LONDON: Blocked British-Pakistani Labor Party candidate and left-wing academic Faiza Shaheen has dramatically quit the Labor Party, accusing it of a “hierarchy of racism”.
The left-winger was due to contest the Chingford and Woodford Green seat held by Iain Duncan Smith, but was told on Wednesday that the party would suspend her after she liked social media posts critical of Israel and its actions in Gaza.
Shaheen resigned after the decision to block her became official today, when Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) refused to nominate her.
The politician has been vocal about her opposition to Islamophobia and racism within the Labor Party and Labor leader Kier Starmer has never liked her views.
The move paves the way for her to potentially contest the Labor Party as an independent. She said she would make an announcement on Wednesday.
“Since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, I have used every tool at my disposal – from my research to my activism – to fight them on public spending cuts, inequality and divisive narratives. Therefore, leaving the Party Labor now, on the cusp of finally seeing the Conservatives out of government and a time when it should be celebrating, is crushing,” Shaheen said.
She added that she was ruled out as a candidate through a “sham process” and for “spurious reasons.”
He said he had suffered “unfair treatment, intimidation and hostility” within the party.
Shaheen further claimed that she had been penalized for describing her own experiences of Islamophobia and lashed out at what she called a “hierarchy of racism” in the party.
“Being removed as a candidate has been cruel and devastating, especially after local voters and party members have placed so much faith in me.
“I cannot, in good conscience, continue to contribute to a party that seems to think so little of people like me and has moved so far from my values,” he added.
On Thursday night, the Labor Party selected Shama Tatler, a member of the Jewish Labor Movement, as its candidate for the Chingford and Woodford Green seat.
A spokesperson for left-wing group Momentum said: “Once again, Keir Starmer’s hyper-factional war on the left has created a tremendous disaster for the Labor Party.
“In Faiza Shaheen, the Labor Party had a popular and respected local candidate, democratically selected by local party members. But instead of supporting her, Starmer's allies decided to purge this anti-inequality activist for spurious reasons and parachute into one of her own cliques from outside the electorate.”
Meanwhile, a Labor spokesperson said: “We are focused on electing a Labor government and delivering the change the people of Chingford and Woodford Green and across the country need.”
