Born into a working-class family in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, Betty Boothroyd was a bonny lass, popular, and a talented dancer who went on eventually to become one of the celebrated Tiller Girls. After her dreams of taking the West End by storm had crashed, she stood for election to the local council and became a full-time worker for the Labour Party. Betty describes the elation she felt on becoming an MP in 1973. Her long political career reached its apogee in 1992, when she was elected the first woman Speaker of the House of ...
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Born into a working-class family in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, Betty Boothroyd was a bonny lass, popular, and a talented dancer who went on eventually to become one of the celebrated Tiller Girls. After her dreams of taking the West End by storm had crashed, she stood for election to the local council and became a full-time worker for the Labour Party. Betty describes the elation she felt on becoming an MP in 1973. Her long political career reached its apogee in 1992, when she was elected the first woman Speaker of the House of Commons. Her retirement in October 2000 brought unprecedented tributes from a wide spectrum of people.
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