{"id":680330,"date":"2026-01-07T16:59:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/680330\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T16:59:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:59:13","slug":"who-is-reforms-laila-cunningham-and-what-would-london-look-like-with-her-as-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/680330\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Reform’s Laila Cunningham, and what would London look like with her as mayor?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WEST<\/p>\n

Ms Cunningham will now spearhead Reform\u2019s campaign across the capital, with the party looking to use the May local elections <\/a>as a springboard to take control of London in 2028.<\/p>\n

\"Reform<\/p>\n

Stefan Rousseau\/PA Wire<\/p>\n

During her unveiling, she argued that the mayoral race would be a \u201cbinary choice\u201d between her and Sadiq Khan<\/a>, who hasn\u2019t yet announced that he will stand for a fourth term.<\/p>\n

But who is Ms Cunningham? What is her background, and what would London look like under her policies? What has she said, and what have people said about her? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n

The daughter of Egyptian parents who had fled their country in the 1960s, Ms Cunningham<\/a> was born at St Mary\u2019s Hospital, Paddington.<\/p>\n

She has spoken of her parents renovating properties and setting up a small hotels business, as they wanted to \u201cembrace full Britishness, British values and British culture\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ms Cunningham embraced right-wing politics from a young age – she told The i in September last year that she grew up in a very political house, with her mother staunch Conservative who portrayed Arthur Scargill <\/a>as a baddie in her bedtime stories.<\/p>\n

Ms Cunningham is a Muslim and a mother of seven children, having four children from a ten-year marriage which ended in divorce, and subsequently remarrying a man with two existing children and having a further son with him. <\/p>\n

She has described experiencing \u201cconstant\u201d racist and misogynistic abuse online, telling the i: \u201cIt doesn\u2019t affect me\u2026 Because maybe I\u2019ve worked in the criminal justice system, I grew up in London like, it\u2019s awful, of course, but I just, I just brush it aside.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cI\u2019d never think to report it to the police, even if I knew who the person was, unless I felt a personal threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was a lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)<\/a>, and ran in the 2018 Westminster City Council election for the Conservatives, but failed to get elected, before succeeding in 2022.<\/p>\n

Ms Cunningham was due to be the Conservative candidate in Rotherham during the 2024 general election, but ultimately withdrew her candidacy.<\/p>\n

She resigned from the CPS following her defection to Reform in 2025 after making highly-politicised remarks about law and order – more on that later.<\/p>\n

How did she come to join Reform?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ms Cunningham defected from the Tories to Reform in June last year, to become the party\u2019s first representative on a London borough council.<\/p>\n

She said that it was a \u201cdereliction of duty\u201d that there are not more police officers in the capital to fight crime<\/a>, and predicted a massive surge in Reform councillors in London in the upcoming local elections.<\/p>\n

She said that both the Tories and Labour have failed on crime, as well as on controlling immigration, allowing a growing public sector, spiralling national debt and on the impact of net zero.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cIt\u2019s a dereliction of duty that there\u2019s not more policing, more access to police, and that\u2019s what I want to see a change\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired of defending failure. So, when I\u2019m at the doorstep, speaking to residents, campaigning, I can\u2019t defend the Conservatives anymore. I can\u2019t defend the past 14 years,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\"Nigel<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

She also praised Reform leader Nigel Farage<\/a>, saying: \u201cHe\u2019s just such a great communicator, and everything he said makes sense. I don\u2019t know how anyone can disagree with what Reform says.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the defection Ms Cunningham has been seen as a rising star in the party, and she was the face of the Women for Reform campaign launched last year, with the party looking to win over female voters.<\/p>\n

What would London look like with Laila Cunningham as mayor?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking in her press conference, Ms Cunningham was scathing about the state of the capital.<\/p>\n

She said: “I love this city with all my heart, but unlike some in this room, I’m not blind to what it’s become.<\/p>\n

\u201cLondon, one of the greatest cities on earth, is no longer safe, and that didn’t happen by accident.”<\/p>\n

She says crime is the number one issue in London, and was once dubbed \u201cvigilante mum\u201d after trying to track down muggers who had targeted her children.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019ll be a new sheriff in town and I\u2019ll be launching an all-out war on crime,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Having stressed that previous regimes have failed on crime, she said she would rewrite the London police and crime plan and give “new marching orders” to the Met to “tackle crime that matters”.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

ES Composite<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cIf you are not delivering for Londoners then you are out. <\/p>\n

I was really disappointed when Mark Rowley said there were no grooming gangs in London and then turned around and said we are reviewing 9,000 cases….how do you get 9,000 cases wrong?<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, as it stands right now, I think he has to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

“I’d scrap Ulez, because I don’t think a war on motorists helps anyone,” she said.<\/p>\n

When asked by The Standard last year to name three things she would like to change in London, she cited more police, a fair allocation of social housing with families from London, and to \u201cMake London Great Again.\u201d<\/p>\n

