The Baroness Boothroyd | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2018 | |
| Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom | |
| In office 28 April 1992 – 23 October 2000[1] | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | John Major Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Bernard Weatherill |
| Succeeded by | Michael Martin |
| In office 17 June 1987 – 27 April 1992 | |
| Speaker | Bernard Weatherill |
| Preceded by | Paul Dean |
| Succeeded by | Janet Fookes |
| Member of theHouse of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 15 January 2001 – 26 February 2023 Life peerage | |
| Member of Parliament forWest Bromwich West West Bromwich (1973–1974) | |
| In office 24 May 1973 – 23 October 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Maurice Foley |
| Succeeded by | Adrian Bailey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1929-10-08)8 October 1929 Dewsbury, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 26 February 2023(2023-02-26) (aged 93) Cambridge, England |
| Resting place | St George's Church,Thriplow, Cambridgeshire, England |
| Political party |
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| Alma mater | Kirklees College |
| Signature |  |
Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd (8 October 1929 – 26 February 2023), was a British politician who served as amember of Parliament (MP) forWest Bromwich andWest Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000. A member of theLabour Party, she served asSpeaker of the House of Commons from 1992 to 2000. She was previously a Deputy Speaker from 1987 to 1992.[2] She was the first and as of 2025[update], the only woman to serve as Speaker.[3] Boothroyd later sat in theHouse of Lords as, in accordance with tradition, acrossbench peer.[4]
Boothroyd was born inDewsbury, Yorkshire, in 1929, as 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 (nowKirklees College). From 1946 to 1952, she worked as a dancer, as a member of theTiller Girls dancing troupe,[5] briefly appearing at theLondon 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]
During the mid-to-late 1950s, Boothroyd worked as secretary to Labour MPsBarbara Castle[7] andGeoffrey de Freitas.[8] In 1960, she travelled to the United States to see theKennedy campaign. She subsequently worked in Washington, DC as a legislative assistant to American CongressmanSilvio Conte, between 1960 and 1962. When she returned to London, she resumed her work as a secretary and political assistant to various senior Labour politicians includingUnder-Secretary of State for Foreign AffairsHarry Walston.[9] In 1965, she was elected to a seat onHammersmith Borough Council, in Gibbs Green ward, where she remained until 1968.[10][11]
Running for theLabour Party, Boothroyd contested several seats –Leicester South East in1957,Peterborough in1959,Nelson and Colne in1968, andRossendale in1970 – before being electedMember of Parliament (MP) forWest Bromwich in aby-election in 1973.[10] She represented the constituency for 27 years.
In 1974, Boothroyd was appointed an assistant GovernmentWhip. In 1975, she became a Government-appointed member of the then EuropeanCommon Assembly (ECSC) until she was discharged in 1977.[12][13][14][15] In 1979, she became a member of theSelect committee on Foreign Affairs, until 1981, and of the Speaker's Panel of Chairmen, until 1 January 2000.[16] She was a member of the Labour PartyNational Executive Committee (NEC) from 1981 to 1987,[16] and theHouse of Commons Commission from 1983 to 1987.[17]
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Following the1987 general election Boothroyd became a Deputy Speaker to the SpeakerBernard Weatherill. She was the second female Deputy Speaker in British history afterBetty Harvie Anderson. In1992 she was elected Speaker, becoming the first woman to hold the position. There was debate about whether Boothroyd should wear the traditional Speaker's Wig. She chose not to but stated that any subsequent Speakers would be free to choose to wear the wig or not; none have since done so.[18] In answer to the debate as to how she should be addressed as Speaker, Boothroyd said: "Call me Madam".[19]
In 1993, the Government won a vote on theSocial Chapter of theMaastricht Treaty due to hercasting vote (exercised in accordance withSpeaker Denison's rule). It was subsequently discovered that her casting vote had not been required, as the votes had been miscounted, and the Government had won by one vote.[20][21] She was keen to get young people interested in politics, and in the 1990s appeared as a special guest on the BBC's Saturday morning children's programmeLive & Kicking.[22] Her signature catchphrase in closingPrime Minister's Questions each week was "Time's up!"[3]
On 12 July 2000, following Prime Minister's Questions, Boothroyd announced to the House of Commons she would resign as Speaker after the summer recess.Tony Blair, then prime minister, paid tribute to her as "something of a national institution". Blair's predecessor,John Major, described her as an "outstanding Speaker".[23] She stepped down as Speaker andresigned as an MP on 23 October 2000.[24]
Boothroyd was awarded an honoraryDoctor of Civil Law (Hon DCL) degree byCity University London in 1993. She waschancellor of theThe Open University from 1994 until October 2006 and donated some of her personal papers to the University's archives. In March 1995, she was awarded an honorary degree from The Open University asDoctor of the University (DUniv). In 1999 she was made an Honorary Fellow ofSt Hugh's College, Oxford.[25] Two portraits of Boothroyd have been part of the parliamentary art collection since 1994 and 1999, respectively.[26][27]
On 15 January 2001, she was created alife peer, taking as her titleBaroness Boothroyd, ofSandwell in the County of West Midlands.[28] Her autobiography was published in the same year. In April 2005, she was appointed a Member of theOrder of Merit (OM), an honour in the personal gift of the Queen.[29]
Boothroyd was made an Honorary Fellow of theSociety of Light and Lighting (Hon. FSLL) in 2009,[30][31] and she was an Honorary Fellow of St Hugh's College, Oxford, and ofSt Edmund's College, Cambridge.[32] She was Patron of theJo Richardson Community School inDagenham, East London, and President of NBFA Assisting the Elderly. She was, for a period, Vice President of theIndustry and Parliament Trust.
In January 2011, Boothroyd posited that Deputy Prime MinisterNick Clegg's plans for some members of the upper house to be directly elected could leave Britain in constitutional disarray: "It is wantonly destructive. It is destruction that hasn't been thought through properly." She was concerned that an elected Lords would rival the Commons, risking power-struggles between the two.[33]
Boothroyd neither married nor had children.[34][35] She took upparagliding 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 theAtlas Mountains in the country's biggest storm in 20 years. Her vehicle was immobilised by alandslide; she and a group of hikers walked through mud and rubble for nine hours before they were rescued.[37][38] She is the sitter in eleven portraits at the National Portrait Gallery.[39]
Boothroyd died atAddenbrooke's Hospital inCambridge on 26 February 2023, at the age of 93.[40] Her death was announced the following day byLindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House.[3][41] Her funeral was held on 29 March at St George's Church,Thriplow, Cambridgeshire; she had lived in the village in her later years.[42] Hoyle; the Prime Minister,Rishi Sunak; andLeader of the Opposition,Keir Starmer were among those in attendance,[43][15] and her close friend, actress DamePatricia Routledge, sang.[44]
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Boothroyd received at least eight honorary degrees in recognition of her political career,[50] including:
Boothroyd was additionally made an Honorary Fellow ofNewnham College, Cambridge, in 1994.[56]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWest Bromwich 1973 –February 1974 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forWest Bromwich West February 1974–2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means 1987–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Speaker of the House of Commons 1992–2000 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of theOpen University 1994–2006 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
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