Ben Lake

For British ice hockey player, see Ben Lake (ice hockey).

Ben Lake MP
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament for Ceredigion Preseli Ceredigion (2017–2024)
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 June 2017
Preceded by	Mark Williams
Majority	14,789 (31.9%)
Personal details
Born	Ben Morgan Lake (1993-01-22) 22 January 1993 (age 32) Glangwili General Hospital, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales[1]
Political party	Plaid Cymru
Alma mater	Trinity College, Oxford

Ben Morgan Lake[2] (born 22 January 1993) is a Plaid Cymru politician who became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ceredigion Preseli, formerly Ceredigion, in 2017.[3]

Background

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]

Political career

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). 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.[11] Lake was appointed a member of the Welsh Affairs Committee in September 2017 and remained a member until 2024.[12] He is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women.[13] He supported Rhun ap Iorwerth in the 2018 Plaid Cymru leadership election.[14]

In December 2017, Lake was awarded the 'Politician to Watch' prize as part of the ITV Welsh Politician of the Year Awards 2017.[15] 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.[16]

Lake is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry and Tree Planting, and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Western Sahara.[17] and a Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Choice at the End of Life.[18]

References

1. "Lake, Ben Morgan". Who's Who. Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 13 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. "No. 61961". The London Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 11786.
3. "Ben Lake MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
4. Shipton, Martin (25 July 2018). "Listen to the latest Martin Shipton Meets podcast". walesonline. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
5. "Ysgol Bro Pedr". bropedr.ceredigion.sch.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
6. "Unheard Oxford: Andrei, Trinity rower and assistant steward". Cherwell.org. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
7. "Wales' battlegrounds: Ceredigion". Nation Cymru. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
8. Lake, Ben (13 July 2017). "Ben Lake MP's Maiden Speech". The Party of Wales. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018.
9. Carys Lewis (2018). "'A fo Ben bid bont': New Directions for Plaid Cymru? The Ceredigion Result in the UK General Election of 2017". Revue française de civilisation britannique. XXIII (2).
10. "Ceredigion parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
11. "Plaid Cymru announces Westminster spokespeople". The Party of Wales. 23 June 2017. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017.
12. "Membership - Welsh Affairs Committee". UK Parliament. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
13. Parkinson, Dave (15 July 2018). "Ceredigion MP backing women's pension rights". Tivyside Advertiser. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
14. ap Iorwerth, Rhun [@RhunapIorwerth] (8 August 2018). "One of the party's biggest success stories in recent times, @BenMLake is an inspiration to the younger generations, and I am delighted that he will be supporting my campaign.
    #RhunToLeadWales" (Tweet). Retrieved 20 August 2018 – via Twitter.
15. "MP recognised with award on TV politics show". Cambrian News. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2019.^[dead link‍]
16. Parksinson, Dave (14 August 2019). "Ceredigion MP needs your support in MP of the Year Awards". Tivyside Advertiser. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
17. "Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups". Retrieved 6 January 2023.
18. "Members". The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Choice at the End of Life. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.

External links

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• All-Party Parliamentary Group for Choice at the End of Life Archived 6 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Mark Williams	Member of Parliament for Ceredigion 2017–present	Incumbent