The Labour party is facing a revolt in northeast London after 50 party members quit over the deselection of Faiza Shaheen.
The group has written to Sir Keir Starmer about the “appalling and unfair manner” in which the former Labour candidate has been treated in Chingford and Woodford Green.
Ms Shaheen was barred from standing after liking a series of posts on social media platform X that allegedly downplayed antisemitism allegations.
Shortly afterwards Ms Shaheen resigned from the Labour Party, dubbing her removal as “cruel and devastating,” and decided to run as an independent candidate instead.
In a letter to Sir Keir, the 50 former party members argued Ms Shaheen had been the “democratically elected candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green”.
It added: “Faiza was selected by the constituency members in a fair and open contest, accruing more votes than the other three candidates put together.
“The process of deselection overturned this election result and is anti-democratic.”
So, some personal news. I'm one of 50 Chingford and Woodford Green Labour Party members who have resigned over the appalling treatment of @FaizaShaheen and the disrespect shown to the people of our area. Here's our open letter to @Keir_Starmer. #OurChoiceOurVoice #VoteFaiza pic.twitter.com/lzrjm59Mxf
— mick moore (@apptitu) June 11, 2024
The letter added that the deselection “was inhumane and degrading and based on spurious grounds”.
It also highlighted that historic tweets from when Ms Shaheen was not a member of the Labour Party were being used against her while Conservative MPs with “odious views” have been admitted to the leftwing party.
The group said they could no longer stay in a party that has betrayed Ms Shaheen.
The independent candidate previously explained that she had received hundreds of messages from “people in my community, who say there are no options left for them” when she was dropped by Labour.
I am standing as an independent candidate for Chingford & Woodford Green at the General Election on 4 July.
— Faiza Shaheen (@faizashaheen) June 5, 2024
For more info: https://t.co/JNQ62RjmrX
Sign up to volunteer: https://t.co/2t6uTsMJLh
Let's do this! pic.twitter.com/2kZilbGlGY
Announcing she was standing as an independent she said: “They are tired of the Tories but now feel they can’t trust Labour.
“They feel disenfranchised by Labour’s decision to remove me and 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 Iain Duncan Smith and the Conservatives, to finish what we started.
“I am standing to give a voice to my community – the community that made me and has put their faith in me.”
The letter's signatories include joint campaign coordinators for the constituency Mick Moore and Sarah Chaney, as well as a councillor in Redbridge, Rosa Gomez.
They say they will be campaigning against the Labour Party’s new candidate in the constituency, Shama Tatler, and “doing all we can to support Faiza in her bid to become an Independent MP”.
A London Labour spokesperson said: “The Labour campaign has seen hundreds of activists, many of whom haven’t been active before or for a long time, join the campaign trail in the last week, with a renewed sense of purpose to deliver a Labour MP for Chingford and Woodford Green and a Labour government after 14 years of Tory failure.”
