Labour blocks candidate's election bid over anti-'Israel' tweet 'like'
5 Min Read
In another land of freedom of expression, a like on a tweet that is critical of "Israel" deprives Faiza Shaheen of her election bid.
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Labour parliamentary candidate Faiza Shaheen speaks in East London. (AFP)
UK's Labour has removed its candidate for the Chingford and Woodford Green seat only days after launching her general election campaign, provoking legal threats.
The party's National Executive Committee (NEC) did not approve Faiza Shaheen after she reportedly liked a series of social media posts critical of "Israel".
Shaheen expressed gratitude for supporters and promised to provide more information on the NEC's treatment of her "very soon".
Shaheen was set to face former Tory party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith in the marginal north-east London constituency.
I’m in such shock, but I’m a fighter. Sign up to my mailing list below. I’ll put out more later today.
— Faiza Shaheen (@faizashaheen) May 30, 2024
It’s hard for me to put me into words how much your support means to me, from my heart, thank you https://t.co/0sqHZJwov3 pic.twitter.com/5GxXvXIE3U
A Labour source told The Standard that Shaheen had not been supported by the NEC and that "she will not be the Labour candidate" in the July 4 election.
She told BBC Newsnight that she was in a state of "shock" and "thought" she was going to fight the constituency but received an email on Wednesday evening claiming she would "frustrate Labour's purpose."
According to the program, she was summoned to a meeting with a panel of NEC members on Tuesday, when they discussed posts that raised concerns about her eligibility as a candidate.
One post expressed: "Every time you say something even mildly critical of Israel, you’re immediately assailed by scores of hysterical people who explain to you why you’re completely wrong, how you’re biased against Israel."
“Moreover, you can’t easily ignore them because those are not just random people. They tend to be friends or people who move in the same circles as you. Those people are mobilized by professional organizations.”
Shaheen told Newsnight that she had no recollection of liking the post in question but expressed she didn't agree with the post and expressed her apologies.
"I’m so sorry. I’m genuinely so sorry that it’s come to this. I know you really wanted me to be your MP and I really wanted that too.”
When asked what she wanted to say to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Shaheen mentioned Diane Abbott - who also accused Labour of going after her to exclude her from parliaments - citing that “on top of Gaza, on top of Diane Abbott and now this to me, when there’s such clear double standards of how other people have been treated when stuff has happened… what message are you sending my community? What message are you sending the black community?”
She told supporters at a rally on Wednesday she had been "banned from running" for Labour.
At a rally outside Hackney Town Hall, she said the party had not communicated with her personally, but she was "shocked to learn yesterday that I'm going to be banned from running" for Labour.
Abbott said there was a "cull of left wingers" when she, Shaheen, and Brighton Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle were barred from standing.
Russell-Moyle stated that he had been suspended by the Labour Party due to a complaint about his behavior and was informed that he would be unable to run in the July general election.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn confirmed he will compete as an independent candidate in Islington North, vowing to defend policies not adopted by Labour or the Conservatives, such as rent control and the abolition of the two-child benefits cap.
Labour makes its first call for UK arms halt to 'Israel'
Shadow Secretary David Lammy of the Labour Party has called on the UK government to pause arms sales to "Israel", particularly weapons used in an Israeli invasion of Rafah for the first time since the war on Gaza began.
On the other hand, David Cameron, the current foreign secretary, said on Sunday that such a decision is "not a wise path."
"Labour has been opposed to an Israeli offensive in Rafah for months and has been clear it must not go ahead," Lammy explained.
The UK government has also kept legal advice it received on arms sales to the Israeli regime secret, as reports indicate that government lawyers have indeed pointed to several breaches of international law by the Israeli occupation. If the government were to admit that "Israel" has breached international law in its war on Gaza, the UK government would be forced to halt arms sales to the non-compliant regime.
"This was part of Labour’s motion that passed the House of Commons in February and it is one of the reasons we have been calling on David Cameron to publish a summary of the legal advice with regards to arms sales," the shadow minister stated.
