Inequality geek. Teach at London School of Economics. Book ‘Know your place.’ Was the Labour then Independent candidate for my home Chingford & Woodford Green
Thank you for all the messages of support. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be here continuing my work on inequality, and finding ways to be useful.
I’m so inspired by what my team have built here, we’ve started something and there’s no off switch
3 wks ago we were told those working in supermarkets, social care & cleaners were “low skilled”- now these are the people crucial to managing
#COVID19
outbreak. Everyone plays their part in society - these workers deserve decent wages & sick pay not just now but always.
No, at this very moment I’m thinking there’s no justice for all the disabled and sick people that had their lives destroyed directly because of Iain Duncan Smith’s policies.
That face is me remembering my mum and what she went through and feeling crashed I didn’t win for her.
They said we wouldn’t get anywhere. They put out graphs they knew were lies in order to confuse local people.
They lied about me to mislead people.
But in just 4 weeks we achieved the same vote as a political party that has been around for over 100 years.
I’m so angry that the
My fav uncle died yesterday. His death wasn’t directly related to Coronavirus, but on-going strains on NHS mean it took 1.5hrs for the ambulance to come & 3hrs for a Dr to see him. He died on the way to surgery. Cuts continue to have consequence, even for those without
#COVID19
If you’re angry about this statue of a slave trader being pulled down by protesters rather than it being there in the first place THEN YOU’RE PART OF THE PROBLEM
I’m in such shock, but I’m a fighter. Sign up to my mailing list below. I’ll put out more later today.
It’s hard for me to put me into words how much your support means to me, from my heart, thank you
I am standing as an independent candidate for Chingford & Woodford Green at the General Election on 4 July.
For more info:
Sign up to volunteer:
Let's do this!
Since Boris Johnson won a majority I’ve had 5 different families discuss their UK exit plan with me in case racism gets worse. Frightening that this is where we are.
Ghana gave nurses a 50 per cent pay rise during the pandemic.
Meanwhile in the UK, after a decade of real term cuts, they get a pay rise of £3.50 a week.
If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention
Really?! Wow a Brent councillor with no history here at all.
They would rather lose than have a left pro Palestine candidate
This is offensive to my community
Iain Duncan Smith is going to be knighted. Knighted! After all the pain, poverty and hunger his policies have caused. Knighted! After running a campaign filled with lies and misinformation, + with a known Islamophobe at its heart. Knighted!!!The system is truly morally bankrupt.
Wes Streeting very very nearly lost to
@LeanneMohamad
, an independent British Palestinian candidate standing against Israel’s genocide - and for an alternative to Tory policies.
Labour presumed this seat was a walkover.
Just look at this!
SNP's Ian Blackford calls Boris Johnson "racist", saying the Tory leadership frontrunner is "stoking division, and has a record of dishonesty"
#PMQs
updates:
To all the news producers who have contacted me over the last few hours wanting me to talk about Keir Starmer’s decision/ antisemitism, YOU NEVER ASKED ME TO TALK ABOUT ISLAMOPHOBIA & TORIES SO GO AWAY
Please don’t undermine my credentials
@Keir_Starmer
I came from a family with a violent father and spent part of my childhood on benefits. I’m now a visiting professor and teach at LSE. Public services really helped me, and I had to work so hard to get to this point in my life.
Keir Starmer previously described
@faizashaheen
as a “fantastic candidate”.
He now publicly defames her, while standing by candidates who, are among other things, have said racist things and had sexual harassment claims upheld.
My statement… and there’s a lot more that I couldn’t fit on here. Please sign up here to get more on next steps
And sign this open letter
It’s been a mad day and I’m very upset, but I’m touched by all the support.
In 2017 I lost my mum and in 2018 I decided to take on the man that made her last years more difficult.
Our loss hurt so much in 2019, but I’m back again, this time with my tiny baby.
