Meet Sam Carling the North West Cambridgeshire MP who is only 22

Matthew Senior

5 July 2024 at 8:17 am·2-min read

Sam Carling has been elected as the Labour MP for North West Cambridgeshire. The final result was announced shortly before 6am on Friday (July 5).

The 22-year-old will be one of the youngest candidates in the new Parliament. He was previously elected as the Labour county councillor for the West Chesterton ward of Cambridge City Council.

Mr Carling gained a total of 14,785 votes in total following a recount. This was only 39 more votes over outgoing Conservative MP Shailesh Vara.

Who is Sam Carling?

Mr Carling, a University of Cambridge graduate, had also held the post of Executive Councillor for Open Spaces and City Services. He also works as a biomedical researcher.

He was part of a campaign to end pollution in the River Cam and was a member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority's Skill's Committee for two years. Mr Carling called for improvements to adult education and skills provision across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, as well as transport links in rural communities.

After being voted in, he said: "It's been a very long campaign and a very long night, but I'm extremely excited of course, very cognisant of the responsibility that people have put upon me, and very grateful.

"I promise you I will work as hard as I can to repay that trust. What we've seen here tonight is nothing short of a political earthquake."

The candidates standing in North West Cambridgeshire were:

Carling, Sam (Labour Party): 14,785
Sidlow, James Alan (Reform UK): 8,741
Smith, Bridget (Liberal Democrat): 3,192
Tong, Elliot Alister (Green Party Candidate): 2,960
Vara, Shailesh Lakhman (The Conservative Party Candidate): 14,746

To find out who your MP is you can enter your postcode or constituency name below.

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Who is Sam Carling?

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