Laila Cunningham (formerly Dupuy) is a British politician and former prosecutor. She was elected to Westminster City Council in 2022 for the Conservative Party and defected to Reform UK in 2025, becoming the party's first representative in a London borough council.
Cunningham was born to Egyptian parents who had fled their country in the 1960s; she characterised Egypt as nearly "communist" at the time. [1] She was a lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service. [2]
Cunningham is Muslim, and is a mother of seven children. [1] She had four children from a ten-year marriage, which ended in divorce when her husband left for a woman in Dubai. [3] After her divorce, Cunningham did freelance legal work, before setting up an app called Kitchin Table for self-employed women to set up working groups in their homes. [3] She moved to Los Angeles to set up the app in 2018. [4]
Cunningham said that her mother was a supporter of the Conservative Party and despised trade union leader Arthur Scargill. [1] Cunningham herself admired Margaret Thatcher. [5]
Cunningham ran in the Queen's Park ward in the 2018 Westminster City Council election, in which all three seats were won by Labour. [6] In 2022, she ran in the Lancaster Gate ward and was elected. [7] In the 2024 London Assembly election, she ran on the London-wide Conservative list, and was not elected. [8]
In the 2024 United Kingdom 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. [9]
Cunningham defected to Reform UK in June 2025, becoming the party's first councillor in a London borough. [10] She said the Conservatives had "let the country down" on issues such as taxation and immigration. [10] 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. [10]
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. [5] [2] [11] She attacked incumbent Sadiq Khan over knife crime in London. [2]
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. [12]
Cunningham has said that she faces Islamophobic abuse, but would only report it if there was a threat. [1] She has said that she does not blame people for holding anti-Muslim prejudice. [1] She has said that Islamophobia should not be codified as a criminal offence, and that Muslims must accept being offended or move to another country. [1]