Ben Morgan Lake (born 22 January 1993) is a

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

politician who became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ceredigion Preseli, formerly

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

, in 2017.

Background

Lake was born in

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

and brought up in

Lampeter Lampeter (; (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 Ceredigion, after Aberystwyth and C ...

. He is 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 Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

, with an undergraduate degree in History and Politics, and a master's degree in Modern British and European History, he became a research officer 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, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

. His first language is Welsh, 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). In the 2024 general election, Lake won the new Ceredigion Preseli constituency with 21,738 votes (46.9%). Lake was appointed 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 and remained a member until 2024. 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 who has served as the Leader of Plaid Cymru since June 2023. He has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Ynys Môn (Senedd constituency), Ynys Môn since 2013 Ynys ...

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 Forestry and Tree Planting, and 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.

References

External links

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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 2019–2024 Welsh-speaking politicians People educated at Lampeter School Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford People from Carmarthen UK MPs 2024–present