Laila Cunningham

Laila Cunningham
Westminster City Councillor for
Lancaster Gate
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 May 2022
Personal details
BornLaila Ahmed El-Meleigy
August 1977 (age 48)
Paddington, London, England
PartyReform UK (since 2025)
Other political
affiliations		Conservative (until 2025)
Spouses
  • Philippe Dupuy
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2004; div. 2014)​
  • Michael Cunningham
    ​
    (m. 2018)​
Children7
EducationLycée Français Charles de Gaulle
Alma materCalifornia State University, Long Beach
OccupationPolitician, lawyer

Laila Ahmed Cunningham (née El-Meleigy, previously Dupuy; born August 1977)[1] is a British politician and former Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor. She was elected to Westminster City Council in 2022 for the Conservative Party and defected to Reform UK in June 2025. In January 2026, Cunningham was announced as Reform UK's candidate at the 2028 London mayoral election.

Early life

Cunningham was born in Paddington, London to Egyptian parents who had emigrated to the United Kingdom in the 1960s.[2][3] Cunningham said that Egypt was nearly "communist" at the time being under the rule of Gamal Abdel Nasser and his National Union.[4][5]

She grew up in Kilburn in London, as one of five children.[3] She was educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in South Kensington, a private school that teaches the French curriculum.[6] At secondary school, she took a keen interest in basketball – particularly due to her height (she was 5ft 11 when she was aged 11). She was part of the team representing South East England, and played in the London Youth Games.[7][3] She trained at the Centre of Excellence for Basketball in Europe, and also played in California[3] while studying at California State University, Long Beach.[1]

Before entering politics, she was a lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service.[8]

Political career

Conservative Party

Cunningham said that her mother was a supporter of the Conservative Party and despised trade union leader Arthur Scargill.[5] Cunningham herself admired Margaret Thatcher.[9]

Cunningham stood in the Queen's Park ward in the 2018 Westminster City Council election, in which all three seats were won by Labour.[10] In 2022, she stood in the Lancaster Gate ward and was elected.[11] In the 2024 London Assembly election, she was on the London-wide Conservative list, and was not elected.[12]

In the 2024 general election, Cunningham was due to be the Conservative candidate in Rotherham. She withdrew "due to a change in circumstances", meaning the party did not contest the seat.[13] Excluding the convention not to stand candidates in the constituency of the incumbent Speaker of the House of Commons, it was the only constituency in England, Scotland or Wales where the Conservatives did not stand.[14]

Reform UK

Cunningham defected to Reform UK in June 2025.[15] She said the Conservatives had "let the country down" on issues such as taxation and immigration.[15] The leader of the Conservatives on the council, Paul Swaddle, said that Cunningham had frequently been late or absent and had lost their trust since the Rotherham decision; she denied the allegations.[15]

Due to making political remarks to The London Standard whilst still a CPS Prosecutor in June 2025, Cunningham drew controversy as prosecuting lawyers are expected to not take part in "any political or public activity which compromises, or might be seen to compromise, their impartial service to the Government of the day or any future Government".[16] This led to her resignation from the CPS, which was immediately accepted; she would likely have faced disciplinary process if she had not resigned.[7]

After defecting, Cunningham was mentioned by BBC News, The Daily Telegraph and The Times as being a potential Reform UK candidate for mayor of London in 2028.[9][8][17] She criticised incumbent Sadiq Khan over knife crime in London.[8]

In August 2025, Cunningham was one of the launchers of Women for Reform, alongside Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Sarah Pochin MP, and leader of Kent County Council Linden Kemkaran.[18]

On 7 January 2026, Cunningham was announced as the Reform candidate for the 2028 London mayoral election.[19] Cunningham proposed giving priority in social housing to British citizens,[20] and abolishing the Ultra Low Emission Zone.[21] Having been criticised by some on the right for having attended a Pride parade, Cunningham said "I've always been very pro gay rights, and I'll always march for that".[6] In February 2026, after former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe established Restore Britain, Cunningham described Restore Britain as "neo-Nazi". Lowe responded by stating that he had consulted his legal team and called on Cunningham to issue an apology and full retraction.[22] In response to her remarks, Elon Musk, who had endorsed Restore Britain, accused Reform UK of wanting "race extinction".[23]

Personal life

Cunningham is a mother of seven children.[5] She had four children from a ten-year marriage to Frenchman Philippe Dupuy,[24] which ended in divorce when he left her for a woman in Dubai.[25]

After her divorce, Cunningham undertook freelance legal work, before setting up an app called Kitchin Table for self-employed women to set up working groups in their homes.[25] She moved to Los Angeles to set up the app in 2018.[26] That same year, she married American tech investor Michael Cunningham, with whom she has another son.[27] She also raised his two existing children and thus considers herself to be a mother of seven.[28]

