A PLAID Cymru peer is to become the youngest ever to be introduced to the House of Lords as the party continues to push for more members in the UK’s upper chamber.
Carmen Smith will become Baroness Smith of Llanfaes when she is introduced to the Lords on Thursday aged just 28.
Plaid Cymru former party leader Dafydd Wigley, who has sat in the Lords since 2011, has confirmed he will retire from the Lords after the next General Election and has reiterated the party’s request for three members in Westminster’s second chamber to reflect its representation in the Commons.
It comes after former top SNP strategist Stephen Noon said before Christmas that Yes supporters should take seats in the House of Lords to create “ambassadors for independence in the institutional heart of the UK”.
He highlighted how Plaid Cymru have a mechanism whereby people nominate themselves within the party to be Lords and then the party has a vote and this template could be followed in Scotland.
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Many Plaid activists oppose the Lords on the grounds that it is undemocratic, but the party’s official line now is to engage with it on the grounds that the legislation it passes has an impact on Wales.
Smith (below) – who at 25 became chief of staff for the Plaid Cymru Senedd Group – said she chose her title in order to “shine a light on the experiences of people in areas like mine” and insisted was ready to “shout loudly” in an environment where everyone is older.
As a young carer for her late father, who suffered with dementia, and growing up in an underprivileged area, she said that her experience was “far from unique, but are a world away from the reality lives by most in Westminster”.
She added that her generation’s voice is “drowned out by the failures of the UK's political and economic structures” and hoped to give a voice to young people.
She said ahead of her introduction: "As I am introduced to the House of Lords as its youngest member today, I will be acutely aware of the unique responsibility I hold to be a voice for my generation.
"We came of age amidst the global recession and austerity, seeing the decimation of youth services and the growing mental health crisis. Against the backdrop of looming climate catastrophe, we face stark wealth disparities, soaring debts, unaffordable housing, and precarious employment. We are incensed by the injustices suffered by so many in our society.
“Across Wales, young voices are drowned out by the failures of the UK's political and economic structures. They deserve to be heard.
“In a House of Lords where not many members will look like me, I know that I will have to shout loudly. I’m ready for that.”
Smith will be introduced to the Lords by former Wigley and former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett and will take the oath in Welsh.
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Wigley said Plaid Cymru was promised three seats in the Lords as far back as 2006 by the then Labour government under Tony Blair but when Gordon Brown took over a year later they went back on their commitment.
He added: “It was only when David Cameron became Prime Minister that Plaid Cymru was allowed one seat in the Lords, which I took up in 2011. At that time, I was assured that further appointments would follow in due course; but it has taken until now for that to happen.”
Plaid Cymru has another nominee, Elfyn Llwyd, still waiting to be appointed.
Noon said in December there were figures with the SNP at Westminster who are to step back from frontline politics – and within the wider Yes movement – who would be valuable additions to the Lords.
He added he had first concluded that Yes figures should take peerages “in 1998 when the Scotland Bill passed from the Commons to the Lords and the SNP lost the ability to meaningfully engage with the legislation or influence the debate”.
The SNP do not nominate people for seats in the Lords, and party leader Humza Yousaf reiterated calls in December for the entire House to be abolished in the wake of the scandal around former Scottish Tory peer Michelle Mone.
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