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Sam Carling

Councillor
Sam Carling
MP
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for North West Cambridgeshire
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byShailesh Vara
Majority39 (0.1%)
Member of Cambridge City Council
for West Chesterton
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 May 2022
Personal details
Born
Samuel Carling

April 2002 (age 22)
County Durham, England
Political partyLabour
Alma materChrist's College, Cambridge (BA)
Websitesamcarling.org

Samuel Carling (born 2002) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Cambridgeshire since 2024. He is the first British parliamentarian to be born in the 21st century.[1] By convention, as the youngest member of Parliament, he is accorded the honorary style of Baby of the House.[2][3] Carling has represented the ward of West Chesterton on Cambridge City Council since 2022.[4]

Early life and education

Samuel Carling was born in 2002[5] and raised in Crook, County Durham.[6] He described his background as being from "a totally apolitical family, in quite a deprived part of the north east of England".[2]

Originally from Bishop Auckland, Carling completed his GCSEs at Wolsingham School before attending sixth form at Barnard Castle School, an independent boarding school in County Durham, with an academic scholarship.[7] He achieved five A* A-level grades and an Extended Project Qualification.[8] The cancellation of some A-level exams during the COVID-19 pandemic sparked Carling's interest in politics,[9] which developed at university and inspired him to run for elected office.[10]

While at Barnard Castle School, Carling received the Salters–Nuffield Prize[11] for "exceptional performance in biology" from the Worshipful Company of Salters with an essay entitled "Could carbon quantum dots have applications in bioimaging?"[7]

Aged 18, Carling then went to read natural sciences at Christ's College, Cambridge,[2] where he became actively involved in Cambridge University politics. A staff writer for Varsity,[12] Carling served as president of Christ's College JCR and co-chairman of the Cambridge University Labour Club, before being elected an Officer of the Cambridge Union[13] and then as a member of the Cambridge University Council.[14][4][a] In 2023, he graduated with first-class honours and became an undergraduate tutor.[16]

While studying for a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) postgraduate degree at Cambridge,[17] Carling was elected to Parliament in 2024,[4] the academic year having only just ended.

Political career

In 2022, while still a second-year undergraduate, Carling ran on the Labour slate for election to Cambridge City Council to represent the ward of West Chesterton.[4] At the local elections held on 5 May 2022, Carling narrowly defeated incumbent Liberal Democrat councillor Jamie Dalzell,[18] increasing Labour's majority on Cambridge City Council with the Liberal Democrats losing three seats and the Greens gaining one. Carling became the first Cambridge student in memory to successfully contest a City Council seat.[19] He was re-elected at the 2024 Cambridge City Council election. During his tenure, Carling held the office of Executive Councillor for Open Spaces and City Services,[20] 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.[21]

Carling announced his intention to step down as a Cambridge city councillor as soon as a by-election could reasonably be held and, in the following week on 18 July, he resigned from the council's cabinet.[22]

House of Commons

At the 2024 general election,[23] Carling successfully contested the constituency of North West Cambridgeshire for the Labour Party. Campaigning for better public services,[23] he defeated incumbent Conservative MP Shailesh Vara being returned to Parliament by a narrow margin of 39 votes, verified by a recount.[24][25] The seat had been held by the Conservatives since its creation in 1997.[26] At the age of 22, he was the youngest MP elected at the 2024 election and became Baby of the House.[5][26] Carling is the first British MP to be born in the 21st century.[1] He is the Labour Party's joint-youngest MP, tied with Malcolm Macmillan, who was elected at the same age in 1935.[2] On 24 July 2024, Carling made his maiden speech in a debate on education and opportunity.[27]

Personal life

Carling is an apprentice member of the Salters' Company.[28] In an interview with The Times, Carling described himself as a member of the LGBT community.[6] He further stated: "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]

References

  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. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Nicholls, Stuart (12 January 2021). "National Award Success for Sam! - Barnard Castle School". Barnard Castle School. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  9. ^ James, Rhiannon (24 July 2024). "Youngest MP says Tory government's response to pandemic 'politicised' him". The Independent. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  10. ^ Gordon-Farleigh, Neve (24 July 2024). "New MP says cancelled exams inspired him to get into politics". BBC News. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  11. ^ www.saltersinstitute.org
  12. ^ Carling, Sam (21 January 2022). "When Cambridge SU fails, JCRs pick up the slack". Varsity. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  13. ^ www.cus.org
  14. ^ www.governance.cam.ac.uk
  15. ^ Ullah, Emaan; Moss, Bethan (3 March 2022). "Live: Cambridge SU election results". Varsity. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ www.christs.cam.ac.uk
  18. ^ www.thetimes.com
  19. ^ Mumford, Peter (6 May 2022). "Cambridge student wins seat on City Council". Varsity. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Councillor Sam Carling". Cambridge City Council. Archived from the original on 4 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ Sam Carling (24 July 2024). "Education and Opportunity". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 752. United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 756–758.
  28. ^ www.saltersinstitute.org

Notes

  1. ^ Carling won the contested post of University Councillor following the Cambridge University election of 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.[15]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sam Carling.
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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