Sir Iain Duncan Smith Retains Chingford and Woodford Green Seat After Labour Vote Split
Sir Iain garnered 17,281 votes, while Labour candidate Shama Tatler came second with 12,524 votes,
and independent candidate Faiza Shaheen placed third with 12,445 votes.
The election in this east London suburb drew attention after Labour dropped
Ms. Shaheen as their candidate due to accusations of her liking a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter,
which allegedly downplayed antisemitism allegations. This led her to launch an independent campaign,
supported by local snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan, against Ms. Tatler,
who replaced her as the Labour candidate, and Sir Iain,
the incumbent MP and former Conservative Party leader.
After the count,
Sir Iain emphasized the need for his party to "stop shouting and start listening."
When asked about the type of leader the party now needs, he replied,
"Someone with common sense who understands the limits of political power,
acknowledges our mistakes, and focuses on doing the right thing.
The public doesn't want to hear from us right now because we've just faced a significant loss.
We need to earn their trust by identifying the government's mistakes and presenting viable alternatives."
Regarding a potential leadership candidate, he said,
“I haven’t thought about it at all. All I know is they all should stop shouting and start listening.”
Ms. Shaheen expressed her frustration over Labour’s decision to deselect her,
which she believes handed the election to Sir Iain. She remarked, “They’ve let my community down.
Im so angry with them right now.
That shouldn’t have happened,” adding that Labour lied to voters by claiming she had no chance of winning.
The contentious campaign also saw antisemitic graffiti defacing Labours constituency HQ,
suggesting Israel was behind her removal as the candidate.
Ms. Shaheen, a prominent left-wing voice within Labour and a local resident,
previously came within 1,262 votes of defeating Sir Iain in 2019.
Sir Iain, a leading Conservative Brexiter,
has served as MP since the creation of the current seat in 1997.
The constituency has historically been a Conservative stronghold,
with former Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Thatcherite Norman
Tebbit having represented parts of it at different times. Changing demographics in the area,
becoming more multi-cultural and attracting younger voters priced out of inner London,
had benefited Ms. Shaheenand Labour.