With two years to go until the next election, constituency battles are well underway across the country. Labour candidates are scrapping it out with one another for selection in winnable seats, with one such case being Chingford and Woodford Green. This London seat was just 1,263 votes off going red last time, with the added bonus of a prized scalp of in Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the sitting MP and former Tory party leader.
Faiza Shaheen, who fought the seat for Labour last time, is desperate once again to get selected in this area. But Mr S hears talk that some local members are unhappy about her lack of presence in north London – something of particular concern in an era when hyper-local candidates are favoured. Last week, Shaheen finally opted to confront rumours about her current residency status. She posted on Facebook a long, rambling note in which she admitted to, er, being employed by New York University – some 3,500 miles away.
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