This is personal for me
1263 votes
Let’s beat Iain Duncan Smith
#GE2024
This is unacceptable & deeply uncomfortable viewing. An entire white panel questioning a brown woman like a suspect. Ed Balls and Kate have left their homes this morning with no fear. Zarah and every other brown/black person left knowing they are a target
My mum called me ‘faiza’ because it means ‘winner’ or ‘victorious’.
You can make my mum’s prophecy come true by being part of a mass get out the vote effort on Thursday!
Please don’t believe all the hype that we’ve got too many volunteers.
Sign up here
Reminder: the Omicron Christmas nightmare could have been avoided if the UK &others had allowed low and middle-income countries to access the IP to manufacture vaccines.
Even now there’s no movement on TRIPS waiver, only more vaccine nationalism!
This greed will cost us dearly.
I had a hustings with Iain Duncan Smith and the Lib Dem candidate tonight.
I don’t want to be arrogant, but I smashed it and it felt SO GOOD 💪🏾
Massive thanks to the audience who didn’t let IDS get away with lying!
#ge2019
#votefaiza
#votelabour
When I went to vote on Thurs I was harassed outside the polling station. “You’re a terrorist lover” “you should be ashamed”
I had to walk a different way home in case the men followed me.
This is the cancer the Tories &media have created in this country.
A huge show of support for
@faizashaheen
amongst locals in C&WG. Speakers include local shopkeepers, a local Chingford dad, the owner of a kids acting school as well as local campaigners. So moving to see - after what has been, for so many of us, a very upsetting week.
Congratulate ?! For trying to strip my mum of dignity for the crime of having heart failure?!
These people really have no idea about the pain and suffering that has been caused by the likes of Iain Duncan Smith.
#NewYearHonours
This lack of graciousness is one reason you lost. A better reply might have been: "I disagree with
@MPIainDS
on everything but I would like to extend my congratulations to him on this honour." I know how painful electoral defeat is, but this is no way to react.
Just walked in from mad weekend! Final convo was with someone who initially told me he was planning to vote for Iain Duncan Smith but ended with him shaking my hand, saying I’d won his vote.
Don’t let anyone tell you change isn’t possible.
#ge2019
#labourdoorstep
#votelabour
We shouldn't be surprised that there is a shortage of young people that want to be lorry drivers, carers, etc. it's the natural outcome of spending decades calling people without graduate degrees "low-skilled" & telling kids that 'making it' means earning lots & speaking posh
There was only one time the police were called after my dad beat up my mum. Had to be a friend/ neighbour as my mum would never have done it. He never hit her after that.
Tories like Priti Patel defending Boris Johnson by blaming concerned neighbours are putting women at risk.
I keep thinking about how my economics A Level teacher, Mr Reeves, turned up yesterday with his wife and took a bunch of leaflets to deliver for me 😭 ❤️
Back in October when I complained that Labour was undermining core support because of its Gaza position I was told that people would forget by the time it came to a general election 👀
Labour loses four seats to pro-Palestinian candidates
FFS we should not NEVER use the term "low-skilled" when talking about jobs again!!!!!! Have we learnt nothing from covid19?! Fix up Fiona Bruce and who ever wrote her cues
Fiona Bruce on
@BBCNews
casually talking about careers being “low skilled”. About time we spoke about these jobs as being “low paid” rather than assuming skills levels are necessarily low!
Fighting for Chingford and Woodford Green has always been personal to me.
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and C&WG raised me. Now that child wants to represent that village.
This is a people-powered community led campaign, sign up
The GOAT of snooker supporting our campaign! I can’t believe it. I’ve been a huge fan of
@ronnieo147
since my teen years and I can’t express how much it means to have this local legend supporting my bid to be an Independent MP for Chingford and Woodford Green. And even more
I finally caught up with the inspiring
@LeanneMohamad
The far right and shameless politicians can try all the Islamophobia they like, but no one is keeping these Muslim women down!
Today thousands of people will go out in the wind and rain not only to vote themselves, but to encourage others to
#voteLabour
. This army fighting for a better world won’t be covered in the media but will make all the difference in today’s election.
