Queenliest Member of Parliament : Video: Her 'Elizabeth R' is finally available on tape, but Glenda Jackson has left the life of portraying royalty and others for the world of politics.

By NANCY MILLS

June 24, 1995 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

LONDON — For years, Vanessa Redgrave was the most prominent actress-politician in Britain--but, despite two attempts, she was never elected to Parliament. Three years ago, her contemporary, Glenda Jackson, gave up acting for politics and got elected to the House of Commons, where she raises her voice now and then to denounce the Conservative government of Prime Minister John Major.

Acting is such a secondary thought to her now that when granting an interview on the occasion of “Elizabeth R” finally arriving on video, she says she has few recollections of the Emmy Award-winning BBC series about the 16th-Century British queen.

“It was so long ago I can’t remember it,” Jackson says in her trademark, no-nonsense manner. “My son was 3 then; now he’s 26. In many ways my life hasn’t changed at all, especially as someone who works long hours. I still live in the same part of London. I still have the same lifestyle. Work is still a priority.”

But instead of film sets or dusty theaters, Jackson spends her time in Parliamentary committee meetings, shuffling papers and solving problems for her 60,000 North London constituents. Sitting in a drab conference room in what was once old Scotland Yard, near the Houses of Parliament, she wears no makeup.

“I’m proud of my wrinkles,” she says. She is dressed in a black-and-white polka dot blouse, black skirt and black heels, but only because, she notes, “I can’t go around in a track suit or jeans and a T-shirt in the House of Commons.”

Jackson, 59, is eminently practical. In order to play Queen Elizabeth I for the six 90-minute episodes, shot for seven months in 1970 and 1971, she decided to shave half her head rather than wear a bald wig.

“I didn’t see any point in attempting to convince people that I was trying to play another character when the top six inches of my forehead would wrinkle in an unnatural way because it wasn’t skin but plastic,” she says. “I was told a) it would never grow back or b) it would grow back curly. Neither of those were true statements.”

Today, her hair is cut short in a style that flatters her high cheekbones. “It’s always called ‘boyish,’ ” she complains. “I don’t know why. I can wash it and walk out of the house.”

Years ago, Jackson’s ex-husband, Roy Hodges, said, “If Glenda had gone into politics, she’d have become prime minister.” Now that she is in politics, is that her goal? Having played Elizabeth I, wouldn’t she like to advise Elizabeth II?

The walls of the conference room reverberate with her denials. “Oh, no,” she cries out. “No, no, no! We’ve only just elected our new leader [Tony Blair], and he won very convincingly. I might get a junior ministry [if the Labor Party should win the next election, which must be called by 1997] but certainly not a cabinet position.”

When “Elizabeth R” aired on PBS’ “Masterpiece Theatre,” it won four Emmy Awards, including outstanding dramatic series and best actress. American audiences have sought a video for years, according to Mindy Pickard, vice president of marketing for CBS-Fox Video. A six-tape package, retailing at $149.98, will be available at major video outlets beginning Tuesday.

Jackson professes not to know why “Elizabeth R” took so long to come out on tape. But Pickard says, “I don’t think Glenda Jackson made it a priority. She made it difficult clearing it for video. We’ve been trying to put it out for five years.”

Apparently the series holds no pride of place in Jackson’s work-ography. “I don’t have favorites,” she insists. Indeed, it would be hard to choose among such notable films as “The Music Lovers,” “Sunday, Bloody Sunday,” “House Calls,” “Women in Love” and “A Touch of Class.” She won Oscars as best actress in the latter two.

“All I ask myself is, ‘Did I solve that particular problem?’ ” she says. “If I did, that’s nice. If I didn’t, I have to live with a sense of eternal mortification and shame.”

The barest glimmer of mischief flickers across her face. Jackson, the eldest of four daughters of a Northern England bricklayer, has kept her dry wit, although she has little use for it these days.

“The House of Commons is not necessarily a comic place, but it is funny,” she says, “a very black kind of humor. Occasionally you can be wittily rude about the government and government ministers.

“But it is a very structured debate. As a member of the opposition, I can’t see the government has done any good of any kind. It’s quite hard to be funny about it when you’re meeting people who have seen their lives destroyed as a result of this government’s policies.”

A rare smile enlivens her face. “The most frightening experience of my life was giving my maiden speech in the House. I kept thinking Keats used to live in my constituency, and here I was attempting to use the English language, and he was one of the giant exponents of it. I did find that to give of your best in the House is certainly as powerful a feeling as it is on a stage.”

Although the British press has just recently stopped referring to her as “actress-now-turned-MP-Glenda Jackson,” she insists that, upon her election, she instantly shoved her 40-year profession aside.

“Acting only exists when you do it,” she says, “so if you’re not doing it there’s nothing to miss.” She pauses, then backtracks slightly. “But if I hadn’t had a considerable number of years doing it, I probably wouldn’t have been so sanguine giving it up.”

Jackson is, in fact, keeping a toe in the water.

“I have done things in my holidays,” she allows. “Dove Audio asked me to record a book, so I said I’d like to read Jane Austen. I did ‘Persuasion.’ I think it’s her best. It’s certainly my favorite. Next I’ll do ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ ”

Will she ever go back to acting? She pauses, then finally says, “Ideally I’d like to be reelected at the next general election. If not reelected, I’ll have to look for a means of earning a living, and acting is the only other thing I know how to do.”