Sam Carling | |
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![]() Official portrait, 2024 | |
Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire | |
Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
Preceded by | Shailesh Vara |
Majority | 39 (0.1%) |
Member of Cambridge City Council for West Chesterton | |
Assumed office 9 May 2022 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Samuel Carling April 2002 (age 22) County Durham,England |
Political party | Labour |
Alma mater | Christ's College,Cambridge (BA) |
Website | samcarling |
Samuel Carling (born April 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]
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.
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] Carling has ceased to take councillor allowances since then. [23]
At the 2024 general election, [24] Carling successfully contested the constituency of North West Cambridgeshire for the Labour Party. Campaigning for better public services, [24] he defeated incumbent Conservative MP Shailesh Vara being returned to Parliament by a narrow margin of 39 votes,verified by a recount. [25] [26] The seat had been held by the Conservatives since its creation in 1997. [27] At the age of 22,he was the youngest MP elected at the 2024 election and became Baby of the House. [5] [27] 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. [28]
In November 2024,Carling voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill,which proposes to legalise assisted dying. [29]
In his first six months,Carling has contributed to various debates including on Renters' Rights and SEND provision. [30]
Carling is an apprentice member of the Salters' Company. [31] 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]