BARRED Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen is to fight the Chingford seat of former Tory leader Iain Duncan-Smith as an independent in the general election.

Bowing to outraged local opinion after being ruled out as Labour candidate despite being democratically selected by the constituency party, Ms Shaheen said that the community is “tired of the Tories but now feel they can’t trust Labour.”

Her deselection as a candidate following complaints by the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) sparked a row over Labour racism and criticism from across the political spectrum.

In a statement, Ms Sheheen said that local people “feel disenfranchised by Labour’s decision to remove me and feel it would be impossible for the party to win here without a local candidate, rooted in the community.”

Ms Shaheen was born and raised in Chingford and never sought election in any other area.

“My campaign will be powered by members of our community who have volunteered to support and work for me,” she said.

“Many local people think Labour has handed a winnable seat to the Conservatives for another five years. 

“I aim to show that there is a progressive alternative to both parties that puts Chingford and Woodford Green first.”

Labour has imposed Shama Tatler, a councillor from Brent with no local connections and a JLM supporter, as its candidate in place of Ms Shaheen.

Campaign group Momentum commented: “A week ago Labour had a respected, popular, local candidate democratically selected by local party members.

“But Starmer’s allies decided to purge Faiza on spurious grounds and parachute in one of their own clique.

“Outrageously, the grounds cited to block Faiza included her discussion of her own experiences of Islamophobia within the party, in a textbook case of institutional racism.

“Now what should have been a slam dunk has turned into a massive challenge for Labour. Starmer’s stitch-ups have backfired once again.”