British academic and economist Faiza Shaheen, who was recently blocked by the Labour Party from standing as a candidate, has announced that she will now stand as an independent for the general election on July 4.
On May 29, she was removed from the Chingford and Woodford Green election over allegedly liking a series of posts on X discussing Israel and alleged anti-Semitism.
On Tuesday, June 4, Faiza announced her resignation from the party and said she had been penalised for describing her own experiences of islamophobia as she hit out at what she said was a “hierarchy of racism” in the party.
Faiza added that she was dropped as a candidate through a “sham process” and for “spurious reasons”.
She said she had suffered “unfair treatment, bullying and hostility” within the party.
Taking to X on Wednesday, June 5, Faiza wrote, “I am standing as an independent candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green at the General Election on 4 July.”
“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 added, “They feel disenfranchised by Labour’s decision to remove me and I feel it would be impossible for the party to win here without a local candidate, rooted in the community, and that such a voice is vitally needed.”
“I am standing here to win, to beat the Conservatives, to finish what we started.”