UNITED-KINGDOM/Tributes pour in from across the political spectrum for Boothroyd, who served as speaker of the United Kingdom’s lower house of Parliament from 1992 to 2000.
Betty Boothroyd, the first female speaker in Britain’s House of Commons, has died aged 93.
Lindsay Hoyle, the current speaker; announced her death in a statement on Monday; hailing Boothroyd as an “inspiring woman” and an “inspirational politician”.
“She stuck by the rules; and had a no-nonsense style; but any reprimands she did issue were done with good humor; and charm. Betty was one of a kind. A sharp, witty and formidable woman – and I will miss her.”
Boothroyd was the first woman to be elected speaker in April 1992. She presided over the Commons until October 2000. She also served as a Labour Party MP for West Bromwich West; a seat in England’s midlands region, from 1973 to 2000.
In 2001, she became a baroness in the UK Parliament’s unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords. Tributes to her work came from across the political spectrum on Monday.
Words From Other Politicians
Simon Clarke, the governing Conservative Party’s MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, described Boothroyd as a “magnificent parliamentarian”.
“It was still a thrill to see her around the Commons until recently. A great Speaker,” he said in a post on Twitter.
Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, meanwhile praised Boothroyd as a “strong northern, female and working-class voice at the heart of Parliament”.
Boothroyd was born on October 8, 1929, in the market town of Dewsbury in northern England.
She was raised in a working-class family; described herself as having come “out of the womb into the Labour movement”; and held several office jobs before the beginning of her political career.
In recent years; Boothroyd was engaged in a campaign; to keep the United Kingdom within the European Union. The UK voted to leave the bloc in a close-run 2016 referendum.
As years pass by in Britain, when old politicians die and new forces come in, women’s situation in this country goes downwards. Boothroyd had a recognizable effect in passing; and voting for bills that gave special women certain benefits.
Since covid19; the governmental benefits for women have decreased and taxes payments have raised. Women are suffering more day by day.
Source: Al-Jazeera