In a tough era for women, Betty Boothroyd smashed parliament’s glass ceiling

Margaret Hodge: Betty was a stickler for tradition – but she also brought great theatricality to her role

As we remember Betty Boothroyd, it is important to think about just how we remember her, what she achieved and when she achieved it.

Betty was a trailblazer in that she was the first woman speaker of the House of Commons. That was incredibly important then, as it is now. But what was also important was the way she stamped her personality on the role.

She was a stickler for tradition in the House of Commons. What you wore, how you addressed others and how you behaved were all very important to her: she was very strict about protocol. She came from a tradition where, as a woman, you had to succeed by showing you were better than the men. There were so few women in the Commons and the culture of the place was so difficult that she felt it important to set an example.

‘She brought a great character to the position of speaker.’ Betty Boothroyd gives South Africa’s then president, Nelson Mandela, a helping hand during his state visit in 1996. Photograph: Reuters

That greatly benefited the house, but it didn’t always go well for me. After I made my maiden speech in 1994, I went outside to see friends and family and have a cup of tea. When I returned to the chamber, I sat in a different seat. I didn’t know you weren’t allowed to do that and she told me off for it. She wasn’t unkind, but firm. I was rather deflated. One of her staff came up to explain it all to me afterwards.

But she was also personally kind and supportive, and backed you up when you did difficult things. During the antisemitism row in the Labour party, when I was going through a very difficult time, she came up to me and said “well done”.

She was also fun. I discovered there was a grand piano in the speaker’s house. I play a lot of piano and suggested to her that we have a sing-song. She invited 40-50 MPs, I played the piano – everything from Danny Boy to Pack up Your Troubles in Your Old Kitbag! We had a lovely time.

She brought a great character to the position of speaker. She was a very straightforward women, but in many ways seemed regal. The clothes and the ceremony and the status of the job suited her; she wore them all so well. She was great friends with Jo Richardson, who was MP for Barking before me, and so Betty came to Barking to open a school named after Jo. She was so at ease with everyone and so gracious.

Being the first woman speaker was a milestone, but during her time the position also grew in importance. She had once been a performer – a chorus girl and a dancer – and she brought a great theatricality to her role in parliament.

There is no doubt that her tenure of that role paved the way for others to follow, and I dearly hope they will. I hope the next speaker is also a woman, it certainly should be and if it is, Betty Boothroyd will have made that possible. She shattered that bit of the glass ceiling.

Rachel Reeves: She oversaw so many big changes in parliament – and had a firm grip on MPs

I first met Betty Boothroyd when I was writing my book on Alice Bacon, the first woman MP for Leeds – who, as a fellow Yorkshirewoman, Betty knew well.

I’ll never forget the story she told me: the first time that she met Alice was at a Labour party women’s rally in Scarborough, where Betty won the beauty contest, with Alice as the judge. The Labour party has come a long way since then: more than half of our MPs are now women.

Originally from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, Betty was a Tiller Girl on the stage before becoming Barbara Castle’s secretary, and then deciding she wanted to become an MP herself. It wasn’t easy, though. She once said to me that she had a “record worthy of the Guinness World Records” of selections and elections she had lost. She almost gave up, but thank goodness she didn’t; she was elected as MP for West Bromwich in 1973.

As the first and only female speaker of the house, elected by her peers in 1992, her legacy came not just from her formidable management and firm grip on MPs, but from the many firsts she achieved. It may sound trivial, but when she got the role, there was no outfit for a female speaker, so she had to design it herself. She oversaw many big changes in the House of Commons. In particular, it was in 1989, during her time as deputy speaker, that parliament was first televised, making democracy far more accessible.

Her many achievements pale in the face of her warmness, generosity and kindness. For that she gave as much to every person she met as to the history of our country – and that will never be forgotten.

Harriet Harman: Betty defied the culture of her time that said women were to be seen, but not heard

Betty Boothroyd was a remarkable woman, an outstanding parliamentarian, a national icon.

She became an MP in 1973 in a Commons where 630 of the 650 MPs were men. She got elected to the speaker’s chair 19 years later by a Commons that was 90% men.

She was utterly determined, running for parliament on four occasions before, on the fifth, she got elected. She not only got into parliament, she made her voice heard. This was no mean feat at a time when there was not the remotest sense in the Commons that women’s voices should be heard. Far from it: women were to be excluded and if they got into parliament, they were marginalised. It was despite this, by sheer grit and force of personality, that she became speaker; she defied the culture of her time that said women were to be seen, but not heard.

‘Her parliamentary ascent was not due to her schmoozing her way up the greasy pole – although she did enjoy a drink and a smoke in the bar.’ Betty Boothroyd in 2007. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Not only was she the first woman to have ever been speaker, but – having been a Tiller Girl and being from a working-class Yorkshire family – she defied all traditional expectations of what a senior MP should be. She did that by being utterly professional, having a breathtaking energy – and always being more briefed than anyone else in the room.

Her parliamentary ascent was not due to her being a wheeler-dealer behind closed doors, nor to her schmoozing her way up the greasy pole – although she did enjoy a drink and a smoke in the bar. She did it through her extraordinary personal qualities and profound commitment to politics and parliament.

She ruled parliament with a rod of iron. I was in awe, but also in fear of her as she held us to the same high standards as she held herself. With her in the chair, I lived in terror of making a mistake. She made us the best we could be because she wanted parliament to be the best it could be. There may well be another woman speaker, but there will never be another Betty Boothroyd.