BRITAIN: A Rebel Vindicated

When Roy Jenkins, the urbane and gifted deputy leader of the Labor Party, broke ranks to vote in favor of Britain's entry into the Common Market three weeks ago. a chant of "Traitor! Traitor!" rose from the backbenches. Jenkins, 51, knew that he was risking his political future by defying Labor's antiMarket line (as did 68 other members of the party), but he defended his stand on the grounds of "honesty and consistency." He was Chancellor of the Exchequer when Harold Wilson's Labor government attempted to join the Market in 1969, and even though Wilson reversed field after his government fell last year, Jenkins refused to do so. "We set a course in government and should stick to it," he said.

Jenkins' critics demanded that he resign the deputy leadership. He dismissed that as "a somewhat mock heroic gesture," but he expected a rough time when he came up for re-election to the key post. In last week's balloting among Labor M.P.s, however, Jenkins won a surprising 140 votes against 96 for Michael Foot, a leader of Labor's left wing, and 46 for former Minister of Technology Anthony Wedgwood Benn. Only three votes short of winning, Jenkins is expected to triumph in the runoff against Foot this week.

The vote does not mean that Britain's entry into Europe has been made easier. Jenkins can be expected to join in haggling over the enabling legislation that still must clear Parliament to bring Britain's laws in line with the Market's. But it does mean that Jenkins, an accomplished administrator and an eloquent advocate of what he calls "the civilized society," has not only survived but has emerged with the sort of national recognition he never before enjoyed. He has made some powerful enemies within his own party, to be sure, but he has moved closer to becoming heir presumptive to Harold Wilson.