Betty Boothroyd Autobiography: The Autobiography

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The following year, when Denis Healey fought and won a byelection in Leeds South East, he recorded that there were only two memorable events during his campaign. One was the death of the King. The other was when he took the afternoon off to judge a speaking contest for young socialists “and chose as winner a bonny lass from Dewsbury who danced as a Tiller girl in the chorus of the local pantomimes: her name was Betty Boothroyd …” That year Boothroyd also stood, although unsuccessfully, for Dewsbury council. Betty Boothroyd Biography |" (yn Saesneg). Archifwyd o'r gwreiddiol ar 19 Gorffennaf 2019 . Cyrchwyd 19 Gorffennaf 2019. The Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, Simon Clarke, described Boothroyd as a “magnificent parliamentarian”, and said it was “a thrill to see her around the Commons until recently”. Honorarydegrees". 21 July 1995. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017 . Retrieved 29 July 2017.

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. Boothroyd served as the MP for West Bromwich West, formerly West Bromwich, from 1973 until 2000 and was made a life peer in the House of Lords after her retirement from the Commons. See also: 1992 Speaker of the British House of Commons election Boothroyd's Speaker's shoe in the Women's Library Boothroyd was an early political activist. Her parents, Archibald and Mary, were members of the Labour party and the Textile Workers’ Union on which they relied for the protection of their jobs in the heavy woollen industry in the old West Riding. They did not always have work, although Mary, a weaver, was more often employed than her husband – because her wages, as a woman, were less.

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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.

Baroness Boothroyd's political influence continued to grow after she was appointed to both the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Speaker's Panel of Chairmen in 1979. a b c Morris, Sophie (27 February 2023). "Baroness Boothroyd, first female Speaker of the House of Commons, has died aged 93". Sky News . Retrieved 27 February 2023.

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House Heroes". PoliticsHome.com. 23 November 2016. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019 . Retrieved 25 March 2019. From 1979 she served as a member of the select committee on foreign affairs and, more importantly, joined the speaker’s panel from which committee chairs are chosen. She was also a member of the House of Commons commission that oversees the running of parliament and in 1987 was appointed third deputy speaker. She became the favoured Labour candidate for the speakership, despite the seniority of Harold Walker, who by that time had been the deputy speaker for nine years, because she had some influential supporters on the Tory benches and because she represented a new chapter for parliamentary affairs. Betty Boothroyd: Funeral held for first woman Commons Speaker". BBC News. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 30 March 2023. BettyBoothroyd:FuneralheldforfirstwomanCommonsSpeaker". BBC News. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 30 March 2023. During the mid-to-late 1950s, Boothroyd worked as secretary to Labour MPs Barbara Castle [7] and Geoffrey de Freitas. [8] In 1960, she travelled to the United States to see the Kennedy campaign. She subsequently worked in Washington, DC as a legislative assistant to American Congressman Silvio 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 including Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Harry Walston. [9] In 1965, she was elected to a seat on Hammersmith Borough Council, in Gibbs Green ward, where she remained until 1968. [10] [11] Member of Parliament [ edit ]

House of Commons Speaker's Residence". C-SPAN. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019 . Retrieved 15 February 2019. Honorary graduates chronological". City, University of London. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013 . Retrieved 29 July 2017. LondonBoroughCouncilElections7May1964" (PDF). London Datastore. London County Council . Retrieved 3 May 2022.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. 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. The only problem was that she also liked dancing and nearly broke her father’s heart by trying to turn professional when she was 17. 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. 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 and resigned as an MP on 23 October 2000. [24] Life peerage and later activity [ edit ]

Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd OM PC (8 October 1929 – 26 February 2023) was a British politician. She served as a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 1992. ParliamentarycareerforBaronessBoothroyd–MPsandLords–UKParliament". Parliament of the United Kingdom . Retrieved 13 May 2021. Maxine Peake (Funny Cow & Anne) and Seiriol Davies (How To Win Against History) have created this brand-new production, directed by former Royal Exchange Theatre Artistic Director Sarah Frankcom. Prime Minister leads tributes to "remarkable" speaker Baroness Betty Boothroyd at funeral". ITV News. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 29 March 2023. Harriet Harman, Labour’s former deputy leader said she hoped the next Commons speaker will be a woman.She did not marry, despite receiving a number of offers – at least three of which were serious – saying that they always came at the wrong time. She was sad never to have had children, but she was brilliant with other people’s and had an instinctive touch for treating them as if they were grown-ups. It was possibly the secret of her success as speaker. StEdmund'sCollege–UniversityofCambridge". st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018 . Retrieved 10 September 2018. Boothroyd died at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge on 26 February 2023, at the age of 93. [39] Her death was announced the following day by Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House. [3] [40] Her funeral was held on 29 March at St George's Church, Thriplow, Cambridgeshire; she had lived in the village in her later years. [41] Hoyle, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Leader of the Opposition, Keir Starmer, were among those in attendance, [42] [15]and her close friend, actress Dame Patricia Routledge, sang. [43] Arms [ edit ] Coat of arms of Betty Boothroyd