a b c Morris, Sophie (27 February 2023). "BaronessBoothroyd,firstfemaleSpeakeroftheHouseofCommons,hasdiedaged93". Sky News . Retrieved 27 February 2023. EUROPEANPARLIAMENT(MEMBERSHIP)(Hansard,1March1977)". ParliamentaryDebates(Hansard). 1 March 1977. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017 . Retrieved 13 January 2017. Baroness Boothroyd on her official portrait as Commons Speaker by Andrew Festing". Archived from the original on 8 November 2019 . Retrieved 31 March 2019– via YouTube. a b "SunakandStarmerpaytributetoBettyBoothroydatfuneraloffirstwomanspeaker". The Independent. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 29 March 2023.

Boothroyd was additionally made an Honorary Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge, in 1994. [54] Publications [ edit ] a b "Sunak and Starmer pay tribute to Betty Boothroyd at funeral of first woman speaker". The Independent. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 29 March 2023. LordsfailtofindhouseroomforLadyBoothroyd'screst". The Daily Telegraph. 28 January 2001. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019 . Retrieved 15 February 2019. PrimeMinisterleadstributesto"remarkable"speakerBaronessBettyBoothroydatfuneral". ITVNews. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 29 March 2023. BettyBoothroyd:FuneralheldforfirstwomanCommonsSpeaker". BBC News. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 30 March 2023.

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Boothroyd was born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, in 1929, the only child of Ben Archibald Boothroyd (1886–1948) and his second wife Mary ( née Butterfield, 1901–1982), both textile workers. She was educated at council schools and went on to study at Dewsbury College of Commerce and Art (now Kirklees College). From 1946 to 1952, she worked as a dancer, as a member of the Tiller Girls dancing troupe, [5] briefly appearing at the London Palladium. A foot infection brought an end to her dancing career and she entered politics, something then unusual, as the political world was heavily male-dominated and mostly aristocratic. [6] House Heroes". PoliticsHome.com. 23 November 2016. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019 . Retrieved 25 March 2019. After moving to London in the 1950s, she worked for two influential Labour MPs, Barbara Castle and Geoffrey de Freitas. Artwork–BaronessBoothroyd". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017 . Retrieved 29 July 2017. Here’s to a woman who conquered the murky world of Westminister with nothing but wit and gumption…and enough hairspray to turn a tsunami into a kiss curl.”

See also: 1992 Speaker of the British House of Commons election Boothroyd's Speaker's shoe in the Women's Library Rentoul, John (4 April 2019). "TheHouseofCommonsissodividedonBrexitithashaditsfirsttiedvotefordecades". TheIndependent . Retrieved 3 May 2022.

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Betty Boothroyd: To Parliament and beyond". BBC. 24 October 2001. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009 . Retrieved 21 January 2009. BettyBoothroyd:ToParliamentandbeyond". BBC. 24 October 2001. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009 . Retrieved 21 January 2009. Harriet Harman, Labour’s former deputy leader said she hoped the next Commons speaker will be a woman. She was a truly outstanding speaker, presiding with great authority, warmth and wit, for which she had our deep respect and admiration,” Blair wrote. On 12 July 2000, following Prime Minister's Questions, Boothroyd announced to the House of Commons that would resign as Speaker after the summer recess. TonyBlair, then prime minister, paid tribute to her as "something of a national institution". Blair's predecessor, JohnMajor, described her as an "outstanding Speaker". [23] She stepped down as Speaker and resignedasanMP on 23 October 2000. [24] Life peerage and later activity

Betty: I refused three marriage proposals". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235 . Retrieved 27 February 2023. But Boothroyd followed her dreams as a professional dancer from 1946 to 1948 and appeared in pantomime inthe West End before finally going into politics. Betty joins the League of Labour Youth and, in those unreconstructed days: 'I entered a beauty contest and won a prize.' This is just one of many relentless references to her physical attractiveness. Her 'shapely' legs get many a mention. She quotes - without complaint - a man's description of her as a 'solid, comely wench'. She is delighted when Cosmopolitan names 'me one of its favourite babes'. Goodness knows why the lady needs to protest so much. No wonder she is despised by the more feminist generation of younger Labour women, a sentiment returned with interest. The real disappointment of this book is the chapters on her time on the Commons throne. A defensive account of her speakership, overly padded with unrelieved slabs of Hansard and newspaper cuttings, adds little to our knowledge of its controversies. A cast of the great, the good and the not so good swim in and out of view. Boris Yeltsin and Jacques Chirac, both pictured kissing the hand of Her Bettyness, come calling. She meets Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton. If there is anything interesting to disclose about these encounters, then you will not find it here. Prime Minister leads tributes to "remarkable" speaker Baroness Betty Boothroyd at funeral". ITV News. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 29 March 2023.Roedd Betty Boothroyd, Barwnes Boothroyd, OM , yn wleidydd Prydeinig ( 8 Hydref 1929 – 26 Chwefror 2023) a wasanaethodd fel Aelod Seneddol (AS) dros West Bromwich a Gorllewin West Bromwich rhwng 1973 a 2000. Hi oedd y fenyw gyntaf i wasanaethu fel Llefarydd Tŷ’r Cyffredin, [1]rhwng 1992 a 2000. [2] Eisteddodd Boothroyd yn ddiweddarach fel arglwydd traws-fainc yn Nhŷ'r Arglwyddi . [3] Bywyd cynnar [ golygu | golygu cod ] It was a privilege to be in parliament during her tenure and to know her as the big-hearted and kind person she was. My thoughts are with her family and many friends.” Boothroyd, whose parents were textile workers, grew up in northern England. She originally envisioned a career as a dancer, and after attending Dewsbury College of Commerce and Art, she performed for a time with a troupe called the Tiller Girls, a successful stage and television act. Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, OM , PC (8 October 1929 – 26 February 2023) was a British politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000. A member of the Labour Party, she served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1992 to 2000. [2] She was the first woman to serve as Speaker. [3] Boothroyd later sat in the House of Lords as, in accordance with tradition, a crossbench peer. [4] Early life [ edit ] Former Tory prime minister Theresa May described Boothroyd as “formidable in the chair”, commanding respect from across the House.

British Parliament's New Speaker Says 'Call Me Madam' ". The Christian Science Monitor. 29 April 1992 . Retrieved 27 February 2023.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Speaking to Andrew Marr on LBC, Harman said: “I think it was all the more important then that she was a woman speaker because it was such a man’s world and therefore the symbol of having a woman in the chair was incredibly important not just for parliament but for all of public life. It basically said, ‘look, a woman can be an authority over all of these men’,” Harman added. Former prime ministers also shared their tributes, with Sir Tony Blair describing her as a “big-hearted and kind person”, and the ex-Conservative prime minister Sir John Major said she was “easy to like and easier still to admire”. She was from Yorkshire, and I am from Lancashire – so there was always that friendly rivalry between us. But from my point of view, it was heartening to hear a northern voice speaking from the chair. MPs have championed her ability to “smash the glass ceiling”, as she became the first woman to be elected Commons speaker in April 1992, after more than 700 years of parliamentary tradition. Lords fail to find house room for Lady Boothroyd's crest". The Daily Telegraph. 28 January 2001. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019 . Retrieved 15 February 2019.