A 22-year-old Cambridge postgraduate student, Sam Carling became the United Kingdom's youngest MP. Labour candidate Carling won the North West Cambridgeshire constituency by defeating veteran Conservative MP Shailesh Vara. He won the seat by a narrow margin of 39 votes.
Carling is likely to be the 'Baby of the House', an unofficial nickname given to the youngest member of the House of Commons.
“It’s a political earthquake,” said Carling after winning the seat.
Since 1997, the North West Cambridgeshire constituency has been a Conservative stronghold.
“I’m absolutely thrilled,” he said after making his winners’ speech. “I’m very grateful to all the residents who have put their trust in me, and I’m very cognizant of the responsibility that comes with that,” he added.
Labour Party swept the Britain elections, with the party securing a majority of over 170 seats in the House of Commons.
Carling has been active in local politics for a while now. He has served as a councillor for West Chesterton Ward. Also, he held various roles within the university and stood for the rights of the students. He was the president of Christ's College's Junior Common Room and co-chair of the Cambridge University Labour Club
Carling said many voters were surprised to discover he was running for office, but that "people on the doorstep were very positive", BBC reported. "They said ‘That’s good, we need more young people’.
"There is a lot of abuse aimed at younger people online, but face-to-face, people are generally thrilled to find out."
However, he doesn't want his age to be a focus.
"I want us to get away from this strange mindset towards younger people’s age. As far as I’m concerned we’re just the same as anyone else. I just want to get with the job."
Last time, the ‘Baby of the House’ was Oxford University graduate and fellow Labour MP Keir Mather. He had won the Selby and Ainsty by-election in 2023.
