Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer among mourners in South Cambridgeshire village at funeral of Baroness Betty Boothroyd

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer were among the mourners paying their respects to former Commons Speaker Baroness Betty Boothroyd as her funeral was held in her home village of Thriplow.

Lady Boothroyd, who died at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge on February 26, aged 93, was described as an “inspiration” by Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the current Speaker.

A former Labour MP, Lady Boothroyd broke more than 700 years of Parliamentary tradition when she became the first woman to be elected Speaker in April 1992, a role she held until October 2000.

The Prime Minister called her “remarkable” as he led the tributes ahead of the funeral, saying: “Parliament stands taller because of her service.”

Her funeral took place at noon today (Wednesday, March 29) at the 12th-century St George’s Church in the South Cambridgeshire village, which held its famous Daffodil Festival at the weekend.

The rector of Thriplow said the private service had been planned by Lady Boothroyd and reflected how highly regarded she was in all walks of life.

The Rev Angela Melaniphy said Lady Boothroyd had chosen the music, including Climb Ev’ry Mountain sung by “a very close friend“ of hers, Dame Patricia Routledge.

Ms Melaniphy added: “What was lovely about it was that her family was there, her very close friends were there, members of the village were there and members of Parliament were there.

“And so it was a service that included all of her life and each part of that reflected how highly she was regarded.”

The coffin, adorned with a large bouquet of white flowers, left St George’s Church to The Battle Hymn Of The Republic.

Mourners gathered outside the stone church to see off the hearse as the church bells tolled

Ms Melaniphy said Lady Boothroyd was a real Thriplow resident who “drank at the local pub, she shopped at the local shop”.

“As I said in the service, in the country she was known to many people as Baroness Boothroyd, in Parliament she was Madam Speaker, but to us she was simply Betty.”

Mr Sunak, who missed Prime Minister’s Questions to be present, said: “Today we come together from across the political spectrum to remember one of our greatest Speakers – the remarkable Betty Boothroyd.”

Afterward, Sir Lindsay told the PA news agency: “The service was so fitting. It was Baroness Boothroyd to the end.”

He said he would remember her “not only as a friend, but an inspiration”, adding: “She smashed that glass ceiling to smithereens. She became the first and only woman Speaker we’ve ever had. Well I’ve got to say, what a fantastic Speaker.

“She is one of the greatest Speakers ever known. One of the greatest women that I can honestly say that I have known. I will always be in awe and always thank her for her kindness and her advice.”

Sir Lindsay said she had “lived life to the fullest” and “took every challenge in her stride”.

Lady Boothroyd entered the Lords as a crossbench peer in January 2001.

Born to mill worker parents in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in 1929, Lady Boothroyd was a professional dancer from 1946 to 1948 and appeared in pantomime in London’s West End before going into politics.

She unsuccessfully contested four parliamentary seats before being elected to West Bromwich (later to become West Bromwich West) in May 1973. She served as an MP for 27 years.

In 2021, when the baroness downsized from London to her country cottage in South Cambridgeshire, she sold off a haul of personal items from her political career, including a box gifted to her by the late Russian president Boris Yeltsin, which fetched £2,400.

She described her new home as a “lovely old place with beams”.