‘I don’t recognise that’: Reform UK’s London candidate hits back at claim capital needs foreign labour

GB News Political Correspondent Olivia Utley asked Ms Cunningham how Reform's immigration policies would impact London if Nigel Farage were to be handed the keys to 10 Downing Street at the next round of elections.

"If there was a drop in the number of migrants coming to work in London, a city which is dependent on migrant labour, that could have an impact on London's economy", Olivia said.

"What would you do about that?" she asked the Westminster councillor.

In response, she said: "So I don't recognise that [we're reliant on migrant workers].

"We have imported foreign cheap labour for way too long and that's kept wages down because when you import cheap wages, that's what happens.

"There is a cost of living crisis in London. Rent is way higher. No one owns their home. We have 30 and 40 year olds who will never own their home."

She further said she would like to see startups being established across the city, from across the world.

The Reform candidate continued: "I want to see jobs that pay."

But Olivia continued to challenge Ms Cunningham, referring to the 32 per cent of migrant workers in the care sector across England.

She said: "Historically, British people haven't wanted, for whatever reason, to do those jobs.

"So yes, of course it would be brilliant to bring more jobs to Britain. But there are jobs which are reliant on migrant labour. What would you do about that?"

"I'd reverse that reliance of migrant labour and I'd make jobs pay. But that's not me. That's the national Government", Ms Cunningham responded.

Nevertheless, Reform UK's new London chief argued those "coming and contributing to this country and be a net benefit, you're more than welcome".

"But I don't accept that the British taxpayer should pay for foreign nationals who come here with underpaid jobs, who can't support themselves," she added.

"It's the British taxpayer who's paying to subsidise them for Government decisions. That's got to stop."

London has the highest proportion of employee jobs held by non-British citizens with the statistic sitting at 42 per cent across all sectors, The Migration Observatory found.

In the mega research report, around 25 per cent of the jobs held by non-EU nationalities belonged to the health and care sector.

But Ms Cunningham also took aim at Sir Sadiq over his widely scrutinised Ulez scheme as well as the city's crime rates.

At the conference, Reform chief Nigel Farage said Reform UK has a golden opportunity to position itself for power on May 7, with the Clacton MP claiming the victor will be “in a very strong position to win the next General Election”.

Ms Cunningham, who represents Lancaster Gate on Westminster City Council, has long been deemed a rising star of Reform UK after she defected from the Conservative Party last June.

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