Laila Cunningham is in the bathroom of Reform HQ, trying to decide which blazer to wear. One is a chic brown number from Zara, the other is cornflower blue (you get the sense that this is as close as she will go to Reform turquoise) with a slightly fussy tie around the neck. She whips the brown one off over her head and stands unselfconsciously in her bra, considering the blue. Minutes ago she had shaken my hand with barely a smile, but women’s bathrooms have a way of breaking the ice. I tell her that the brown seems more her style, but the blue is more politician-y. She concludes that in this case, politician-y is the point.
Cunningham was a little-known councillor for Westminster when she defected from the Conservatives to Reform in June last year. Since then, her star has been rising. She makes for good TV and has become a favoured guest on GB News. Not only does she have Jemima Khan-ish looks, with an angular face and long, blow dried chestnut hair, but she is also up for a scrap. Numerous clips have gone viral of her sparring with Labour MPs, stabbing a finger as she talks over them. “Laila, respectful debate means not constantly interrupting somebody,” pleads one.