She had a sister who died of cancer around 2022.[29]

While Cunningham identifies as a Muslim,[30] she has stated that she does not pray or fast during Ramadan.[31]

References

  1. ^ a b Waterson, Jim; Smythe, Polly; Kehoe, Cormac (18 January 2026). "Laila Cunningham: Who is Reform UK's candidate to be mayor?". London Centric.
  2. ^ "Reform UK picks Muslim ex-lawyer Laila Cunningham to run for London mayor". Barron's. Agence France-Presse. 7 January 2026. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d Reform's 'vigilante mum' on winning lawless London, infidelity and banning the burka. The Daily Telegraph. YouTube. 8 January 2026. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  4. ^ Thomas, Pramod (8 January 2026). "Reform UK names Laila Cunningham as London mayoral candidate". Eastern Eye. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  5. ^ a b c Hazell, Will (6 September 2025). "Nowhere's safe in London, claims Reform rising star who wants to be mayor". The i Paper. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  6. ^ a b Cockerell, Claudia (15 January 2026). "Laila Cunningham: 'London is not a Muslim city and I'd like to see Christianity celebrated more'". The London Standard. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  7. ^ a b Lynch, David (15 January 2026). "Who is Laila Cunningham? The Reform UK candidate for London mayor". The Independent. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  8. ^ a b c Gutteridge, Nick (6 July 2025). "Reform's rising star: People are leaving London thanks to Khan". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  9. ^ a b Nevett, Joshua (7 September 2025). "Reform UK's new faces seek to share spotlight with Farage". BBC News. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  10. ^ "Westminster Council election results". Islington Tribune. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  11. ^ Prosser, Ryan (11 May 2022). "What does the new council look like? Local election results in full". Westminster Times. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  12. ^ "City Hall Conservatives". Who Can I Vote For. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  13. ^ Higgins, Dave (7 June 2024). "Tories fail to field candidate in Rotherham". BBC News. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  14. ^ Gutteridge, Nick (7 June 2024). "Conservatives fail to field candidate in Rotherham". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  15. ^ a b c Zorzut, Adrian (23 June 2025). "Reform gains its first London council seat as Tory jumps ship saying they 'let the country down'". My London. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  16. ^ Kirk, Tristan (26 June 2025). "London councillor who defected to Reform from Tories quits as CPS prosecutor after explosive remarks". The London Standard. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  17. ^ Kendix, Max (11 August 2025). "Reform's women praise men protecting wives from 'abusive migrants'". The Times. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  18. ^ Symonds, Harriet (11 August 2025). ""Farage's Fillies": How Reform UK Is Trying To Win Over Women". Politics Home. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  19. ^ Cecil, Nicholas (7 January 2026). "Laila Cunningham unveiled as Reform's candidate for London Mayor as she tells Sadiq Khan: 'Your time is up'". Evening Standard.
  20. ^ Jaffer, Kumail (12 January 2026). "Reform UK mayoral candidate says 'Londoners have been ignored' by Sadiq Khan". Newham Citizen. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  21. ^ "'I'd scrap Ulez' says Laila Cunningham, Reform's candidate for London mayor". ITV News. 7 January 2026. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  22. ^ Newbury, Aaron (18 February 2026). "Reform threatened with legal challenge after candidate brands rival MP 'neo-Nazi'". Daily Express. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  23. ^ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (18 February 2026). "THEY are the ones who want race extinction, which means THEY are the Nazis!" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 February 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  24. ^ Cockerell, Claudia (15 January 2026). "Reform's Laila Cunningham: 'I would never be part of a racist party'". The London Standard.
  25. ^ a b Sheppard, Emma (30 April 2018). "Would you let strangers work at your kitchen table?". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  26. ^ "Meet a Member: Laila Dupuy". The British Weekly. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  27. ^ Tominey, Camilla (9 January 2026). "Reform's Laila Cunningham: I'm a Muslim, but as mayor, I would want the burka banned". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  28. ^ Place, Tom (8 January 2026). "Who is Laila Cunningham, Reform UK's candidate for London mayor?". The London Standard. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  29. ^ Gecsoyler, Sammy (2 May 2024). "'Shock and sadness': outside Kensington Palace, public express sympathy for Kate". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  30. ^ Link, Isabella (9 January 2026). "Who is Laila Cunningham". Politics UK. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  31. ^ Cockerell, Claudia (15 January 2026). "Reform's Laila Cunningham: 'I would never be part of a racist party'". The London Standard. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
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