The first female Speaker of the Commons, Baroness Betty Boothroyd, passed away at the age of 93.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the current Speaker, said in a statement on Monday that Betty Boothroyd was not only an incredible woman but also an inspirational politician and someone I was pleased to call my friend.
On behalf of the Commons, Sir Lindsay expressed his “heartfelt sympathies” to Baroness Boothroyd’s family and friends.
In April 1992, she was elected Speaker for the first time in 700 years. She held the position until October 2000.
‘To be the first woman Speaker was truly ground-breaking and Betty certainly broke that glass ceiling with panache,’ Sir Lindsay’s statement added.
‘She was one of a kind. A sharp, witty and formidable woman – and I will miss her.’
Sir Lindsay, from Lancashire, revealed how he had a ‘friendly rivalry’ with Baroness Boothroyd, from Yorkshire.
‘But from my point of view, it was heartening to hear a Northern voice speaking from the Chair,’ he said.
Iâm very saddened to hear of the passing of my friend the Rt Hon. Betty Boothroyd, Speaker of the House of Commons 1992 – 2000.
Iâd like to offer my heartfelt condolences, on behalf of the House, to Betty’s family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/N0wN8Ssccb
— Sir Lindsay Hoyle (@CommonsSpeaker) February 27, 2023
‘She stuck by the rules, had a no-nonsense style, but any reprimands she did issue were done with good humour and charm.’ ‘
Flags are flying at half mast in Westminster following news of the ‘trailblazer’ politician’s death, with MPs also holding a minute’s silence in memory of the ‘ground-breaking parliamentarian’.
Baroness Boothroyd was elected Labour MP for West Bromwich West in 1973 – becoming one of just 27 female MPs in the House of Commons at the time.
She was appointed deputy Speaker in 1987, holding the position until 1992, when Bernard Weatherill announced he was quitting as Speaker, paving the way for her own tenure in the Commons.
In her acceptance speech, she called on MPs to ‘elect me for what I am and not for what I was born’.
Speaker Hoyle pays tribute to Baroness Boothroyd
And during her first time in the chair as Speaker, then Burnley MP, Peter Pike, asked her: ‘What do we call you?’
‘Call me Madam’ was her swift riposte.
Dewsbury-born Baroness Boothroyd, who became a crossbench peer in the Lords in January 2001, attributed her famously deep voice to smoking ‘about a packet a day’.
She formerly worked as a professional dancer and took to the stage in a West End pantomime before entering politics.
Former PM Tony Blair praised Baroness Boothroyd’s ‘great authority, warmth and wit’, for which she earned ‘deep respect and admiration’.
‘It was a testament to Betty’s many fine qualities that she became the first female Speaker and the first from the Opposition benches,’ Mr Blair said in a statement.
Mr Blair’s predecessor, Sir John Major, said she ‘set the standard for every future speaker’, describing her as ‘easy to like and easier still to admire.’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Baroness Boothroyd was ‘at the forefront of a generation that smashed the glass ceiling for female politicians’.
Rishi Sunak said the ‘passion, wit and sense of fairness she brought to politics will not be forgotten’.
Theresa May said she would always remember her ‘inimitable style, but also her immense personal warmth and kindness’, while Gordon Brown described her as ‘tough, yet compassionate and caring.’
2018: Betty Boothroyd’s last speaking appearance in Parliament
Meanwhile Mother of the House Harriet Harman hailed her as a ‘remarkable woman’.
‘For her, as a woman to get to chair the overwhelmingly male Commons she had to be tough, professional, authoritative and indomitable.
‘Betty was all those things. And she showed us women how to do it! RIP Betty.’
Former Labour deputy leader, Tom Watson, tweeted: ‘To my parliamentary colleagues she was always ‘Madam Speaker’ but to my constituents she was simply ‘Our Betty’. RIP Betty. You were loved.’
Former Scottish Conservative party leader, Ruth Davidson, described Baroness Boothroyd as ‘magnificent’ and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly tweeted how she was a ‘trailblazer’.
Meanwhile Lord Pickles recalled a ‘much-treasured memory’ of the Baroness Boothroyd and former Labour chancellor, Dennis Healy, singing musical hall songs around a piano.
Conservative MP Shaun Bailey, who now represents her former constituency, said he has ‘always been conscious that I’m following in the footsteps of someone who paved the way for so many’.
‘Her legacy will always be a source of pride for everyone in our community,’ he added.