7 Labour Councillors quit party over Faiza Shaheen deselection and ‘institutional racism’
“This purging of loyal members in favour of subservient candidates reflects a party more concerned with power than principles.”
The row over Labour’s last minute deselection of general election candidates continues to rumble on. In a new development, seven Labour Councillors in Slough have quit the party over, among other things, the decision to block Faiza Shaheen from standing as a Labour candidate.
In a letter published on June 3, the seven Councillors cite a number of reasons for their decision including concerns over the democratic processes in the Labour Party. They go on to write that the deselection of Shaheen and the treatment of Diane Abbott “highlight the institutional racism within the party”.
They added: “This purging of loyal members in favour of subservient candidates reflects a party more concerned with power than principles. Slough [Constituency Labour Party], predominantly composed of BAME members, has faced threads of deselection for speaking out against injustices in Gaza and criticising Israel.”
Their letter concludes by saying: “We have exhausted every party mechanism to ensure our residents’ concerns were heard at both local and national levels. In light of these insurmountable barriers, we, the rank-and-file members, are left with no option but to resign. We must stay true to our values and conscience, even if the party we once believed in has abandoned them.”
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Faiza Shaheen left shocked after being blocked from standing as Labour candidate
Further candidates deselected from Labour causes controversy
Faiza Shaheen announced last night that she will not be standing as a Labour candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green following ‘questions’ over past social media posts.
In an emotional interview, Shaheen told BBC Newsnight on Wednesday that she had been deselected by Labour ahead of the general election. According to Shaheen, she had found out earlier that evening, firstly via the press, while she was out campaigning.
Shaheen has been Labour PPC for the east London constituency since 2018 and had already started drumming up support in the area for her general election campaign, taking on Iain Duncan Smith from the Conservative Party for a second time.
The decision was based on 14 tweets that raised concerns over her suitability as a candidate. Shaheen said one was about her experiences of Islamophobia within the party, and another about liking a sketch by a Jewish comedian that referred to critics of Israel coming under attack. She said she had since apologised at a disciplinary hearing about a tweet that “plays into a trope” about Jewish people.
Speaking to Newsnight, Shaheen said she was in a state of shock at “being treated this badly after being such an active member of the party.”
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