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 byMark Williams
Majority14,789 (31.9%)
Personal details
Born
Ben Morgan Lake

(1993-01-22) 22 January 1993 (age 31)
Glangwili General Hospital, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales[1]
Political partyPlaid Cymru
Alma materTrinity College, Oxford

Ben Morgan Lake[2] (born 22 January 1993) is a Plaid Cymru politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ceredigion Preseli, formerly Ceredigion, since 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 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.[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. ^ "Ben Lake MP's Maiden Speech". The Party of Wales. Retrieved 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. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 23 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.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Ceredigion
2017–present 		Incumbent