Roy Jenkins was Home Secretary from 1965 to 1967 and again from 1974 to 1976. He sponsored homosexual law reform and the legalisation of abortion as well as legislation outlawing racial discrimination. He helped create what its supporters called the civilised society but its enemies labelled the permissive society. During the 1970s, Jenkins's support for European unity put him at odds with many in the Labour Party; and in 1981, he helped found the new but short-lived Social Democratic Party. Meanwhile, as President of the European Commission, he had played a fundamental part in launching the idea of European monetary union.

This is a part of the lecture series, Making the Weather: Six politicians who shaped our age.
Winston Churchill wrote of Joseph Chamberlain, Colonial Secretary at the beginning of the 20th century, that, even though he never became Prime Minister, he 'made the weather', meaning that he played a crucial role in shaping the political agenda of his day. These lectures discuss six postwar politicians, none of whom became Prime Minister, but who, like Joseph Chamberlain, also made the weather and so helped to shape the age in which we live.

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