:Ben Lake
{{Short description|Welsh politician (born 1993)}}
{{For|British ice hockey player|Ben Lake (ice hockey)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Ben Lake
| image = Official portrait of Ben Lake MP crop 2.jpg
| caption = Official portrait, 2020
| honorific-suffix = MP
| office = Member of Parliament
for Ceredigion Preseli
{{nobold|Ceredigion (2017–2024)}}
| term_start = 8 June 2017
| term_end =
| predecessor = Mark Williams
| successor =
| majority = 14,789 (31.9%)
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1993|1|22}}
| birth_place = Glangwili General Hospital, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales{{Who's Who | title=Lake, Ben Morgan| id = U289477| volume = 2018 | edition = February 2018 online | access-date = 13 February 2018 }}
| party = Plaid Cymru
| alma_mater = Trinity College, Oxford
| birth_name = Ben Morgan Lake
}}
Ben Morgan Lake{{London Gazette |issue=61961 |date=19 June 2017 |page=11786}} (born 22 January 1993) is a Plaid Cymru politician who became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ceredigion Preseli, formerly Ceredigion, in 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/ben-lake/4630|title=Ben Lake MP|website=UK Parliament|access-date=2 August 2017}}
Background
Lake was born in Carmarthen and brought up in Lampeter. He is the son of a police officer and a council worker.{{cite news |last=Shipton |first=Martin |title=Listen to the latest Martin Shipton Meets podcast |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/martin-shipton-meets-podcast-politics-14465621 |access-date=7 August 2018 |work=walesonline |date=25 July 2018}} He attended Ffynnonbedr Primary School and Ysgol Bro Pedr.{{cite web|url=http://bropedr.ceredigion.sch.uk/|website=bropedr.ceredigion.sch.uk|title=Ysgol Bro Pedr |access-date=2 August 2017}} 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,{{cite web|url=http://www.cherwell.org/2016/02/13/unheard-oxford-andrei-trinity-rower-and-assistant-steward/|title=Unheard Oxford: Andrei, Trinity rower and assistant steward|website=Cherwell.org|date=13 February 2016|access-date=2 August 2017}} he became a research officer in the National Assembly for Wales.{{cite web |title=Wales' battlegrounds: Ceredigion |url=https://nation.cymru/2017/wales-battlegrounds-ceredigion/ |publisher=Nation Cymru |date=7 June 2017 |access-date=9 June 2017}} His first language is Welsh,{{cite web |title=Ben Lake MP's Maiden Speech|first=Ben|last=Lake|date=13 July 2017|url=https://www.partyof.wales/benlakespeech|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807185823/https://www.partyof.wales/benlakespeech|archive-date=7 August 2018|website=The Party of Wales|language=en}} which was seen as a key factor in his election as MP for one of the strongest Welsh-speaking constituencies in Wales.{{cite journal|url=https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/2219|title='A fo Ben bid bont': New Directions for Plaid Cymru? The Ceredigion Result in the UK General Election of 2017|author=Carys Lewis|journal=Revue française de civilisation britannique|year=2018|volume=XXIII|number=2}}
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).{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/W07000064|title=Ceredigion parliamentary constituency - Election 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=23 June 2017|language=en-GB}} 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.{{Cite news|url=http://www2.partyof.wales/westminster_spokespeople|title=Plaid Cymru announces Westminster spokespeople|work=The Party of Wales|date=23 June 2017|language=en|archive-date=27 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627150058/http://www2.partyof.wales/westminster_spokespeople|url-status=dead}} Lake was appointed a member of the Welsh Affairs Committee in September 2017 and remained a member until 2024.{{Cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/welsh-affairs-committee/membership/|title=Membership - Welsh Affairs Committee|website=UK Parliament|language=en|access-date=2017-10-12}} He is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women.{{cite news |last1=Parkinson |first1=Dave |title=Ceredigion MP backing women's pension rights |url=http://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/news/16355289.ben-lake-to-hold-womens-pension-rights-public-meeting-at-cardigan/ |access-date=6 August 2018 |work=Tivyside Advertiser |date=15 July 2018 |language=en}} He supported Rhun ap Iorwerth in the 2018 Plaid Cymru leadership election.{{cite tweet|title=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|user=RhunapIorwerth|last=ap Iorwerth|first=Rhun|number=1027202025258475521|access-date=20 August 2018}}
In December 2017, Lake was awarded the 'Politician to Watch' prize as part of the ITV Welsh Politician of the Year Awards 2017.{{cite news |title=MP recognised with award on TV politics show |url=http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/article.cfm?id=118142&headline=MP%20recognised%20with%20award%20on%20TV%20politics%20show§ionIs=news&searchyear=2017 |access-date=29 September 2019 |work=Cambrian News |date=18 December 2017 |language=en}}{{dead link|date=January 2024}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Parksinson |first1=Dave |title=Ceredigion MP needs your support in MP of the Year Awards |url=https://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/news/17837081.ceredigion-39-s-ben-lake-nominated-mp-year-awards/ |access-date=29 September 2019 |work=Tivyside Advertiser |date=14 August 2019 |language=en}}
Lake is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry and Tree Planting, and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Western Sahara.{{cite web |url= https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/211006/western-sahara.htm|title= Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups |access-date= 6 January 2023}} and a Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Choice at the End of Life.{{cite web |url= https://www.appg-endoflifechoice.org.uk/members |title= Members |website= The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Choice at the End of Life |access-date= 24 August 2022 |archive-date= 24 August 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220824163635/https://www.appg-endoflifechoice.org.uk/members |url-status= dead }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{UK MP links |parliament=ben-lake/4630 |publicwhip=Ben_Lake |theywork=ben_lake}}
- [https://www.appg-endoflifechoice.org.uk/ All-Party Parliamentary Group for Choice at the End of Life] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006023200/http://www.appg-endoflifechoice.org.uk/ |date=6 October 2022 }}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=Mark Williams}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament
for Ceredigion|years=2017–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}
{{Plaid Cymru}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake, Ben}}
Category:Welsh-speaking politicians
Category:People educated at Lampeter School
Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford