Sam Carling | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament forNorth West Cambridgeshire | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Shailesh Vara |
| Majority | 39 (0.1%) |
| Member ofCambridge City Council for West Chesterton | |
| In office 9 May 2022 – 1 May 2025 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Samuel Carling 2002 (age 22–23) County Durham, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | Christ's College, Cambridge (BA) |
| Website | samcarling |
Samuel Carling (born 2002) is a BritishLabour politician who has served asMember of Parliament (MP) forNorth 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 honorarystyle ofBaby of the House.[2][3] Carling represented the ward ofWest Chesterton onCambridge City Council from 2022 until 2025.[4][5]
Samuel Carling was born in 2002[6] and raised inCrook, 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] Carling grew up as aJehovah's Witness.[8]
Originally fromBishop Auckland, Carling completed hisGCSEs atWolsingham School before attendingsixth form atBarnard Castle School, anindependent boarding school inCounty Durham, with an academic scholarship.[9] He achieved five A* A-level grades and anExtended Project Qualification.[10] The cancellation of some A-level exams during theCOVID-19 pandemic sparked Carling's interest in politics,[11] which developed at university and inspired him to run for elected office.[12]
While at Barnard Castle School, Carling received theSalters–Nuffield Prize[13] for "exceptional performance in biology" from theWorshipful Company of Salters with an essay entitled "Could carbon quantum dots have applications in bioimaging?"[9]
Aged 18, Carling then went to readnatural sciences atChrist's College, Cambridge,[2] where he became actively involved inCambridge University politics. A staff writer forVarsity,[14] Carling served as president ofChrist's College JCR andco-chairman of theCambridge University Labour Club, before being elected anOfficer of the Cambridge Union[15][failed verification] and then as a member of theCambridge University Council.[16][failed verification][4][a] In 2023, he graduated withfirst-class honours and became an undergraduate tutor.[18]
While studying for aMaster of Philosophy (MPhil)postgraduate degree at Cambridge,[19] Carling was elected toParliament in 2024,[4] the academic year having only just ended.
In 2022, while still a second-year undergraduate, Carling ran on theLabour slate for election toCambridge City Council to represent the ward ofWest Chesterton.[4] At thelocal elections held on 5 May 2022, Carling narrowly defeated incumbentLiberal Democrat councillor Jamie Dalzell,[20] increasing Labour's majority on Cambridge City Council with the Liberal Democrats losing three seats and theGreens gaining one. Carling became the first Cambridge student in memory to successfully contest a City Council seat.[21] He was re-elected at the2024 Cambridge City Council election. During his tenure, Carling held the office of Executive Councillor for Open Spaces and City Services,[22] and was a member of the Skills Committee of theCambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority for two years. He was an advocate of improvements to adult education and transport throughout Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.[23]
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.[24] Carling has ceased to take councillor allowances since then.[25]
At the2024 general election,[26] Carling successfully contested theconstituency ofNorth West Cambridgeshire for the Labour Party. Campaigning for better public services,[26] he defeated incumbentConservative MPShailesh Vara being returned to Parliament by a narrow margin of 39 votes, verified by a recount.[27][28] Theseat had been held by the Conservatives since its creation in 1997.[29] At the age of 22, he was the youngestMP elected at the 2024 election and becameBaby of the House.[6][29] Carling is the first British MP to be born in the 21st century.[1] He is theLabour Party's joint-youngest MP, tied withMalcolm Macmillan, who was elected at the same age in 1935.[2] On 24 July 2024, Carling made hismaiden speech in a debate on education and opportunity.[30]
In November 2024, Carling voted in favour of theTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legaliseassisted suicide.[31]
In his first six months, Carling has contributed to various debates including on Renters' Rights and SEND provision.[32]
In an interview withThe Times, Carling described himself as a member of theLGBT 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]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Sam Carling | 14,785 | 33.3 | +9.6 | |
| Conservative | Shailesh Vara | 14,746 | 33.2 | −26.8 | |
| Reform | James Sidlow | 8,741 | 19.7 | +19.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Bridget Smith | 3,192 | 7.2 | −3.8 | |
| Green | Elliot Tong | 2,960 | 6.7 | +1.5 | |
| Majority | 39 | 0.1 | |||
| Turnout | 44,424 | 58.5 | −5.4 | ||
| Registered electors | 75,915 | ||||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing | +18.2 | |||
My concern applies to religious groups in particular. I will use the example of the Jehovah's Witnesses—the religious group I grew up in—to illustrate how and why.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNorth West Cambridgeshire 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Baby of the House 2024–present | Incumbent |
