Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party became the first challenger to announce their candidate to become Mayor of London, almost 27 months ahead of the election.
Speaking to a room full of journalists in a glitzy venue in London Bridge, Mr Farage confirmed long-held rumours that Westminster Councillor Laila Cunningham, who has been fronting the party’s campaign in London for months, will stand against Sir Sadiq Khan in two years’ time.
During a lengthy press conference, here’s what we learned about the former local Conservative official turned Reform UK Mayoral hopeful.
Reform’s London campaigning will focus on the Mayor’s record on crime
Reform Assembly Members have sought to portray the capital city as “lawless”, despite City Hall’s insistence that violent crime is falling and compares favourably to other major capital cities.
It was no surprise that Ms Cunningham, who has previously been branded as a “vigilante mum” after trying to track down muggers who had targeted her children, said “safety” would be her main priority if elected.
“That means visible policing and real consequences [for criminals],” she said.
“There’ll be a new sheriff in town, and I’ll be declaring all out war on crime. I will set clear high level priorities for the Met [Police] to focus on tackling knife crime, drugs, robberies, shoplifting, and rape. And I will task the Met with targeting, hunting, and prosecuting rape gangs in London. There will be nowhere for them to hide.”
Taking aim at the current Mayor, she added: “Londoners need to know that the state of law and order in our city is his fault.
“He is the London’s Police and Crime Commissioner. He appoints the Met Commissioner. He sets the priorities, he signs off on the budget. He is in charge.”
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While the speech was light on policy, Ms Cunningham pledged to restructure the Met Police to “restore visible policing”.
She added: “We have 32,000 officers. I don’t know where the hell they are, why they’re not on our streets.”
Reform UK will also accuse the Mayor of being anti-motorist
One of Sir Sadiq’s most significant moves since being elected in 2016 include the introduction and expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which charges drivers of non-compliant cars who travel into and through the capital.
Many of the Mayor’s critics have consistently held this policy, as well as City Hall’s encouragement of active and public transport, as evidence that Sir Sadiq is penalising London’s motorists.
Ms Cunningham, who vowed to scrap ULEZ entirely, said: “Every part of life in London is getting more expensive, and still he keeps punishing people for driving to work.
“Working people have been fined, trapped and taxed simply, as have people for taking their children to store, for caring for elderly relatives.
“Carers, tradesmen, small business owners have been treated with like the problem, while violent offenders own the streets.”
She said a decision has not been made on whether to get rid of the Congestion Charge Zone.
Reform UK thinks it will be a two-horse race in 2028
Mr Farage’s party may have only got 3.2 per cent of the vote in 2024 when Howard Cox tried his luck at City Hall.
But with Reform UK now flying high in the national polls and surveying well in some areas of London, they are confident that they have a realistic shot at controlling the capital.
Mr Farage said May 7, when all Londoners will have the chance to vote in the local elections, will reflect this enthusiasm for his party.
Both him and Ms Cunningham said that they will provide the alternative to Sir Sadiq in 2028, as opposed to the Labour-Tory dichotomy that has defined City Hall since its inception.
Credit: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon
“Most Londoners have given up on the Tories, they’re not even a part of the conversation,” the candidate said.
“This Mayoral election will be a binary choice. Khan vs Cunningham.”
Ms Cunningham claimed Sir Sadiq is aware of her after she publicly confronted him over knife crime last year.
“He tried to ignore me once, but my message to him is that he can’t ignore me now,” she added.
“The choice of Khan vs Cunningham is a choice that you will make, that will decide the future of London, the future of the best city in the world.”
Mr Farage said that a better candidate could have beaten Sir Sadiq in 2021 and 2024, but blamed the Tories for not providing support to Shaun Bailey and Susan Hall.
Reform’s candidate is keen to “automate” London’s transport to avoid future Tube strikes
The Mayor of London has often been caught in tense negotiations with transport staff, who have carried out around 140 days of industrial action – and subsequent misery for Londoners trying to commute around the city – during his decade in City Hall.
“I’m sick and tired of London being run by TfL unions”, Ms Cunningham said, presumably referring to the RMT, ASLEF, TSSA and Unite that represent many transport staff.
“They take us for granted, and that’s because it’s a Labour-run city and Labour are in the pockets of the unions.
“I would love to automate the Tube, because every time there’s a strike in London, that’s hundreds of millions of pounds [lost], and you can’t even drive in because you’ve got ULEZ and you’ve got Congestion Charge.”
There are currently no plans to automate the Tube due to the high cost of modernising every remaining Tube line and rebuilding entire platforms to accommodate the full arrival of driverless trains.
An RMT spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Upgrading just 3 lines on London Underground would cost in the region of £20bn. TfL does not believe it is economically viable and it would not be safe.
“Drivers on the Tube perform a skilled and an essential safety critical role everyday. Along with station staff, and other grades, they are vital in emergencies such as the 7/7 terrorist attacks where members of our union performed heroically, assisting emergency services in saving lives.
“Any attempt to move towards driverless trains in the future, will be met with mass industrial action over a sustained period of time.”
How have other parties responded?
Sir Sadiq chose to talk up his own record after being the prime target of criticism during the press conference.
A source close to the Mayor said: “Sadiq is getting on with the job of delivering a fairer, safer, greener city for every Londoner. He has delivered over 100 million free school meals for state primary school children, helping families with the cost of living.
“Homicides are at a record low, a record number of council homes have been built, and his policies have cut harmful air pollution in London by 27 per cent.
“In 2028, Londoners face a clear choice: leadership with Labour that believes in London and delivers, or a Reform candidate fronting a party that talks the city down, opposes our values and cannot even get the basics right.”
Luke Taylor MP, the Liberal Democrat spokesman for London, said: “From its history to its culture to its people, London is the greatest city in the world but all Reform seem to do is talk it down.
“Cunningham and Farage care more about sowing division than they do about solving the actual problems that Londoners face.
“The Liberal Democrats will stand up for the millions of Londoners who love this city and its values and ensure London is a better place for everyone.”
