Faiza Shaheen to stand as an independent after Labour deselection
Faiza Shaheen, the candidate blocked by Labour from standing in Chingford and Woodford Green, has announced she will stand as an independent.
In a move that will pit her against Labour in one of the party’s target seats, she said she is standing in response to hundreds of messages from local people who said there were no options left for them.
Shaheen said on social media: “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.”
The politician stood in the north-east London seat in 2019, but was beaten by 1,262 votes by Iain Duncan Smith.
She had been expected to beat the former Conservative leader, who has represented the seat since it was created in 1997.
Shaheen quit the Labour party on Tuesday after her deselection last month.
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