New MP says cancelled exams inspired him to get into politics

A 22-year-old new MP has said he hoped to use his “direct experience” of problems in schools to help “revitalise” them.

Sam Carling, Labour MP for North West Cambridgeshire and the youngest member of the House of Commons, had his A-level exams cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic, which is what he said inspired him to get into politics.

In his maiden speech in the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Carling paid tribute to his predecessor, Conservative MP Shailesh Vara, whom he beat at the recent general election by 39 votes.

He told the Commons: “I was in the first cohort of students whose A-level exams were cancelled during the pandemic, and in many ways it was that experience that politicised me.”

Mr Carling, who grew up in the north-east of England, said it was a “deprived rural area”, and from a young age he saw the decline in High Streets and “growing problems” in public services, including schools.

“When I was in my final year at a rural school, budget cuts forced the closure of its sixth form, leaving me and others having to find alternative provision at short notice, which wasn’t easy for many who faced very long journeys indeed to the nearest alternative,” he said.

He added that the closure “fragmented the community”.

However, he said he did not connect those issues with politics until education and the pandemic directly impacted him.

“The response to the crisis, the decisions about exams – or lack thereof – provided to students, made it clear to a great many previously disengaged young people that political choices have real and immediate consequences,” Mr Carling said.

He said he wanted the Labour government to “get to grips” with a lack of dentists and NHS staff “who are dreadfully overworked”, as well as “fixing rural transport”.

During his speech, he also said Labour had work to do to “improve engagement in our democracy”, which revolves around “rebuilding trust in politics”.