I went to university with Charlotte Owen. If she’s a worthy lifetime peer, I’m a baroness

TeaTo say that Baroness Charlotte Owens’ rise to power has been tremendous is an understatement. The 30-year-old, who was awarded Britain’s highest honor in Boris Johnson’s resignation list and has now taken her seat in the House of Lords, has gone from parliamentary apprentice to baroness in just six years.

She is currently the youngest person to sit in the House of Lords, but of course her new privilege has no expiration date. As a life peer, she will continue to scrutinize our legislation and make decisions based on the current House of Lords demographic until she decides to retire, which is unlikely to happen anytime in the next half century.

Over the years I have followed with interest the career of Lady Owens, and my astonishment is growing, for until a few years ago it looked almost exactly like mine. We both studied at York University between 2012 and 2015, and we also had some mutual friends; When asked to describe her, one said, rather casually: Yes, she was fun, more like a party girl, I don’t remember that she showed any great skill for legislative investigation. Like me, she went from university to the House of Commons to work as a parliamentary assistant to a government minister, in her case the Honorable Boris Johnson MP, then Foreign Secretary.