Faiza Shaheen speaks out after Labour blocks candidacy in general election

Faiza Shaheen speaks out after Labour block candidacy in general electionBBC Newsnight

Transcript

00:00 You got an email tonight, when?

00:03 Just like an hour ago.

00:05 Saying your barge is down.

00:06 So basically, suddenly I'm out campaigning

00:09 and my phone's blowing up.

00:10 They've briefed the press.

00:13 They briefed the press before they even had the decency

00:15 to call me and talk to me.

00:17 There was a meeting yesterday.

00:20 My baby cried through half of it,

00:22 so I don't know how they came to a decision

00:23 because I couldn't even hear their questions.

00:29 14 tweets since 2014, 10 years.

00:34 Three of those were about the Green Party,

00:38 like me liking my friends week before I joined the Labour

00:41 Party.

00:42 And one of them was about my experiences of Islamophobia

00:47 in the party.

00:49 How am I not allowed to talk about my experiences

00:52 of Islamophobia and the double standards that I've seen

00:55 and that we see with Diane Abba, for instance?

01:00 Honestly, I'm just so shocked right now

01:03 to be treated this badly after being such an active member

01:09 of the party.

01:10 And we were one of the tiny number,

01:14 six Tory-held seats in 2019 that had a swing to Labour.

01:18 To act like I am some kind of person that

01:21 isn't good at elections, that frustrates Labour's purpose.