Hoyle said: “Not only was Betty Boothroyd an inspiring woman, but she was also an inspirational politician, and someone I was proud to call my friend. Betty Boothroyd, in full Baroness Boothroyd, of Sandwell in the County of West Midlands, (born October 8, 1929, Dewsbury, West Riding of Yorkshire, England—died February 26, 2023, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England), British Labour Party politician who was the first female speaker of the House of Commons (1992–2000). Her appointment was contested by Conservative MP John Brooke, but Baroness Boothroyd won a vote by 372 votes to 238. Former Tory prime minister Theresa May described Boothroyd as “formidable in the chair”, commanding respect from across the House. LordsfailtofindhouseroomforLadyBoothroyd'screst". The Daily Telegraph. 28 January 2001. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019 . Retrieved 15 February 2019.

Boothroyd modernised the Commons speaker role as she refused to wear the traditional white wig, and ensured her successors would be able to choose whether to do so. Kidd, Charles; Shaw, Christine, eds. (2008). Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage (145ed.). p.150. ISBN 978-1870520805. Prime Minister leads tributes to "remarkable" speaker Baroness Betty Boothroyd at funeral". ITV News. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 29 March 2023. BettyBoothroyd:FuneralheldforfirstwomanCommonsSpeaker". BBC News. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 29 March 2023. McSmith, Andy (12 July 2000). "SuperstarwhoruledMPswithanironrodandareadywit". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019 . Retrieved 5 April 2019.After moving to London in the 1950s, she worked for two influential Labour MPs, Barbara Castle and Geoffrey de Freitas. Baroness Boothroyd went on to become an assistant government whip for the Labour Party and kept a keen eye on ensuring MPs were in the Commons to vote on key pieces of legislation. LondonBoroughCouncilElections7May1964" (PDF). London Datastore. London County Council . Retrieved 3 May 2022. Boothroyd took her seat as a crossbench peer in 2001 when she retired from the speakership. Honours and honorary degrees were heaped upon her, by universities including Oxford, Cambridge, London and St Andrews, but her personal interests centred on her role as chancellor of the Open University. It was a post she was invited to accept because of her support for the universal right to adult education. St Edmund's College – University of Cambridge". st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018 . Retrieved 10 September 2018.

PrimeMinisterleadstributesto"remarkable"speakerBaronessBettyBoothroydatfuneral". ITVNews. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 29 March 2023.Betty Boothroyd to be awarded honorary degree – University of St Andrews". st-andrews.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015 . Retrieved 29 July 2017. To be the first woman speaker was truly groundbreaking and Betty certainly broke that glass ceiling with panache. a b "SunakandStarmerpaytributetoBettyBoothroydatfuneraloffirstwomanspeaker". The Independent. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 29 March 2023. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (MEMBERSHIP) (Hansard, 1 March 1977)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 1 March 1977. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017 . Retrieved 13 January 2017. 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]

HouseofCommonsSpeaker'sResidence". C-SPAN. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019 . Retrieved 15 February 2019. She grew up in a working-class family in Dewsbury and became involved in politics at a young age as her mother was a member of the women’s section of the Labour party. Selected Honorands". 22 February 2013. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017 . Retrieved 29 July 2017. Rentoul, John (4 April 2019). "TheHouseofCommonsissodividedonBrexitithashaditsfirsttiedvotefordecades". TheIndependent . Retrieved 3 May 2022. BaronessBoothroydonherofficialportraitasCommonsSpeakerbyAndrewFesting". Archived from the original on 8 November 2019 . Retrieved 31 March 2019 – via YouTube.

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Although, in one of her more controversial moments, she banned MPs from breastfeeding their babies during select committee meetings and imposed a similar ban in the Commons public gallery. Boothroyd neither married nor had children. [34] [35] She took up paragliding while on holiday in Cyprus in her 60s. She described the hobby as both "lovely and peaceful" and "exhilarating". [36] In April 1995, whilst on holiday in Morocco, Boothroyd became trapped in the Atlas Mountains in the country's biggest storm in 20 years. Her vehicle was immobilised by a landslide; she and a group of hikers walked through mud and rubble for nine hours before they were rescued. [37] [38] She believed that it was up to MPs to make changes in the way business was done, rather than the occupant of the chair, but she did complain vociferously in public and in private at the growing practice of ministers choosing to bypass the House of Commons and make important political pronouncements on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme instead. This became a particular issue after the election of Tony Blair in 1997.