She wears Dr Martens boots, loves Dua Lipa and clears her head by lifting weights. It is safe to say that Carmen Smith, who is to become a Plaid Cymru peer at the age of 27, will not be a typical member of the House of Lords. But Smith hopes that by taking up a seat, in an institution she disapproves of, she will help change the feel and look of the place. “I don’t believe in the House of Lords,” she said. “It’s an unelected chamber and it’s not a diverse space. But I believe that we should have Welsh voices anywhere where legislation is made that affects people in Wales. “Until the Lords doesn’t exist we should be represented there. And hopefully the work I can do will bring more voices into that space. Perhaps make that space look different as well.” Speaking at the Chapter arts centre in Cardiff, fresh from a gym session in which she had achieved a leg-press personal best, Smith said she had been stung by some of the critics who have claimed she was too young for the job – and only got it because she was a woman.
“I take fair criticism. You should always have scrutiny,” she says. “But in terms of my age and my gender, it has been difficult to receive a lot of negativity over the last few days. I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t feel that, but I’m hoping by doing this the next young woman or next person from a different background doesn’t have as much of this. It’s about breaking that wall. Sadly I was expecting it, but it has hit me harder than I thought it would.”
Smith, a former chief of staff for Plaid’s Senedd group, came second behind a man in the vote for the party’s Lords nomination, but the process included a mechanism to ensure a woman was the first nominee. She said: “Plaid is a party of equality. I think it’s a good thing. Especially in this election it’s important, because the chamber is 70% men. You do need to take some action to change that.” The party was hit last year by a damning report that exposed misogyny, bullying and harassment. “We’re not going to be able to make change unless we’re more proactive about it,” she said. Smith said young people were capable of “incredible things”, citing Plaid contemporaries who had campaigned brilliantly on issues such as free school meals and period poverty. “I don’t think that campaign would have come from a 71-year-old in the House of Lords,” she said. Smith is the youngest of seven siblings and grew up in Ynys Môn (Anglesey) in north Wales. Her father worked for British Steel and she shared the caring duties for him when he was diagnosed with dementia. She has had a paid job since she was 14 and has served as the deputy president of the National Union of Students (NUS) in Wales. At the moment she works in comms for a green energy company, but will give up that job to serve in the Lords. She is certain Wales will become independent in her lifetime – and would not include a body like the Lords. “My generation is more in favour [of independence] than the generations before me. There will be a majority of people in the future who will support independence.” Smith is heading to London on Friday to learn about the logistics of the new job. She wants to wear fake fur rather than ermine, and hopes she’ll be able to wear her Dr Martens. “I’m sure I’ll be given a handbook on the dress code. I’m pretty sure nobody in the Lords currently wears Docs.” She hopes to stay in Cardiff and commute by train. Her title hasn’t been nailed down, but she may become Baroness (Lady) Smith of Llanfaes. “That’s where I grew up. It’s an area that’s quite underprivileged and it would be good to shine a light on it.” Smith intends to make her Lords oath in Welsh as well as English. “That’s something I’d like to do in terms of championing the Welsh language and culture.” She says she has no intention of staying in the Lords for years. “I’ll be happy to hand the baton on to someone else. I don’t know what the future looks like but I just want to feel like I’m making an impact.”