Ben Morgan Lake (born 22 January 1993) is a

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

politician serving as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...

since 2017.

Background

Lake was born and brought up in

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigio ...

, the son of a police officer and a council worker. He attended Ffynnonbedr Primary School and Ysgol Bro Pedr. After graduating from

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, with an undergraduate degree in History and Politics, and a master's degree in Modern British and European History, he became a

Research Officer A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, a research institute or a privately held organization, for the purpose of assisting in academic or private research. Research assistants are not in ...

in the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

. His first language is

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

, which was seen as a key factor in his election as MP for one of the strongest Welsh-speaking constituencies in Wales.

Political career

In the 2017 general election, Lake won the

constituency, gaining the seat from Liberal Democrat Mark Williams with 11,623 votes (29.2% of the overall vote). 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 Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, and the youngest ever elected for Plaid Cymru. 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. Lake was appointed a member of the Welsh Affairs Committee in September 2017. He is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women. He supported

Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth (born 27 August 1972) is a Welsh journalist and politician serving as the Deputy Leader of Plaid Cymru since 2018. He has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Ynys Môn since 2013. Early and personal life Born in Tonteg, h ...

in the 2018 Plaid Cymru leadership election. In December 2017, Lake was awarded the 'Politician to Watch' prize as part of the ITV Welsh Politician of the Year Awards 2017. 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. Lake is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Western Sahara. and a Vice-Chair of the

All-Party Parliamentary Group for Choice at the End of Life The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Choice at the End of Life is a cross-party group of members of the British Parliament and Peers that supports better end-of-life options, including assisted dying. They believe that, subject to legal safeguar ...

References

External links

*
All-Party Parliamentary Group for Choice at the End of Life
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake, Ben 1993 births Living people Plaid Cymru MPs UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Welsh-speaking politicians People educated at Lampeter School Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford People from Carmarthen