Betty BoothroydBooth·royd, Bet·ty /ˈbuːθrɔɪd, ˈbeti/ (1929–) a British politician who was a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party for many years. From 1992 until 2000 she was the speaker (=the person responsible for controlling discussions) of the House of Commons. She was the first woman to have this job, and was famous for keeping control of the House, where most of the members are men. In 2001 she was given a life peerage and took her seat in the House of Lords. Her official title is Baroness Boothroyd of Sandwell.