Nigel Farage has officially launched Laila Cunningham as Reform UK’s candidate for the next London mayoral election, offering a strong alternative to Labour’s Sadiq Khan.
Cunningham, a Westminster City Councillor who defected from the Tories last year, will also head Reform UK’s London branch, leading the party into the capital’s all-borough elections later this year.
At a press conference announcing her candidacy, Farage praised Cunningham’s record, saying she is
passionate, articulate, a mother, who herself has effectively in the absence of the police had to act as a police officer herself in defence of children.
Farage emphasized that Cunningham will not only contest the mayoralty but also serve as the face of Reform UK’s campaign across all 32 London boroughs in the lead-up to May 7th.
Farage criticized Khan’s leadership, describing the Labour Mayor as “deluded” for claiming London is the best city in the world
When you ask people in Dubai, Milan, places like that, when you ask them would they come back to the UK, well it’s not just about tax, it’s actually about ‘I will only come back if this is a safe city for me and my family to live in.’
Cunningham, herself a Muslim, took aim at Khan’s accusations of Islamophobia, calling them “an insult to victims and to Londoners.” She stated that Khan has tried to dismiss critics by labeling them ‘far right.’
Reform UK has been gaining momentum nationwide, recently overtaking Labour to become Britain’s largest political party by membership. Reform UK reports 268,631 paid-up members, surpassing Labour, whose ranks have fallen below 250,000 since last year’s general election.