THANK YOU
#GE2019
It’s a scary time. Having been told I wasn’t allowed to speak publicly about the Islamophobia I saw inside the Labour Party, I have zero faith they will take on these prejudices. They may arrest people, but they won’t try to change minds.
We’ve now had verified reports of Muslims being punched, stabbed and attacked with acid in England in the space of a few days. What do you even say at this point. This is so scary and yet politicians remain silent.
Yes I’ve been getting some of this too.
My mates were just round, genuinely scared about the future of their black children.
Meanwhile Tommy Robinson and Katie Hopkins joining the Tory party.
Where is the solidarity with our communities facing these dark times? Media coverage?!
I’m now getting messages saying I should shut up about politics because I’m not British, 2 days after Johnson was elected. I was already getting racist abuse but it’s telling that they seem emboldened now. We have to stand together.
People that think that Tory lies and demonisation of Corbyn made no difference have no idea what the vibe was on the ground in marginals. These are the lies told on the doorstep, and there was much more on FB and in the press. This isn’t democracy.
The current line of people such as
@RichardBurgon
and
@faizashaheen
that negative media coverage cost Corbyn the election, is incredibly insulting to working class people. Are they saying that voters are incapable of thinking for themselves.
Just leaving the office in Holborn (long day!) and the security guard stops me and asks “Are you Faiza Shaheen?”
“Yes”
“I live in Chingford! My daughters are big fans. We’ll be voting for you”
😁😁😁
#VoteLabour2019
#GeneralElection2019
ً
#GE19
#VoteFaiza
Some parents just told me in my baby sensory class that the Labour Party told them that they shouldn’t vote for me because I wasn’t blocked from standing because of liking a few tweets, but for more serious reasons. I’ve heard this several times now. This is a vicious lie. I’m
I’ve taken down the photo of the canvasser that knock on my door on Sunday. I realise that in my anger I made the wrong decision, even though you couldn’t see their face. This person does know me, so I don’t believe it was accidental but part of efforts to harass and hurt me.
Our vote was a combination of those appalled by how I was treated, those who took issue with having an imposed candidate who didn’t know us, those who were never going to vote Labour after Starmer’s stance on Gaza, and those that have never voted before.
Labour split the vote the
Tbh there's part of me just shutting down completely from the UK political scene. It just feels like no one has our back here now, and it is just too painful.
@Keir_Starmer
let me say this directly, this is absolutely unacceptable
There needs to be a full explanation and apology from Labour's leadership about this diabolical failure to challenge full-blown white supremacism on national radio.
(Watch this 1:10 in, I nearly clawed my eyes out)
Today marks 10 years of Tory rule.
Where do we even start on their record? Child poverty? Food banks? No. of youth centres shut? Wages? The most divisive referendum in history? Windrush? Grenfell? Highest
#covid19
death toll in Europe? No wonder they’re not marking the occasion
Will this committee on intimidation be reaching out to me
@YvetteCooperMP
? What about Labour councillors going to door to door and spreading lies about me (we have evidence)
How do you think people feel about entering politics after what happened to me?
The idea that the Labour
The voters are never going to be forgiven for having the temerity to reject a handful of Labour candidates in amongst a Labour landslide, are they?
Angela Rayner pushing the 'intimidation' narrative this morning.
Our campaign has been one of the most beautiful and inspiring things I’ve ever been a part of.
I’m missing our regular canvassers today because we have become family. That bond we have, and our desire for a better world hasn’t ended with this election.
People are asking so here are some of the tweets that were used against me and that I had to answer for in my NEC panel meeting earlier this week. They’ve briefed a different story about what happened, but they wanted me out and used very thin grounds to do it.
The anger people feel about the
#SuperLeague
& billionaires selling out working class people, is how many of us feel about privatisation of water, trains, the RoyalMail, greedy employers like Bezos & Uber, oil companies, big pharma & Tory austerity. It’s all the same thing.
