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.”
…