Youngest peer Charlotte Owen gives gushing Lords speech thanking Boris Johnson

14 November 2023 , 21:08

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Youngest peer Charlotte Owen gives gushing Lords speech thanking Boris Johnson

A former adviser to Boris Johnson has given a gushing speech thanking him after he made her the youngest peer.

Charlotte Owen entered the House of Lords in July after she was rewarded by the ex-PM on his controversial resignation honours list. At just 30-years-old she was the youngest person ever to be handed a life peerage.

As she made her maiden speech in the Lords today, Baroness Owen lavished praise on Mr Johnson. “I must thank the former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who put a great deal of trust in me,” she told her fellow peers. “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.”

With no hint of irony, Baroness Owen told the upper house: "It has been quite the journey getting to this moment." She added that she was born in 1993 when “George Michael was still at number one and the Spice Girls were about to set in motion a wave of girl power”. The self-described “child of the dial-up internet connection” said she wanted to use her time as a peer to address “both the challenges and opportunities” presented by new technology.

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Critics have questioned why Baroness Owen has been given a place in the Lords when she has little experience and expertise, having been a relatively junior political aide for only a short period of time. A cross-party Lords report found the nominations for peerages made by Mr Johnson after he left Downing Street had “brought into question” the appointments process.

Others rewarded by him included Shaun Bailey, the failed Tory candidate for London mayor, who attended a lockdown-busting party in Conservative Party HQ during the pandemic. Lord Bailey sat on the bench behind Baroness Owen as she made her maiden speech.

Mr Johnson stood down as an MP in June this year after a Commons inquiry found he had lied and lied and lied over Partygate.

John Stevens