Back home in the UK realising my country has gone down the rabbit hole. When are we taking to the streets?! Genuine question. The government needs to know the people will hold them to account, even if the police protect them
Really feel for young people
❌Botched A-Level results today 👩🏽🏫
❌No jobs 👷🏽♀️
❌£55k debt for educating yourself 💰
❌Can’t move to Berlin or Barcelona 🇪🇸
❌Climate crisis 🌳
❌Grotesque and politically toxic inequality☢️
❌Won’t be able to buy a house until you’re 40+ 🏠
*If you want to get rid of the Iain Duncan Smith vote Faiza Shaheen.*
Just over two weeks ago we launched our campaign to elect an independent MP for Chingford & Woodford Green.
Since then our people-powered campaign has reached all parts of the constituency, with hundreds of
Today we’ve had Brexit Party MEP Ann Widdecombe say 'science may produce an answer' to being gay & US Ambassador say the NHS is on the table in a trade deal.
Anyone that still thinks Brexit is a left project or going to help the UK progress is ignoring the writing on the wall.
US Ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson tells
#Marr
that the whole of the economy, including the
#NHS
, will be “on the table” in a future US-UK trade deal after Brexit
This article reminds me of a conversation I had with an irate Labour member who said "I support women in the party - Stella Creasy, Yvette Copper and Jess Phillips"
I smiled & asked how about "Diane Abbott, Dawn Butler & erm, me?"
She turned red.
Frustrating watching the discussion on housing and not hearing anything about the need to change the private development model which has resulted in unaffordable housing, as well as the escalation of house prices because of the global elite buying up property and leaving it empty
If you're worried that voting for me as an Independent candidate will split the vote in Chingford and Woodford Green, you shouldn’t be. I’ve spent years fighting IDS and the last thing I want is to see him keep his seat. So if you know someone that wants to vote for me but is
This reminds me of when candidates were told to say that Starmer was answering another question when he said that Israel has the right to cut off electricity and water on LBC
I said that this was an insult to voter’s intelligence, and I was told to “curb the attitude”
NEW: Labour has described a clip of Keir Starmer talking about the removal of Bangladeshi migrants from the UK as "misinformation", amid concern among party insiders that the video has been widely shared and has "really cut through":
BREAKING: 7 Labour councillors in Slough have resigned, accusing the Labour party of institutional racism.
In their resignation letter, they cite the deselection of Faiza Shaheen and the treatment of Diane Abbott as well as censorship over Gaza.
Can you imagine thinking your party are the good guys and not racist when the likes of Tommy Robinson, Katie Hopkins and Britain First literally rejoice when you win? These guys are either deluded or just have no shame.
Full solidarity with the amazing
@DawnButlerBrent
who handles this awful exchange really well.
An example of how the act of naming something racist is treated as worse/more “offensive” than actual racism (racism which itself is erased and denied)
Big up Gary Neville.
Also to people that think we need a “balanced debate” on *racism* - you’re part of the problem.
#SayNoToRacism
but more importantly, believe us when we say it’s getting worse and we need support, solidarity and action.
To those replying saying I’m a sore loser- I am very sore about what my mum & 000s of other sick & disabled people went through in their last few years of life because of IDS’s heartless policies. If there was any justice he would be getting punished by the state, not rewarded
Sorry to say, but a lot of hypocrisy with many
@UKLabour
MPs tweeting
#BlackLivesMatter
- have you been supporting abused black colleagues or pointing out how few black men there are as Labour MPs?! Senior local Labour people ignored me on issues of local Islamophobia, and...
The complete lack of understanding of Chingford in the replies to this. The second they deselected
@faizashaheen
, they lost the seat. If Faiza didn’t stand, we’d have voted Green and Labour would have lost anyway. Faiza standing meant we could vote for the candidate we wanted.
So weird
@TheNewsAgents
came to Chingford and didn’t get in touch with our campaign? People really do not understand the mood here, or maybe don’t want to understand?
Calling all local Liberal Democrat voters... we are so close!!!! Please do think how good it will feel to finally oust Iain Duncan Smith!
