Laila Cunningham, Reform UK's candidate for London mayor, has criticised Nigel Farage's use of the term 'mass deportation', saying it played into the hands of opponents and cost the party votes in the capital. Speaking to The Independent, she argued that the language allowed Labour and the Greens to label Reform as racist, a charge that 'has landed, sadly'.
While Reform made gains across England, its expected breakthroughs in London largely failed. Farage had predicted winning 'half a dozen' of the 32 London boroughs, but the party only took control of Havering, on the edge of Essex, while failing in targets such as Bexley, Barking and Dagenham, and Bromley. In west, north and central London, results were very poor.
Cunningham, the daughter of immigrants, said she faced accusations of being a 'sellout' while canvassing. She argued that her party's message on illegal migration was fair, but that Labour and the Greens had 'divided it up along religious and ethnic lines' by telling ethnic groups they were victims. The party's hopes were also dampened in Bexley and Waltham Forest by candidates who had made racist and Islamophobic comments on social media.
Reform's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf had unveiled a policy of 'mass deportations' just before the elections, which appeared to spook voters. Cunningham stressed the need for clearer communication, saying 'mass deportation does have some connotation' and that the party must clarify it refers only to illegal migrants.
