Shanika Mahendran

Shanika Mahendran was a Milton Keynes Labour councillor and Cabinet Member for Planning and Placemaking whose short public career left a clear mark on the city's planning, sustainability and cultural life. She died on 1 July 2026 at the age of 28 after a short and sudden illness. Milton Keynes City Council announced her death the next day, with council flags flown at half-mast, and tributes followed from every party group and from the city's Labour MPs.

Born and raised in Milton Keynes, she was first elected to Milton Keynes City Council in 2022 at the age of 24, representing Loughton and Shenley ward. In November 2022 she became Chair of the Planning Committee. In 2023 she joined the Cabinet as the youngest Cabinet member in the authority and the first Asian woman to hold a Cabinet post in Milton Keynes. She later served as Cabinet Member for Economy, Sustainability and Innovation, and from February 2025 as Cabinet Member for Planning and Placemaking. In May 2026 she was re-elected as councillor for New Bradwell while continuing in that Cabinet role.

She graduated from King's College London with a Masters in Sustainable Cities. Colleagues credited her with advancing Milton Keynes' sustainability strategy and with taking forward the MK City Plan for 2050. She helped initiate the Midsummer Festival, backed MK Tech Week, and was a leading advocate of the city's UK City of Culture bid. In 2025 she was shortlisted as Young Councillor of the Year in the Local Government Information Unit awards. Earlier in 2026 The Planner magazine named her among its Women of Influence.

Alongside council work she served as a Local Government Coordinator in the Labour Party's politics team and spent nearly two years as a communications officer for Milton Keynes North MP Chris Curtis. Speaking to the BBC in 2025 she described growing up with Milton Keynes, valuing its diversity and green spaces, and supporting efforts to secure local benefit from the planned Universal United Kingdom Resort nearby.

Labour group leader Lauren Townsend called the loss of "such a talented young woman" a deep blow and pledged to continue her work for the city she loved. Council leader Jane Carr said she had devoted her skills and energy to making Milton Keynes a better place to live. MPs Chris Curtis, Callum Anderson and Emily Darlington each remembered her compassion, bravery and drive. At a special council tribute meeting on 14 July 2026, members across parties spoke of her talent and determination. Her funeral was private; she asked that donations in her memory go to the Milton Keynes Food Bank.