Faiza Shaheen has announced she has resigned from the Labour Party after it barred her from being a candidate in east London.
Ms Shaheen was blocked from running in the Chingford and Woodford Green constituency as a Labour candidate, allegedly in relation to past posts on social media website X.
In a letter published on X on Tuesday afternoon, the former Labour candidate said the experience of being barred from running as “cruel and devastating”.
“I have faced a relentless campaign of unfair treatment, bullying and hostility that I have never before experienced in all my personal or professional life,” she wrote in her resignation letter.
“I have been penalised for describing my experiences of Islamophobia and been dismayed at the hierarchy of racism that exists in my own party.
“I have been prevented from speaking out on issues that really matter to me, including on public sector wages and Palestine.
“I cannot, in all conscience, continue to contribute to a party that seems to think so little of people like me and has moved so far away from my values.
“I will not beg and grovel to earn my place.”
It was reported that Ms Shaheen’s suspension came after she allegedly liked a series of posts on X that downplayed antisemitism accusations.
The Labour Party on Thursday evening announced Brent councillor Shama Tatler would be the candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green in the election.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has faced backlash from within his party over the decision to block Ms Shaheen, as well as over the handling of Diane Abbott’s candidacy.
Some of Ms Shaheen’s supporters had begun a campaign calling on voters to email Starmer and party General Secretary David Evans asking them to “reverse” the decision.
Responding to Ms Shaheen’s resignation, a Labour spokesperson said: “We are focussed on electing a Labour government and delivering the change that people in Chingford and Woodford Green and across the country need.”
