Battleaxe Betty Boothroyd speaks up over sexism

There’s a sting in the tail of this session of parliament for the government.

The Commons may have broken up for the summer last week but the hardworking House of Lords is still sitting.

In reality peers only give the impression of industry. Once they do rise for recess they aren’t back till nearly Halloween.

But one baroness in particular is hoping to give the government a fright this week.

As Speaker of the House Betty Boothroyd was legendary not just for her impartiality but for the tongue lashings she meted out to misbehaving MPs.

She was also the first female Speaker and as such had to rewrite the centuries old rules. When she first started in the role officials insisted MPs still call her Mr Speaker. Betty sternly sorted that when she corrected a confused MP by insisting he: “Just call me Madam”.

So when there was a sniff of sexism about an appointment in the upper chamber former Tiller Girl Betty was bound to make a song and dance about it.

The problem was David Cameron’s appointment of Baroness Stowell. She was made Leader of the House of Lords in place of Lord Hill who’s gone off to Brussels to be our man at the EU.

When Lord Hill went to see David Cameron during the government’s first reshuffle in 2012 to say he wanted to step down from his then post the PM was too busy pondering other changes to listen and Lord Hill left Downing Street with a promotion instead.

Nice to know someone of such stature will represent the UK in Europe.

Baroness Stowell has enjoyed a stellar rise and seemed to be a beacon of equality in the notoriously stuffy upper chamber. Her promotion was a recognition of the excellent way she steered the Equal Marriage Bill through the Lords. No mean feat when the majority of members can remember a time when homosexuality was illegal.

And Baroness Stowell’s elevation made it a lady double act in the Lords as her opposite number is also female, Baroness Royall whose effectiveness is as high as her profile is undeservedly low. That’s the first time the Leader of the House and her shadow have both been women.

So it took a special sort of stupidity to turn this promotion into another demonstration of David Cameron’s woman problem.

In order to keep William Hague sweet following his switch from the Foreign Office the PM made his new job as Leader of the House of Commons a Cabinet post where it wasn’t before. And to balance the salaries, Cameron, who has never shown much interest in or affection for goings on in the upper chamber since taking power, bumped Baroness Stowell from the Cabinet table.

So he’d given a woman the job, but she was getting paid less than her Cabinet minister predecessor.

It either means Cameron and those around him have incredibly blunt political antennae and there’s some evidence for that, he did employ convicted phone hacking conspirator Andy Coulson after all or he really does have a woman problem.

And Baroness Betty isn’t going to let it lie.

In a week when the Lords are doing the equivalent of watching cartoons and bringing in board games in the last few days of term Baroness Boothroyd has set the class an exam.

Her motion criticising the government for downgrading the Leader of the Lords job will go to a free vote meaning members will have to examine their consciences before deciding how to vote.

Betty’s given the Prime Minister a reminder that just like the kids TV show she went on while Speaker the House of Lords is Live and Kicking.

And if the vote goes against the government the former dancer will be able to waltz off on holiday having given the PM a high kick up the backside.