- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday July 12 2000 16.43 BST
"Be happy for me," the popular 70-year-old told MPs, who greeted the news of her retirement after eight years in the job with a warm round of applause.
Ms Boothroyd's move will spark a race for her prestigious post, with Liberal Democrat MP Menzies Campbell the frontrunner thought to be favoured by Tony Blair.
Many Labour backbenchers are believed to prefer one of their own, Gwyneth Dunwoody, Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich and veteran of 34 years in the Commons.
MPs will be given a "free" vote to decide which MP becomes the new speaker when parliament reconvenes after the summer recess.
Parliamentary tradition decrees that the chair alternates between the Tories and Labour, but MPs are expected to ignore that by electing a Labour or Liberal Democrat speaker. If Mr Campbell were elected, he would be the first Liberal speaker since 1924.
The speaker's job comes with a £95,000-plus salary similar to that of a cabinet minister but the holder's role as Commons referee guarantees a media profile higher than most ministers.
Although a popular figure, well respected by senior MPs, Ms Boothroyd had been rumoured for some months to be planning her retirement, though most had expected she would stay in the post until after the next general election.
Privately, some ministers have suggested she was too resistant to New Labour's programme of reforms.
Commons leader Margaret Beckett led the tributes to Ms Boothroyd, telling her that MPs had taken "much pride and pleasure" from her tenure.
Ms Beckett confirmed that, according to precedent, Ms Boothroyd would make a valedictory statement to the House before it went into recess on July 26.
