Elham Asaad Buaras
Former activists are criticizing Labour’s ‘cynical ploy’ and pledging their support for Faiza Shaheen’s independent bid for MP. In a bold move, fifty Labour members have resigned in protest after the party blocked Muslim candidate Faiza Shaheen from running in the Chingford and Woodford Green seat.
Despite winning the primary against other Labour hopefuls in her hometown constituency, Shaheen was deselected last month. The party based its decision on her activity on social media platform X, where she had “liked” posts endorsing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, praising former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and supporting a friend’s Green Party candidacy.
In an open letter, 50 former Labour members from Shaheen’s local party condemned the party’s “cynical ploy”.
“Our democratically elected candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green, Faiza Shaheen, has been deselected in an appalling and unfair manner,” the letter says.
The members add that they will be campaigning to elect Shaheen as an independent candidate against incumbent former Conservative minister Iain Duncan Smith.
In 2019, Smith narrowly kept his seat by defeating Shaheen with a slim majority of 1,262 votes. However, with public sentiment strongly turning against the Tories in 2024, many expected Labour to win the seat. Shaheen’s decision to run as an independent candidate has now complicated the political landscape, potentially splitting the anti-conservative vote and increasing Smith’s chances of staying in office. In a statement made earlier in June, Shaheen announced her independent run, arguing constituents had been “disenfranchised.”
“I have reached this decision following hundreds of messages from people in my community, who say there are no options left for them. They are tired of the Tories but now feel they can’t trust Labour,” she said.
Since becoming Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer has cracked down on supporters of former leader Corbyn. He has deselected several candidates perceived as left-leaning, including Corbyn himself. Under Starmer’s leadership, the party has shifted its economic stance to the right and adopted a pro-Israel foreign policy.
Archive photo: Faiza Shaheen campaigning in Chingford for the 2019 UK General Election.
(Credit: WikiMedia)
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