Reform UK have launched a battle for London’s soul – save this lawless hellhole | Politics | News
As May’s local elections approach, Reformation is looking for ways to influence the people of London. Although the city’s mayoral race is still two years away, Laila Cunningham has been announced as the party’s candidate and the spokesperson of the capital. Cunningham, a former prosecutor, has made early promises to automate the subway and scrap the costly ULEZ emissions plan. But his biggest move is on crime.
Rudy Guiliani-esque Cunningham is set to portray Labor Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan as an incompetent leader overseeing a lawless capital. As I write this from Singapore, I can testify that London – although safer than New York and Paris – is infinitely (and unnecessarily) more dangerous than here, Seoul, Taipei or Tokyo.
Can reform do this? Well, that’s a tall order. London is a Labor city. That doesn’t mean Cunningham can’t win, of course. Boris Johnson won the election for Mayor of London despite his Conservative Party losing to Labor at parliamentary level in the capital.
Polls show Reform could win 8 London constituencies at the next election, and polls are good in Outer London, particularly areas such as Havering in the East.
Yet London elects 75 MPs. Winning 8 from nothing is an achievement, but despite these losses and the Conservatives’ projected losses to Labour, Sir Keir Starmer, himself a London MP, can still rely on the capital.
But as Boris Johnson has shown, things can work differently at local government level. In 2024, Khan received more than 40% of the vote, while the Conservative Party candidate received only a third; this was a period when the Conservatives were taking a nosedive across the country.
At the time, the Reformation wasn’t even on the map nationwide, let alone in London. Meanwhile, Khan may decide not to run in 2028. Crime is also a problem that is growing more than ever before. There’s a lot to play with then.
Reformation doesn’t need London to win Britain. But London needs Reformation to stop being a lawless hellhole. Cunningham’s position is clear and it seems clear that Reformation will make big gains in the capital this May.
Will the ‘doughnut strategy’ to win outer London work? Could reform swallow Tory votes? So who would have thought a year ago that Nigel Farage would be heading towards No 10? Cunningham v Khan isn’t just about becoming Mayor of London, it’s a battle for the soul of a great but deeply wounded city.
