Sam Carling

British politician (born 2002)

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

2002 (age 21–22)
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[5] was born in 2002[6] and raised in Crook, County Durham.[7] 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.[8] He achieved five A* A-level grades and an Extended Project Qualification.[9] The cancellation of some A-level exams during the COVID-19 pandemic sparked Carling's interest in politics,[10] which developed at university and inspired him to run for elected office.[11]

While at Barnard Castle School, Carling received the Salters–Nuffield Prize[12] for "exceptional performance in biology" from the Worshipful Company of Salters with an essay entitled "Could carbon quantum dots have applications in bioimaging?".[8]

Aged 18, Carling then went up to read natural sciences at Christ's College,[2] where he became actively involved in Cambridge University politics. A staff writer for Varsity,[13] Carling served as president of Cambridge Students' Union and co-chairman of the Cambridge University Labour Club, before being elected an Officer of the Cambridge Union[14] and then as a member of the Cambridge University Council.[15][4][a] In 2023, he graduated with first-class honours and became an undergraduate tutor.[17]

While studying for a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) postgraduate degree at Cambridge,[18] Carling was elected to Parliament in 2024,[4] the academic year having only just ended. Carling remains a student in the Department of Pathology as a biomedical researcher.[19][20]

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,[21] 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.[22] 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,[23] 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.[24]

At the 2024 general election,[25] Carling successfully contested the constituency of North West Cambridgeshire for the Labour Party. Campaigning for better public services,[25] he defeated incumbent Conservative MP Shailesh Vara being returned to Parliament by a narrow margin of 39 votes, verified by a recount.[26][27] The seat had been held by the Conservatives since its creation in 1997.[28] At the age of 22, he was the youngest MP elected at the 2024 election and became Baby of the House.[6][28] 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] 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.[29] On 24 July 2024, Carling made his maiden speech in a debate on education and opportunity.[30]

Personal life

In an interview with The Times, Carling described himself as a member of the LGBT community.[7] 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."[7]

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. ^ "No. 64465". The London Gazette. 22 July 2024. p. 14080.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  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. ^ www.saltersinstitute.org
  13. ^ Carling, Sam (21 January 2022). "When Cambridge SU fails, JCRs pick up the slack". Varsity. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  14. ^ www.cus.org
  15. ^ www.governance.cam.ac.uk
  16. ^ Ullah, Emaan; Moss, Bethan (3 March 2022). "Live: Cambridge SU election results". Varsity. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ www.christs.cam.ac.uk
  19. ^ 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.
  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. ^ www.thetimes.com
  22. ^ Mumford, Peter (6 May 2022). "Cambridge student wins seat on City Council". Varsity. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  23. ^ "Councillor Sam Carling". Cambridge City Council. Archived from the original on 4 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ 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.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ Sam Carling (24 July 2024). "Education and Opportunity". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 752. United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 756–758.

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.[16]
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