Reform UK’s newly unveiled London mayoral candidate was left visibly wrong-footed this week after being asked an unusually pointed question on GB News – exposing a growing contradiction at the heart of Nigel Farage’s party.
Laila Cunningham, a Westminster city councillor and former senior Crown Prosecutor, was announced as Reform’s candidate for the 2028 London mayoral election, with Farage positioning her as the party’s public face in the capital ahead of May’s local elections.
But her media tour did not go entirely to plan.
🎯 THE MOMENT THAT STALLED REFORM
Appearing on GB News – a broadcaster generally sympathetic to Reform UK – Cunningham faced questions about the party’s increasing reliance on former Conservative politicians, despite its constant attacks on the Tory record in government.
The exchange began with a challenge from Michael Gove, who asked Cunningham whether she believed former prime minister Boris Johnson had “betrayed Brexit” – and why she chose to stand as a Conservative candidate in 2022 if she held that view.
Cunningham responded by saying she had “stood for her area”, a reply that did little to address the substance of the question.
Moments later, GB News presenter Michelle Dewberry followed up with a far more direct challenge:
“If the Tories are so bad, why is Reform UK filling themselves full of them?”
Cunningham paused before replying bluntly:
“I can’t answer that.”
The moment quickly circulated on social media, with one X user remarking: “Sometimes, GB News actually asks the right question.”
🔍 WHO IS LAILA CUNNINGHAM?
Cunningham is a relatively new but prominent recruit for Reform UK. Prior to defecting from the Conservatives last year, she served as a Westminster councillor and worked as a senior Crown Prosecutor.
Her defection followed a broader pattern that has seen Reform increasingly staffed by former Tory MPs, councillors and advisers – a trend that has attracted both attention and criticism.
Farage has repeatedly insisted that Reform is not a “rebrand of the Conservative Party”, yet the composition of its candidates and leadership has fuelled scepticism, particularly among voters drawn to Reform as an anti-establishment alternative.
🔁 REFORM’S TORY PROBLEM
Cunningham is far from alone. In recent months, Reform UK has welcomed a steady stream of ex-Conservatives, including former MPs, council leaders and senior party figures.
While Farage argues these defections demonstrate the collapse of trust in both major parties, critics say Reform cannot credibly campaign against 14 years of Conservative government while recruiting those who helped deliver it.
That contradiction is becoming harder to explain – especially when asked directly.
❓ WHY THE QUESTION MATTERS
The awkward exchange highlights a deeper strategic problem for Reform as it seeks to broaden its appeal beyond protest politics and into serious electoral contention, particularly in London.
Voters disillusioned with the Conservatives but sceptical of Labour are increasingly asking whether Reform represents genuine change – or simply a reshuffle of familiar faces under a new banner.
For a party built on attacking the political establishment, the inability to explain why it is “filling itself full of Tories” risks undermining its core message.
📉 A RARE MOMENT OF SCRUTINY
GB News has often been accused of offering Reform figures a relatively gentle platform. That this challenge came from within the channel itself made the moment all the more striking.
It also underlined a growing reality for Reform candidates: as the party gains prominence, it will face tougher scrutiny – even from friendly outlets.
For Cunningham, the question was simple. The answer, it seems, was not.
![Keir Starmer Unpacked: meeting world leaders to protect British interests [YouTube]](https://thedailybritain.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/sirkeirstarmerapril26.jpg)
Leave a Reply