Laila Cunningham, Reform UK’s candidate for London mayor, has been accused of “talking down” the capital after she claimed people “pity” Londoners for living in a city that is “no longer safe”. The former senior crown prosecutor and Reform Westminster city councillor made the comments during a central London press conference, where she billed herself as “a new sheriff in town” who would launch “an all-out war on crime”.
Standing alongside Reform leader Nigel Farage, Cunningham said she loved London but argued it had become unsafe. “When I was growing up, London was the place to live… People envied us that live here. Now, they pity us,” she said. She pledged to rewrite the London police and crime plan and give “new marching orders” to the Metropolitan Police to tackle knife crime, drugs, robbery, shoplifting and rape. Cunningham also said she would scrap the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) but declined to confirm her stance on the congestion charge.
Farage criticised current mayor Sadiq Khan, claiming London had been diminished by crime and an exodus of wealthy individuals. “He can’t think London today is the greatest city of the world. He is deluded,” Farage said. However, they were challenged on their portrayal of the capital. City hall data shows murders in the first nine months of 2025 were the lowest since monthly records began, with knife crime down 19% between April and June. Farage dismissed the statistics, claiming many people “throw [the Crime Survey] in the bin”. Cunningham added: “Crime is not down. Crime is up.”
The Labour Party in London said Cunningham’s announcement “confirms that Reform UK are offering the capital nothing but division and decline”. A spokesperson said: “London represents everything Reform UK opposes: multiculturalism, openness and confidence in our shared future.” Liberal Democrat London spokesperson Luke Taylor added: “All Reform seems 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.”
