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Sam Carling

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Sam Carling
MP
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for North West Cambridgeshire
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byShailesh Vara
Majority39
Member of Cambridge City Council
for West Chesterton
In office
5 May 2022 – 18 July 2024
Personal details
Born2002 (age 21–22)
County Durham, England
Political partyLabour
EducationChrist's College, Cambridge (BA)
Websitesamcarling.org

Sam Carling (born 2002) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Cambridgeshire since 2024, becoming the youngest MP and the first MP to be born in the 21st century.[1] As the youngest-elected member of parliament, he is the Baby of the House.[2][3]

A member of the Labour Party, Carling is the joint-youngest MP of the party in modern history, tied with Malcolm Macmillan.[2] From 2022 to 2024, Carling also represented West Chesterton on Cambridge City Council.[4]

Early life and education

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Carling was born in 2002,[5] and was raised in Crook, County Durham.[6] He described himself as being from "a totally apolitical family, in quite a deprived part of the north east of England".[2] In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he further explained that "we didn’t talk about politics, we were quite apolitical as a family, so it was never something I really considered".[7]

Originally from Bishop Auckland, Carling finished his GCSEs at Wolsingham School before attending sixth form at Barnard Castle School, an independent boarding school in County Durham, on an academic scholarship.[8] He achieved five A* A-Level grades and an EPQ.[9] When some of his A-level exams were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, Carling described the experience as a politicising event,[10] inspiring him to enter politics.[11]

During his time as a student at Barnard Castle, Carling was recognised by the Salters' Institute with the Salters-Nuffield prize—awarded for his essay titled "Could carbon quantum dots have applications in bioimaging?"—in recognition of exceptional performance in biology.[8] At age 18, Carling moved to Cambridge to study natural sciences at the University of Cambridge.[2] He was a member of Christ's College, serving as president of its undergraduate student union in addition to being co-chair of the Cambridge University Labour Club, a staff writer for Varsity,[12] an officer of the Cambridge Union and a university councillor.[4][a] In 2023, he graduated with first-class honours and became an undergraduate tutor.[14]

Carling was a Cambridge postgraduate student studying for a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree at the time of his election to the House of Commons.[4] As of July 2024, he remains a student in the Department of Pathology under Professor Anton Enright,[15] and is a biomedical researcher.[16]

Political career

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Carling is a member of the Labour Party.[4] In 2022, while still a second-year undergraduate, he ran as a candidate for a seat on the Cambridge City Council to represent West Chesterton. On the elections held on 5 May 2022, Carling narrowly won a majority of 1,229 votes to eclipse the Liberal Democrat rival candidate, marking an increase in the council's Labour majority. Liberal Democrats lost three council seats and the Green Party of England and Wales gained one. Carling was the only Cambridge student to successfully seek a seat on the city council in years.[17]

As council member, Carling had a self-described "strong record of action in West Chesterton" characterised by "efforts to end pollution in the River Cam" and "funding for a variety of local projects".[18] On 3 May 2024, Carling was re-elected to the Cambridge City Council during the 2024 Cambridge City Council election with 208 votes over the candidate with the second-most votes. Other students from Cambridge who ran for election were unsuccessful.[18] During his tenure, Carling held the office of Executive Councillor for Open Spaces and City Services,[19] and was a member of the Skills Committee of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority for two years. He was an advocate of improvements to adult education and transport throughout Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.[20]

During the July 2024 United Kingdom general election,[21] which took place on 4 July 2024,[22] Carling successfully contested the North West Cambridgeshire constituency for the Labour Party. Campaigning for better public services,[21] he defeated incumbent Conservative MP Shailesh Vara and was returned to parliament by a margin of 39 votes, verified by a recount.[23][24] The seat had been held by the Conservatives since its creation in 1997.[25] Elected aged 22, Carling is the youngest Member to enter the Commons in 2024, the new Baby of the House,[5][25] and the first elected parliamentarian born in the 21st century.[1] On 11 July 2024, he announced that he would step down from the Cambridge City Council following his electoral victory and left the office on July 18.[26] On 24 July 2024, Carling made his maiden speech in the House of Commons during a debate on education and opportunity.[27]

