When the late Betty Boothroyd came second to Tony Benn in a vote to be President of the UK
With the death of former Commons speaker Betty Boothroyd at 93 an anecdote that probably won’t make it into her obituaries is worth recalling.
In 1991 the then Independent newspaper declared itself republican with a commitment to report in only the briefest way matters related to the Royal Family.
Tony Benn notes in his diary for 8th March 1996 that the paper ran a poll to see who should be the first elected President of the UK. Benn topped the poll, followed by Betty Boothroyd with Jarvis Cocker third and Helena Kennedy fourth.
A mark it might be said of the wider public esteem Boothroyd had gained in her role as Commons Speaker
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