Mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham blames Labour for failing to “foster unity” reports Kumail Jafffer, Local Democracy Reporter

Labour have divided London’s communities and pitted them against each other, Reform UK’s candidate for the London mayoralty in 2028 has claimed.

Laila Cunningham, who was unveiled in January as the party’s hopeful, said the ruling party had failed to “foster unity” among different ethnic groups and blamed them for rising hate crime figures in the capital.

Figures from the Metropolitan Police earlier this year show racist hate crimes in London up 9 per cent in the past 12 months, with nearly 18,000 reported offences.

Last month the Local Democracy Reporting Service told how anti-Muslim hate incidents have increased sixfold in the capital since 2021, while new figures also show the number of antisemitic incidents recorded across the UK since the start of the year is up by a fifth compared to last year, including a series of attacks in London.

Cunningham, who is Muslim and was born in London to Egyptian parents, blamed the situation on the government’s attitude to different communities.

“What Labour have done is divide the city along ethnic and religious lines,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“They’ve gone to like the Muslim community and said this country is Islamophobic, it’s oppressed you, [and that] only Labour has got your back. They’ve gone to the Black community and said it’s racist, only we’ve got your back.

“For me, that doesn’t foster unity – it pitches different demographics and different groups against each other. We are all Londoners.

“When I grew up, I had friends from all walks of life, all different ethnicities, and nobody asked what religion you are – nobody cared.

“We all may have come from a different background, but it’s [about] where we’re going.

“There is one culture and that is a British culture, and we are the capital of the United Kingdom, and we must be proud of that.”

Muslim voters

London is home to more than 1.3million Muslims, 15 per cent of the capital’s population. While not a monolithic bloc, candidates who appeal to the community’s interest will receive a major boost in 2028.

Khan, who is also a Muslim, has often leant into his religious identity, with some party figures saying his presence and attitude meant he bucked the trend of Labour losing a significant proportion Muslim voters in 2024.

Cunningham, however, said she does “not want anyone to vote for me because I’m a Muslim woman”, adding: “I want people to vote in 2028 by closing their eyes and imagining the London they want.”

She also revealed that some political figures told her she should join the Green Party “just by virtue of my demographic”.

However, her identity as a second-generation immigrant has played a part in how she appreciates London and the UK.

“My parents came here in the 1960s, and perhaps there’s a real deep, innate gratitude that they picked England. My mum adores this country, and I think we never take the opportunities that this country offers for granted.

“The freedom to be successful, the freedom to speak your mind, the rule of law. Those things are never taken for granted because you can always contrast it with what could have been had they not come here.

“And perhaps that perspective is not available to someone who’s British [born]. So I do think I do speak to a lot of children of immigrants or immigrants who adore this country because they recognise what a beacon of civilisation it is across the world.”

Flag wars

She took aim at the mayor and various council leaders across London for failing to fly the Union Jack or St George’s Flag more proudly.

Khan has been subject to a pressure campaign from the Reform UK group on the London Assembly to fly the latter more often, with City Hall only doing so to mark St George’s Day once a year.

Cunningham said that the Greater London Authority (GLA) should help unite the city by sending a message around the “greatness of our country and our capital.”

“I don’t see any flags across the city, ” she said.

“Why not? You go to an American, you go to Washington [DC]. There’s flags all over the place because they’re proud. They’re proud to represent the country and they’re proud to be the capital. And that’s what I want London to be. That is a unifying message.”

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