As well as speaker of the Commons, Betty Boothroyd served as chancellor of the Open University. I saw her preside over a degree ceremony in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, that was packed.
When a severely disabled graduand arrived on stage in a wheelchair, it seemed that the cheering would never stop – until Lady Boothroyd, resplendent in her blue and gold official robes, stepped forward, raised her hand, and cried: “Order! Order!” Needless to say, she brought the house down.
I shall never forget that moment – it was the combined essence of Lady Boothroyd’s personality and of the ethos of the university in which I am proud to have worked.