Personal life

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In an interview with The Times, Carling described himself "to be in the LGBT community".[6] He also stated that "I don’t see any reason why I won’t re-stand. But I’m 22, and I don’t intend to be in the House of Commons for 40 years. I will come out and do something else eventually".[6]

Notes

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  1. ^ Carling won the contested position of University Councillor following a university election on 3 March 2022. With an 800 vote majority in the first round, Carling then was elected with 896 student votes after eliminating two other candidates.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b Boyle, Cash (6 July 2024). "Labour's Sam Carling, 22, is first MP to be born in 21st century". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Shirreff, Lauren (5 July 2024). "OMG, I just got elected! Meet Britain's youngest MP". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  3. ^ Tyzack, Anna (10 July 2024). "'I grew stubble to make myself look older': Meet the disconcertingly young professionals". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Vall, Wilf (5 July 2024). "Cambridge postgrad wins seat in Parliament". Varsity. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b Parry, Louise; Hulland, Louise (6 July 2024). "Meet the new youngest MP – born in 2002". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Roberts, Georgina; Perlman, Elisabeth (5 August 2024). "Order! Gen Z's in the House — meet the twentysomething MPs". The Times. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  7. ^ Shirreff, Lauren (12 June 2024). "'Our generation has suffered incredible hardship': Meet Labour's Gen Z wannabe MPs". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  8. ^ a b Priestley, Catherine (29 December 2020). "Science student's work on nanotechnology used in cancer research wins top award". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  9. ^ Nicholls, Stuart (12 January 2021). "National Award Success for Sam! - Barnard Castle School". Barnard Castle School. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  10. ^ James, Rhiannon (24 July 2024). "Youngest MP says Tory government's response to pandemic 'politicised' him". The Independent. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  11. ^ Gordon-Farleigh, Neve (24 July 2024). "New MP says cancelled exams inspired him to get into politics". BBC News. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  12. ^ Carling, Sam (21 January 2022). "When Cambridge SU fails, JCRs pick up the slack". Varsity. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  13. ^ Ullah, Emaan; Moss, Bethan (3 March 2022). "Live: Cambridge SU election results". Varsity. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  14. ^ Baugh, Emma (6 July 2024). Tisch, Barbara (ed.). "Sam Carling: The youngest MP". BBC News. p. 9. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  15. ^ Harriman, Livia (9 July 2024). "Sam Carling: Meet the new youngest MP and Pathology student". Department of Pathology. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  16. ^ Senior, Matthew (5 July 2024). "Meet Sam Carling the North West Cambridgeshire MP who is only 22". Cambridgeshire Live. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  17. ^ Mumford, Peter (6 May 2022). "Cambridge student wins seat on City Council". Varsity. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  18. ^ a b Vall, Wilf (4 May 2024). "Cambridge postgrad re-elected as City councillor". Varsity. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  19. ^ "Councillor Sam Carling". Cambridge City Council. Archived from the original on 4 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  20. ^ Senior, Matthew (5 July 2024). "Meet Sam Carling the North West Cambridgeshire MP who is only 22". Cambridgeshire Live. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  21. ^ a b Herring, Francesca (28 May 2024). "General Election: Labour North West Cambs candidate Cllr Sam Carling". The Hunts Post. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  22. ^ "When do polling stations close and where do I vote in the UK election?". BBC News. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  23. ^ Burnett, Tom; Findlay, Cait (5 July 2024). "New Labour MP for North West Cambridgeshire elected in 'political earthquake'". Cambridgeshire Live. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  24. ^ Orla Moore (5 July 2024). "Labour wins Peterborough and NW Cambridgeshire". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  25. ^ a b Jones, Ben (5 July 2024). "North West Cambridgeshire elects Britain's youngest MP on night of high drama". Peterborough Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024.
  26. ^ Briggs, Stephen (11 July 2024). "North West Cambridgeshire MP Sam Carling to stand down as Cambridge City Councillor after election win". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  27. ^ Sam Carling (24 July 2024). "Education and Opportunity". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 752. United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 756–758.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for North West Cambridgeshire
2024–present 		Incumbent
Honorary titles
Preceded by Baby of the House
2024–present 		Incumbent
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