As the news of the passing of Betty Boothroyd at the ripe age of 93 years filtered in, I felt a tinge of sadness as I had the privilege of knowing her for 50 years.
My first contact with her was through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in the UK. Sri Lanka had frequent contact with the CPA because we were invited for their regular parliamentary events at Commonwealth Parliamentary Conferences and seminars every year.
At the CPA headquarters in London, Sri Lanka was fortunate to have a Sri Lankan, Palitha Weerasinghe, who was earlier the Clerk to our Senate and following its abolition was chosen to be the Assistant Secretary General of CPA. As a Labour MP, Betty had regular meetings at CPA both with Palitha and me, whenever I was in London on Parliamentary business. As such, I met Betty frequently and made close contact with her.
Betty had a close attachment and love for Sri Lanka and visited this country on many occasions. On one of these visits I had the privilege of hosting her for dinner at my home. Gamini and Srima Dissanayake whom she knew well were also present.
While attending a CPA conference in London, Palitha and I had the rare privilege of being invited to her home at Thritlow, a few miles out of London. I distinctly recall one morning when Betty told us “We had to sing for our supper” and asked us to mow her lawn before breakfast. I still have a photo of us mowing her lawn.
In later years, Betty’s health declined and she became weak and fragile. I was able to send her packets of Ceylon Tea which she appreciated very much and she would phone to thank me. Although I phoned her regularly, it was increasingly difficult to have conversations. I also invited her here for a short holiday but she was not well enough to travel. She told me that she very rarely went to her London apartment to attend sittings of the House of Lords.
When I phoned her on one of my visits to London, she invited me to hear her maiden speech at the House of Lords which I was privileged to attend. Both in the Commons and the Lords, she participated in Parliamentary Committees set up to help Sri Lanka. She was a great friend of this country, who was of immense help to us.
As Speaker, she presided over the Commons from 1992 to 2000. Announcing her death, the present Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle said, “Not only was Betty Boothroyd an inspiring woman, she was an inspirational politician and someone I was proud to call my friend. To be the first woman Speaker was truly ground breaking. Betty broke that glass ceiling with panache. She stuck by the rules and had a no-nonsense style. Any reprimand she made was done with good humour and charm. Betty was one of a kind, a sharp, witty and formidable woman. I will miss her.”
I wish to quote from the obituary statement issued by the House of Commons; “Betty was the first female Speaker. That alone would be enough to ensure her place in political history, but she was one of the most popular of the Speakers sitting on a large and uncomfortable chair. Being a woman of practical disposition, she placed on her table a copy of the political Bible, Erskine May, so that she could remain upright during debates.”
Betty once said, “I never wanted silence in the House. I never wanted a morgue. I wanted a debating chamber.”
Her refusal to wear the Speaker’s wig had wide publicity all over the world. She declared long before her election as Speaker that the wig would be too hot and an uncomfortable distraction for what she knew would be a demanding role.
For her election for the Speaker’s post, as a Labour MP, she needed only 30 Tory votes, but she succeeded in getting 72. She refused to seek a feminist vote saying “Elect me for what I am, not for what I was born.”
Her majority of 134 votes over a Conservative opponent gave her a position of great strength. The election was greeted with a burst of loud applause which she promptly said was unparliamentary.
The writer is a former Secretary General of Parliament