‘Chingford Corbynite’ selected to fight seat for Labour again

Labour’s newly elected candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green has addressed concerns over her record on antisemitism claiming she had “criticised the Corbyn leadership” over the issue in the past.

Faiza Shaheen was selected to fight the north east London seat again on Saturday, having previously been defeated by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith by just over 1000 votes in 2019.

Publicity material ahead of the last general election showed her close links to the former leader, including a “big canvass” session in which she was joined by Corbyn.

But Shaheen has now told Jewish News that “every member, including myself, must make all efforts to repair the trust between the Labour Party and the Jewish community.”

Her selection was widely celebrated by those on the left of the Labour Party, with Shaheen receiving over 200 votes from local members, while her main challenger Bilal Mahmood ,backed by MPs including Stella Creasy and David Lammy, received just over 160.

Shaheen had previously sparked anger amongst local Jewish members, and within the wider community, after publicising canvassing  sessions with film director Ken Loach in the run-up to the last election.

Loach was subsequently expelled from Labour over his support for the Labour Against The Witch-hunt Group, which denied or downplayed antisemitism claims in the party.

She also wrote in support of Jewish Voice For Labour founder Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, and in 2018 failed to recognise the 1972 Munich Olympic terrorist attack was one of antisemitic intent.

In a tweet form August 2018, Shaheen apologised for her initial response to the Munich attack and added:”For me there is no question that the attack was wrong and antisemitic.”

She was dubbed the “Chingford Corbynite” by New Statesman magazine ahead of the last election during an interview in which she boasted:“Taking out IDS – every time I say that it makes me smile.”

After she was defeated in 2019, she told Metro newspaper:”What I really struggled with on the doorstep, was when people said they can’t vote for Labour because of antisemitism, and cases have been badly handed, but when people said ‘I’m voting for Iain Duncan Smith’ and I said what about Islamophobia, it was perceived as not really a thing.”

The former Tory leader has been MP for the seat since it was created in 1992.

In the run-up to the selection contest this time around, Shaheen was at the centre of new concerns over claims she has failed to vote for Labour candidates in the recent May local elections.

Some local residents are also concerned that Shaheen has been living in New York for most of the past year after confirming she had been headhunted for a job by New York University. 

Shaheen confirmed in a message to residents  she had been “working abroad for most of the past year” adding she would be “an asset” to the UK if elected. 

Social media posts seen by Jewish News also show that she has attacked current Labour leader Keir Starmer on more than one occasion. 

But a publicity shot used online for her successful campaign showed her photographed in a group that included Starmer.

Asked to comment on all of the claims, Shaheen told Jewish News:”I criticised the Corbyn leadership for not taking antisemitism seriously enough, and I think Starmer must do more too. 

“It’s not just about the leaders though, each member – including myself – must make all efforts to repair the trust between the Labour Party and the Jewish community.”