Dewsbury's Baroness Boothroyd, first woman Speaker in the House of Commons, has died aged 93

Today (Monday) it has been announced that Baroness Betty Boothroyd died at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge on Sunday, February 26.

Following the news, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, 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.

“To be the first woman Speaker was truly ground-breaking and Betty certainly broke that glass ceiling with panache.

“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.

“She stuck by the rules, had a no-nonsense style, but any reprimands she did issue were done with good humour and charm.

“Betty was one of a kind. A sharp, witty and formidable woman – and I will miss her.”

Born into a working-class family in Dewsbury in 1929, Betty was the only child of Ben Archibald Boothroyd Mary Butterfield, who were both textile workers.

Betty was educated at council-run schools and went on to study at Dewsbury College of Commerce and Art - now known as Kirklees College.

From 1946 to 1952, Betty worked as a dancer, as a member of the Tiller Girls dancing troupe - briefly appearing at the London Palladium.

However, after a sudden end to her dancing career due to an infection she decided to take a leap into politics.

During the mid to late 1950s, Betty worked as secretary to Labour MPs Barbara Castle and Geoffrey de Freitas, before travelling to the United States in 1960 to see the Kennedy campaign. It is here where she subsequently began work in Washington as a legislative assistant for American congressman, Silvio Conte, between 1960 and 1962.

On Betty’s return to London she continued her work as secretary and political assistant to various senior Labour politicians and in 1965 she was elected onto a seat for the Hammersmith Borough Council, in Gibbs Green ward, where she remained until 1968.

After Betty contested for several seats, she was then elected as a Member of Parliament for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West in 1973, a role she carried out until 2000.

From 1992 to 2000, Betty was the first, and the only, woman to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons.

Betty also served as a baroness in the House of Lords from 2001 until her death yesterday (Sunday).