Ben Morgan Lake[2] (born 22 January 1993) is a Plaid Cymru politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ceredigion since 2017.[3]
Ben Lake | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Ceredigion | |
Assumed office 8 June 2017 | |
Preceded by | Mark Williams |
Majority | 6,329 (15.8%) |
Personal details | |
Born | Ben Morgan Lake 22 January 1993 Glangwili General Hospital, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales[1] |
Political party | Plaid Cymru |
Alma mater | Trinity College, Oxford |
Lake was born in Carmarthen and brought up in Lampeter. He is the son of a police officer and a council worker.[4] He attended Ffynnonbedr Primary School and Ysgol Bro Pedr.[5] After graduating from Trinity College, Oxford, with an undergraduate degree in History and Politics, and a master's degree in Modern British and European History,[6] he became a Research Officer in the National Assembly for Wales.[7] His first language is Welsh,[8] which was seen as a key factor in his election as MP for one of the strongest Welsh-speaking constituencies in Wales.[9]
In the 2017 general election, Lake won the Ceredigion constituency, gaining the seat from Liberal Democrat Mark Williams with 11,623 votes (29.2% of the overall vote).[10] In the 2019 general election, Lake retained his seat with 15,208 votes (37.9% of the overall vote). He is currently the youngest MP in Wales, and the youngest ever elected for Plaid Cymru.[11][12]
Lake is currently the Plaid Cymru spokesperson at Westminster for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Education & Skills, Health, Communities & Local Government, Culture, Media & Sport and Constitutional Affairs.[13] Lake was appointed a member of the Welsh Affairs Committee in September 2017.[14] He is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women.[15] He supported Rhun ap Iorwerth in the 2018 Plaid Cymru leadership election.[16]
In December 2017, Lake was awarded the 'Politician to Watch' prize as part of the ITV Welsh Politician of the Year Awards 2017.[17] In August 2019, Lake was nominated for the MP of the Year Award, acknowledging MPs who actively work with under-represented and disadvantaged communities across the UK.[18]
Lake is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry and Tree Planting, and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Western Sahara.[19] and a Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Choice at the End of Life.[20]