Betty Boothroyd

Elected the first woman Speaker in 1992, Boothroyd, a former dancer and Labour MP for West Bromwich, declined to wear the traditional wig and ran the chamber with blunt authority through the Maastricht rebellions, becoming familiar to television viewers for her cry of 'Time's up!' at question time. She insisted that ministers announce policy to MPs before the media and rebuked governments of both parties when they did not. She set the template for the modern, independent and publicly visible Speaker.