TRIBUTES from the Black Country have been made today for Betty Boothroyd, a former MP in the region and speaker of the Commons.

Lady Boothroyd, a former Labour MP, was the first – and currently only – woman speaker from 1992 until her retirement in 2000, and was the first person to be elected to the role after the Commons debates started being permanently televised in 1989.

Lady Boothroyd served as the MP for West Bromwich West, formerly West Bromwich, from 1973 until 2000 and was made a life peer in the House of Lords after her retirement from the Commons.

She was also an honorary freeman of Sandwell.

Shaun Bailey, the current MP for West Bromwich West, said: “All of us will be devastated by the news that Betty Boothroyd has passed away.

“The respect and affection that people across our three towns held Betty in was a testament to her incredible record as a local MP.

“As the first woman Speaker of the House of Commons, Betty was a trailblazer and her no messing about approach showed exactly how it should be done.

“It’s always been an immense source of pride but also very daunting to follow Betty as the Member of Parliament for West Bromwich West.

“Her legacy will always be a source of inspiration for many, including me.”

John Spellar, MP for Warley, tweeted: “Betty Boothroyd as well as being a groundbreaking Speaker, was a good neighbouring MP in Sandwell and a stalwart on the Labour NEC in the battle to bring the party back to good sense and electability, a real comrade RIP.”

Kerrie Carmichael, leader of Sandwell council, said: “I am so very sad to hear that Baroness Boothroyd has passed away. She was an inspirational politician, a woman we could all look up to and an MP and Baroness we could proudly call our own.

“She truly led the way – becoming the first woman to hold the position of Speaker of the House of Commons. This was a historic achievement for which she was known around the world."

Prime minister Rishi Sunak said Baroness Boothroyd was a “remarkable woman” praising her “passion, wit and sense of fairness”.

Lady Boothroyd modernised the Commons speaker role as she refused to wear the traditional white wig, and ensured her successors would be able to choose whether to do so.

Although, in one of her more controversial moments, she banned MPs from breastfeeding their babies during select committee meetings and imposed a similar ban in the Commons public gallery, according to The Guardian.

Flags both in Sandwell council and parliament are being flown at half mast.

MPs will get the chance to pay formal tributes on Tuesday.

Betty Boothroyd was born on 8 October 1929 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, the only daughter of mill workers.

Her father was a trade unionist. She described herself as coming “out of the womb into the Labour movement”.

In May 1973, after several attempts, she entered Parliament, securing the seat of West Bromwich, later renamed West Bromwich West.

She stepped down from the position in 2000, but continued to be active in politics – calling for a statue in central London to commemorate the part women played in World War Two.