When questioned about accusations of Reforms\u2019 \u201cfantasy economics\u201d, with a series of promises costing tens of billions of pounds, she said: \u201cHave you ever looked at any manifesto and it adds up?\u201d – before saying she had not looked at the figures.<\/p>\n

Pressed whether she supports banning the burka, she said: \u201cI don\u2019t think you should have any face coverings in public.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than ban it, there should be guidance that when the police see you covering your face, that can be reason for stop and search.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has described stop and search as a \u201cgreat tool\u201d, saying that any criticism around discrimination should not prevent its wider use.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see so many teenagers on a hot August day walking down the street with a balaclava and it\u2019s ignored. That should be a reason for stop and search immediately,\u201d she has said.<\/p>\n

Laila Cunningham\u2019s most controversial quotes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ms Cunningham has not been shy with some of her outspoken views.<\/p>\n

When comparing the crime rates in Chicago and London, she has claimed that there are \u201cno safe parts\u201d in the UK capital.<\/p>\n

Despite Chicago having a homicide rate about 20 times higher than London, she said: \u201cThere are areas in Chicago that you cannot go to because crime is rampant there and in the nicer, affluent areas, the tourist areas, there is no crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difference in London is that there are no safe parts, right? You could go to Knightsbridge and get stabbed for your watch and killed\u2026 there\u2019s nowhere to avoid it in London.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is not necessarily borne out by the statistics – while shoplifting and snatch theft are up considerably over the past 20 years, the Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that robbery is down 60%, bike and car theft down 50%, burglary is down by two-thirds and violent crime has halved.<\/p>\n

Statistics regarding hospital admissions for assaults in England, including by knives and firearms, are also down by almost half since 2000.<\/p>\n

Ms Cunningham has also spoken fiercely in defence of free speech, admitting that she is worried about the direction it is heading under Labour.<\/p>\n

She has said: \u201cIf you want to criticise Islam, then it\u2019s up to you. Everyone has their own opinions. People criticise Christianity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there should be any law legislating how and what people can say in relation to different religions, different cultures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need more government, we don\u2019t need more legislation. We need less.\u201d<\/p>\n

She believes it isn\u2019t the job of the government to police racism, except in circumstances where individuals are inciting violence, saying: \u201cThere always has been racists, and I do feel that society will deal with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re fired from their job. They\u2019re not going to have any friends. It\u2019s not the government\u2019s role in my opinion \u2013 but that\u2019s my personal opinion \u2013 to interfere with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

On anti-Muslim prejudice, Ms Cunningham has said: \u201c I don\u2019t blame people for feeling the way they do about Muslims.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can I blame them? You know, if you\u2019ve never met a Muslim person, right? And all you\u2019re seeing is the Pakistani Muslim rape gangs, if you\u2019re seeing most of the terrorism – let\u2019s face it – is not white supremacist, it\u2019s Islamic terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cYou see certain towns in this country who have completely been taken over by Muslim communities who don\u2019t embrace British values.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to census data, there are no UK towns or cities with majority Muslim populations.<\/p>\n

Ms Cunningham is also a critic of the Online Safety Bill – but a fan of US Vice President JD Vance, describing him as \u201cgreat,\u201d adding: \u201cHe tells it how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

What have people said about her?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Upon her defection, Reform UK<\/a> leader Nigel Farage told The Standard: \u201cLaila is an enormously talented, successful woman who will add to the professionalisation of our London team.\u201d<\/p>\n

And upon announcing her as his party\u2019s mayoral candidate, Mr Farage said: “Laila Cunningham has already proven in her time with us as a party to be articulate, to be passionate, a mother, somebody who actually herself has had to effectively in the absence of the police, act as a police officer herself in defence of her children.<\/p>\n

“She, from this moment on, will be the head of Reform UK London, our candidate for the mayor next year and the face of our campaign as we fight a strong, vigorous campaign in all 32 London boroughs in the run up to May 7.”<\/p>\n

However, writing online last year, Adnan Hmidan of Middle East Monitor was more scathing.<\/p>\n

Mr Hmidan said: \u201cCunningham, recently unveiled as the Reform Party\u2019s latest figurehead alongside Nigel Farage, represents a familiar political tactic in Britain: elevating minority voices to front racist agendas under the guise of diversity.<\/p>\n

\u201cA British lawyer of Egyptian heritage, she recycles classic far-right narratives targeting immigrants, Muslims, and ethnic minorities \u2014 but delivers them with an \u2018insider\u2019s voice\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHer identity is weaponised to give cover to rhetoric that white politicians would otherwise hesitate to say aloud for fear of being accused of racism.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ms Cunningham will now spearhead Reform\u2019s campaign across the capital, with the party looking to use the May…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680331,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,206382,257,384,386,14252,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-680330","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-laila-cunningham","12":"tag-london","13":"tag-nigel-farage","14":"tag-reform-uk","15":"tag-sadiq-khan","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115854885999207763","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}