Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman to be elected Speaker of the British House of Commons in its 700-year history.
The 1992 election of the Speaker of the House of Commons occurred on 27 April 1992, in the first sitting of the House of Commons following the 1992 general election and the retirement of the previous Speaker Bernard Weatherill. The election resulted in the election of Labour MP Betty Boothroyd, one of Weatherill's deputies, who was the first woman to become Speaker. This was at a time when the Conservative Party had a majority in the House of Commons. It was also the first contested election (with more than one willing nominee) since William Morrison defeated Major James Milner on 31 October 1951, although Geoffrey De Freitas had been nominated against his wishes in the 1971 election.
Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd (born 8 October 1929) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000. From 1992 to 2000, she served as Speaker of the House of Commons. She is the only woman to have served as Speaker, and one of two living former Speakers of the British House of Commons. She sits, by tradition, as a Crossbench peer in the House of Lords.