Reform’s Cunningham complains ‘Restore’ is racist

Former Tory Laila Cunningham, now a councillor for far-right ‘Reform UK’, has told the hard-right Telegraph that she has received death threats from supporters of even more extreme-right ‘Restore Britain’. Restore supporters don’t like that she is a Muslim.

No Muslim should suffer hate for being a Muslim or for the colour of their skin. But Cunningham – also Reform’s candidate in the next London mayoral election – has pandered to white supremacy and Islamophobic race-hate as a campaign tactic. In January 2026, she said that any woman wearing a burqa should be subject to arbitrary stop-and-search, because:

It has to be assumed that if you’re hiding your face, you’re hiding it for a criminal reason.

Trumpist parrot

She has also parroted Trumpist lies that “nowhere” in London is safe and that:

If you go to parts of London, it does feel like a Muslim city. The signs are written in a different language. You’ve got burqas being sold in markets.

As if that wasn’t enough, in 2025 she said she doesn’t “blame people” for hating Muslims and opposed even a definition of Islamophobia. A cynical mind might suspect she’s trying to court Muslim residents’ votes in Makerfield, where Reform hopes to win a parliamentary by-election this Thursday, 18 June 2026.

Islamophobia is disgusting. And Cunningham might want to take a look in the mirror.

Featured image via the Canary