alma mater, Cardiff University, honoured the memory of Roy Jenkins by naming one of its halls of residence Roy Jenkins Hall.