About Layla

Layla is a Secondary school Physics teacher by profession and currently a Head of Year at an international school in Westminster. There, she is also a timetabler, Model United Nations director and school outreach coordinator.

She was born in Hammersmith and has an international background with a Palestinian mother and lived in many countries including Ethiopia, Jamaica and Jordan as part of a diplomatic family. The experience of growing up in these countries and seeing how global decisions have local consequences shapes her politics and gives her a strong sense of social justice.

​She first became party politicised while doing her Masters in Comparative Education at the Institue of Education, where she studied the history of global education systems and believes passionately that the increase in both educational and social inequality are detrimental for Britain and the world at large. These issues, along with her belief in cooperation at an international level through organisations like the EU and UN are what drive her to be a Liberal Democrat. 

​Her first campaign was to save a community centre in Ealing by leading a community group which caused the council to rethink its plans. Since then she has always been an ardent believer in genuine campaigning: reaching out to voters on issues they really care about, and believes keenly that this is crucial to winning back the trust of the electorate.

​In her personal life, Layla is a musician who sings and plays the cello. She also swing dances and enjoys jogging, once dressing as a Gorilla and running 8k to raise money for the Gorilla foundation.