#votefaiza
#ge2019
#votelabour
#gtto
Dr Faiza Shaheen, who ran against Iain Duncan Smith in the General Election, thinks it's "completely abhorrent" that he's being knighted.
@AndrewCastle63
|
@faizashaheen
|
@IDSMP
Oh PLEASE! I’ve been beating odds my entire life. Given my childhood I was more likely to end up with a drug addiction than a PhD. My mum named me Faiza meaning successful/winner for a reason.
And with thousands of people coming to support me we’ve got every chance!
#labourgain
Labour have high hopes of unseating IDS here, but the bookies don't like their chances (Con 1/4, Lab 5/2). Should they have picked an ardent Corbynite as candidate it this London Tory stronghold?
If it weren’t for Jeremy Corbyn I wouldn’t have joined the Labour Party- he opened up space for those of us who want systemic change, who want equality, compassion &those who haven’t & won’t forget the Iraq war.
The party is filled with teachers, social workers, nurses,
#r4today
Argh just got invited on to
@talkRADIO
to *debate* Dominic Raab ‘taking the knee’ ignorant comment + wider BLM movement with right wing presenter AND ring wing panellist
Cannot be giving my time and energy to this rubbish anymore.
Black humanity is not up for debate
I’m coming off twitter for rest of today. I feel so emotional &angry at the state of things. People seem to think New Zealand just an isolated incident divorced from the torrent of public Islamophobia faced daily. Love &solidarity to all my Muslim brothers &sisters. Painful time
While Braverman & Co try convincing us that those supporting Palestinians are all spreading hate they have been inspiring prejudice themselves. These messages have been found in my local neighbourhood over the last couple of days. One in a school & the others on the central line.
The responses to this are telling, mostly people saying “I had it harder” or “keep dreaming” rather than acknowledging young people were sold the idea of a social mobility ladder only to see their prospects stall or decline. We need to create high paid green jobs
#GreenNewDeal
4 years ago I was doing trollies at Sainsburys on a Monday night. I left, worked hard and got a degree from the University of Sheffield. Now I’m doing trollies at Waitrose on a Friday night. Never give up 💫💯💎🛒
Can’t get over
@doctor_oxford
stat-More people died *today* in the UK than the *total* death toll in Australia
People that think the UK gov has done well on
#covid19
and that all governments have similarly struggled either can’t use google or love being punished
This is what a people-powered community led campaign looks like!
Could not be more grateful.
Less than 4 weeks until election day. We need all the support we can get to make history &send a message to the political elites who think they can ignore our communities.
Sign up
Big turnout in Chingford for
@faizashaheen
independent campaign launch earlier.
Local residents are very angry at the way she has been treated by the Labour Party.
@SholaMos1
This is horrific Shola, and not ok. I hope the police are following up, but of course over the longer-term we need to take the toxicity out of conversations on race and immigration in the UK.
I’m so sorry that you’re having to deal with this.
My incredible friend
@OwenJones84
is one of the most principled and brave people I’ve ever met.
Of course the racists, homophobes and raging capitalists hate him - he preaches a message that they don’t want you to hear
#SolidarityWithOwenJonesDay
@BBCWomansHour
@Emmabarnett
@ZaraM01
@BBCSounds
I’m so angry this. Pure ignorance from the presenter. And why have you clipped it? Trying to cater for the Islamophobic Twitter crowd?! Click bait for a culture war you support? You should be ashamed.
Much respect to
@ZaraM01
for keeping her cool and pushing back
I can’t believe I went out canvassing with the legend Ronnie O’Sullivan! What a day.
As we head into the final 10 days of the campaign, I’ve been reflecting on three things I’ve learnt about this community over the past two weeks.
1. We care about fair play. We’re not just
NEW: Jeremy Corbyn isn't the only candidate who Starmer changed his mind about between 2019 and 2024.
Here's how he described
@faizashaheen
before the last general election.
Taking a bit of a break today after a mad and painful few days, but wanted to get this comment piece I wrote up on here.
So weird to not be out canvassing on Saturday, it has been such a big part of my life for so long.