Charlotte Owen, 30, now Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge, made her maiden speech in the House of Lords yesterday afternoon. Baroness Owen, the youngest life peer in the upper chamber (and the youngest life peer ever), grinned and thanked new colleagues as she made her first remarks.
“It has been quite the journey getting to this moment,” she said. Owen became a life peer in July after she was nominated by Boris Johnson in his resignation honours list. She had worked for Johnson for at least three years as a junior political aide.
Her nomination provoked criticism from some who questioned her credentials as a legislator.
In her first speech, Owen praised the former prime minister for his support. “I must thank the former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who put a great deal of trust in me,” she said, “I will be forever grateful not only for this but for his kindness and encouragement."
“I feel immensely privileged to have worked with him and other Cabinet Ministers during my time at No10. I was delighted that his commitment to delivering the referendum result, his optimism and his vision for levelling up the country and ensuring that life chances are distributed fairly resulted in the seismic election victory of 2019,” she said.
She did not shy away from the controversy over her young age. “My Lords, I was born in 1993," she said, "George Michael was still number one and the Spice Girls were about to set in motion a wave of girl power.” She also described herself as a "child of the dial-up internet connection" and said she wanted particularly to scrutinise legislation relating to new technologies.
