Faiza Shaheen to stand as an independent candidate

The former Labour candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green has announced she is now standing as an independent candidate.

Faiza Shaheen quit the Labour Party on Tuesday following her deselection as its candidate for the east London constituency.

Ms Shaheen announced her new campaign on X, formerly Twitter on Wednesday afternoon.

The academic was deselected by Labour after liking a series of posts on X that allegedly downplayed antisemitism allegations.

In a statement, Ms Shaheen said: "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: "I am standing to give a voice to my community – the community that made me and has put their faith in me.

"I grew up here, went to school here and live here now."

She appealed for volunteers to join her campaign effort.

Speaking following her deselection, the former Labour candidate said the decision to drop her was "cruel and devastating".

She said she had been "penalised for describing my experiences of Islamophobia" and claimed there was a "hierarchy of racism" in the Labour Party, adding she had "been prevented from speaking out" on issues including Palestine.

A Labour spokesperson said: "We are focused on electing a Labour government and delivering the change that people in Chingford and Woodford Green and across the country need."

There are currently six declared candidates standing in Chingford and Woodford Green:

• Chris Brody for the Green Party
• Josh Hadley for the Liberal Democrats
• Yousaff Khan for the Workers Party of Britain
• Paul Luggeri of Reform UK
• Sir Iain Duncan Smith of the Conservative Party
• Shama Tatler of the Labour Party