The Betty Boothroyd Collection

Held at: The Open University Archive
Reference and contact details: GB 2315 BB
Title: The Betty Boothroyd Collection
Dates of Creation: 1914 - 2005
Extent: 5 sections containing 3242 items. The collection consists of paper, photographs, video tapes and a compact disc
Language of Material: The main language throughout the collection is English.
Name of Creator: Created by Baroness Betty Boothroyd and her staff
Level of Description: collection

Administrative/Biographical History

Betty Boothroyd was born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, on 8th October 1929, to Archibald and Mary Boothroyd, textile workers. She was educated at council schools and went on to study at Dewsbury College of Commerce and Art. In the 1940s, Betty Boothroyd enjoyed a career as a dancer, but she decided to follow a career in politics instead, having been a member of the Labour Party since her teens.

During the 1950s, Betty Boothroyd spent time working in the House of Commons as a secretary and political assistant to various MPs, including Barbara Castle. She contested parliamentary seats at Leicester South East (1957) and Peterborough (1959) before travelling to the United States in 1960 to witness the Kennedy campaign. She subsequently began work in Washington as a legislative assistant for an American congressman, 1960-1962.

When Betty Boothroyd returned to London she continued her work as secretary and political assistant to various senior Labour politicians. In 1965 she was elected to a seat on Hammersmith Borough Council, where she remained until 1968.

Betty Boothroyd's aim was still to gain a seat in Parliament and she contested seats in Nelson and Colne (1968) and Rossendale (1970) before winning a seat in 1973 as the Labour candidate for West Bromwich, later to become West Bromwich West, a position she retained until 2000.

Betty Boothroyd's career then flourished. In 1974 she was appointed an assistant Government Whip and she was an MEP from 1975-1977. In 1979 she became a member of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, until 1981, and of the Speaker's Panel of Chairmen, until 1987. She was also a member of the Labour Party NEC from 1981-1987 and the House of Commons Commission from 1983-1987.

In 1987 Betty Boothroyd was elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, the first Labour woman to be voted in as Deputy Speaker. In 1992 she was elected Speaker, the first ever female Speaker, with a majority of 134 votes over Peter Brooke. She retained this position until her retirement in 2000, succeeded by Rt. Hon. Michael Martin, MP for Glasgow.

Betty Boothroyd has received several honorary degrees from British Universities and in 1994 she became the Chancellor of the Open University, based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. In 2001 she was created a Life Peer, taking as her title Baroness Boothroyd of Sandwell in the West Midlands. Her autobiography was published in 2001.

Scope and Content

The collection largely relates to Betty Boothroyd's political career and mostly consists of lists of political engagements throughout the 1990s, with related papers. The collection also contains correspondence files, with correspondence relating to both her election and retirement as Speaker of the House of Commons, as well as general political matters, largely during the 1990s. There are also some newspaper cuttings and correspondence regarding her political career from 1956-1973 and videotapes of various interviews and programmes.

System of Arrangement

The papers have been maintained according to their original order, imposed by Betty Boothroyd, largely organised chronologically and according to type.

  • BB1 Correspondence
  • BB2 Engagements Files
  • BB3 Press Cuttings, Visits and Ephemera
  • BB4 Audio/Visual Materials
  • BB5 Accrued Material

Custodial History

The papers remained with Betty Boothroyd until passed to the Open University Library.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The papers were made a gift to the Open University in October 2000. Additional papers were sent to the University by Baroness Boothroyd in 2005 and 2006. These additional files remain in a seperate fonds, BB5.

Access Conditions

To access the collection contact the Open University Archivist. All items will be monitored for personal or sensitive information before they are released to researchers. The Archivist reserves the right to restrict access if necessary. All researchers will be required to complete an access/data protection/ copyright form

Access to some of the papers within the collection is restricted under the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Copyright/Reproduction

Reproduction of items from the collection will be permitted according to copyright legislation and Open University Library policy.

Other finding aids

Processing Information

This finding aid was created in 2006.