Southwark Central By-election
Elected Labour MP for Southwark Central at a by-election.
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Roy Jenkins Biography and Timeline
Follow Roy Jenkins through 22 dated historical records for Great Britain.
Roy Jenkins, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
22Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1948–2003Years on this page
1948
1964
Minister of Aviation
Appointed Minister of Aviation
Role range: 1964-1970 – 1964-1965
1965
Home Secretary of Great Britain
Appointed Home Secretary, 1st term
Role range: 1964-1970 – 1965-1967
1967
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer
Role range: 1964-1970 – 1967-1970
Sexual Offences Reform Debate
Parliament enacted reforms partially decriminalising consensual homosexual acts between men in England and Wales, following sustained political debate.
1970
Deputy Party Leader
Appointed Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Role range: 1970-1972
1972
Referendum
Resigns from the Deputy Leadership when an EC referendum becomes Labour Party policy
Role range: 1970-1972
Resignation of Roy Jenkins
Resigns because he disagrees with Wilson's policy of Britain's entry into the EC
Role range: 1970-1972
1973
Referendum
Resigns because he disagrees with Wilson's policy of Britain's entry into the EC
1974
Home Secretary of Great Britain
Appointed Home Secretary, 2nd term
Role range: 1974-1976 – 1974-1976
1975
Referendum
Successfully helps to win the referendum for Britain to stay in the EC
Role range: 1974-1974 – 1974-1976
1976
Election
Wins 56 votes in the first round of the leadership election and later withdraws.
Role range: 1974-1976
1979
Dimbleby Lecture
Calls for a radical centre during the BBC Dimbleby Lecture.
Dimbleby Lecture
Uses the Dimbleby Lecture to promote the radical centre before the SDP split.
1981
SDP
One of the Gang of Four, former Labour ministers who found the SDP.
Role range: 1981-1983
SDP Launch
Helps launch the Social Democratic Party with other Labour defectors.
Role range: 1981-1987
Party Leader
Appointed Party Leader of the Social Democratic Party
Role range: 1981-1983
1983
Resignation of Roy Jenkins
Resigns as Party Leader of the SDP
Role range: 1981-1983
1987
House of Lords
Appointed to the House of Lords as Baron Jenkins of Hillhead.
Role range: 1987-2003
1988
Party Leader
Appointed Leader of the Social and Liberal Democrat Peers in the Lords
Role range: 1988-2003
1997
Reform of Electoral System
Appointed chair of the Independent Commission on the Voting System.
Role range: 1997-1998
2003
Death of Roy Jenkins
Death of Roy Jenkins
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.