LONDON: Although the next London mayoral election is scheduled for 2028, political activities in the British capital have already begun heating up. The stir started when Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, announced its candidate for the upcoming mayoral race: Lelia Cunningham.
The early nomination aims to energize Cunningham’s campaign ahead of recent local elections and party-level contests. The announcement comes at a time when current Mayor Sadiq Khan has yet to declare whether he will seek a fourth term.
Speaking to the media, Cunningham emphasized that tackling crime would be her top priority if elected. She expressed concern over London’s rising incidents of knife crimes, drug offenses, robberies, and sexual assaults.
Cunningham, a former Westminster City Councilor elected in 2022, has a background in British politics and law, having previously served as a prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service.
She was elected to Westminster under the Conservative Party, but in 2025 she joined Reform UK, becoming the first representative of the party in any London borough council.
Born in August 1977 in the UK to parents who migrated from Egypt in the 1960s, Cunningham—formerly known as Lelia Doupi—has four children from her first marriage, which lasted ten years, and one child from her second marriage to an American. She also helps raise two children from her husband’s previous marriage.
With this early nomination, London’s mayoral race is officially underway, signaling the start of a highly competitive political environment years before the official election.
