Ben Lake.

Plaid Cymru's most consistent rebel on assisted dying, Ben Lake broke with his party twice on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill — most recently in June 2025, when he voted for a clause that would have barred applications where the wish to die was substantially driven by financial pressure, disability, or mental disorders. His data shows he is notably more cautious on assisted dying than Plaid Cymru's average. Away from that issue, he has been vocal on Welsh infrastructure — calling Wales's rail network in "severe need of investment" during the Spending Review — and has lobbied Energy Ministers directly on fuel prices. He also opposed the Immigration and Asylum Bill at Second Reading, and acted as a teller against a Plaid majority on the WASPI compensation motion in January 2025, a procedural role rather than a straight rebellion.

At 61% voting participation, Lake is below the Commons average. Where he does vote, he is a 99.4% party-line MP, with his assisted dying caution the clearest outlier. His speeches, spanning 121 contributions across 95 debates, cluster heavily around the economy, defence, fiscal policy, and social care — topics where Wales's relationship with Westminster funding is a recurring thread. He consistently backs workers' rights (98% aligned) and climate action (95% aligned), while opposing immigration controls (0% aligned) and fiscal tightening (16% aligned).

Lake sits on the Welsh Affairs Committee, which explains the steady focus on Welsh funding and infrastructure in his parliamentary activity. Local news coverage over the past 90 days centres on agriculture, environment, and local government — rural constituency concerns that do not yet appear prominently in his speech record. His highest-profile recent coverage is positive, reflecting advocacy on WASPI pensions and cost-of-living pressures. Speech-level data is available; full voting record detail is available from 2024 onwards.