A woman who was considered Britain’s youngest local councillor when she was elected at 18 has died suddenly.
Clarissa Slade, 21, who was studying classics at the University of Winchester, was found dead in her flat by her housemate.
Slade was a Conservative councillor on Mid Devon district council, after being elected in 2015.
Her father, Colin – who is also a councillor – said that the loss of his daughter was devastating and that she “had much more to give”.
He added that it was not yet known what had caused her death and that he was “in the dark”. “It is tragic her life has been cut so short. She said her long-term ambition was to be prime minister – who knows what she could have achieved. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.”
Police are treating her death as unexplained and a postmortem is to be carried out.
A spokesperson for the university said it was deeply saddened by her death, adding “our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends at this difficult time”.
At the time of her election, Slade said she had become the country’s youngest councillor.
Among those who posted tributes on social media was Plymouth University Conservative Society:
Shocked and Saddened to hear of the passing of Cllr Clarissa Slade who was a great friend of ours and a hard working councillor. pic.twitter.com/avqvWsGD55
— Plymouth Uni Tories (@PlymUniTories) March 27, 2018
North Devon MP Peter Heaton-Jones tweeted: “I knew Clarissa well. She was hardworking and always so upbeat, and had a bright future. Such a sad day.”
His words were echoed by Kevin Foster, Conservative MP for Torbay, who said he was “shocked and deeply saddened” to learn of her death.
Stephen Walford, Mid Devon council’s chief executive, said: “This is clearly a great shock to everyone at the council and will affect all those who worked with Clarissa.
“Clarissa’s parents, who are both serving councillors here at Mid Devon, will be devastated by this news and we will be supporting them in any way we can.”
Before Slade began her degree she said she had no intention of resigning and remained committed to serving her ward.
Council leader Clive Eginton said: “Clarissa had an endearing personality to all those who knew her well. As our youngest-ever elected councillor, Clarissa worked hard for her residents in Cranmore ward.”
