Despite the relief of getting rid of the Tories nationally, I know many of you will be feeling a bit down after the result in Chingford and Woodford Green.

No one has fought harder than me to get rid of Iain Duncan Smith in recent years, so hearing his name announced as the winner on Thursday night made me feel more than a bit disappointed.

But Labour – a party I that stood for in 2019 and for whom I secured the highest ever vote in Chingford and Woodford Green – handed this seat to the Tories the moment they removed me. After the bullying and humiliation they put me through, over a thousand voters wrote to me asking me to run as an independent. People were appalled by how I was treated, and the way a new candidate was parachuted in here.

But more than that, they wanted a local candidate, someone who understood their concerns, who used their schools, their hospital, who walked their streets, to represent them in Parliament.

I had never contemplated running as an independent – if Labour had picked somebody who understood our community, I’d have accepted it. But after they brought in in a candidate with no history, no knowledge of or connection to where we live, and after discussing it with my team, I decided to stand.

It has been without doubt the most joyful, inspiring and grassroots campaign I have ever been involved in. Our aim was not simply to win, but to build something that empowered our community, campaigned on the changes we need and brought us closer together.

It was fuelled by local young people, mums and dads, grandparents and lifelong Labour members disgusted at what the party had done. Our campaign was mainly powered by people who have never been actively involved in political campaigns before.

After just four weeks, with no party machine, this incredible team secured 12,445 votes, almost unheard of for an independent. And this is despite lies and fearmongering being spread on the doorstep by Labour canvassers, many of them bussed in to try and win this seat.

In 2019 I got 22,219 votes – 46% of the poll. I’m sure we would have got something close to that this year and finally beaten Iain Duncan Smith if the Labour Party had not chosen to deselect me to give one of their friends a seat. Labour’s candidate in this election polled less than 26% of the vote.

Labour’s behaviour has been truly disappointing, but this story is no longer about them. This is about us, our community and true grassroots politics. We don’t owe politicians loyalty at any cost – they need to win our trust by listening to us. I hope Labour has heard that message.

On a personal level, after I was deselected, after Labour tried to discredit me, I was devastated. But the fact that 12,445 of you put your cross by my name fills me with more gratitude than you will ever know. I understand solidarity in a whole new way and I am better for it.

Now the election is over, and the political spotlight moves elsewhere, I’ll still be here. This is my home, the community that made me and I’m not going anywhere.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be contemplating my next steps and taking a rest with my family.

But this is not the end of our campaign, it’s just the beginning. We’ll be gathering ideas and focussing on how we can use the energy you’ve generated to make real improvements to our community. And at the national level, we will need voices to hold a Labour government to account, and I will continue to do just that.

I won’t ever forget what you did for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Faiza Shaheen

Friday 5 July

To stay in touch with me, please join my mailing list below.