Faiza Shaheen's Blog

The alternatives for the UK chancellor are either unworkable or risk losing Labour votes, so here’s what she should try

Depending on whose forecasts you believe, in the autumn budget the UK chancellor needs to find £25-£50bn to cover day-to-day spending, let alone to raise the extra funds needed to turnaround crumbling public services or end the two-child benefit cap. Rachel Reeves is bound by a manifesto commitment not to raise the big three – income tax, national insurance or VAT – and having already slapped businesses with a national insurance rise in her inaugural budget last year, she faces having to think about creative ways to raise revenue.

The past few weeks, we have seen a bewildering parade of policies emerging from Treasury sources. These include reforms to inheritance tax, replacing stamp duty with a national proportional property tax for homes worth more than £500,000, replacing council tax with a local proportional property tax levied on house values up to £500,000 with a minimum annual bill of £800 paid by the property owner, and a potential capital gains tax (CGT) on primary residences valued at more than £1.5m.

Faiza Shaheen is executive director of Tax Justice UK

While it promises to enrich the poor, the proposal offers a subtle tax break to the wealthiest. But Farage knows better than Labour that headlines matter

In a political landscape where the traditional left struggles to even mention the working class, let alone articulate a compelling vision for them, Nigel Farage and Reform UK are playing a shrewd hand. This week they will add to their political momentum with a bold, headline-grabbing policy: the Britannia Card – a commitment to tax the rich to put money in the pockets of the poor. This isn’t just policy; it’s political theatre, designed to resonate deeply with an electorate hungry for tangible change, mixed with an idea of British patriotism.

Reform’s proposal is deceptively simple: anyone seeking to live in the UK must make an “entry contribution” of £250,000. This substantial sum, the policy pledges, would then be directly redistributed to the lowest 10% of earners, making 2.5 million people between £600 and £1,000 better off a year, depending on uptake.

Faiza Shaheen is a distinguished policy fellow at London School of Economics, and the incoming executive director of Tax Justice UK

The veteran MP’s inspirational memoir charts a life in politics and testifies to the power of refusing to pipe down

There is a sense of poetic justice in seeing Diane Abbott back in parliament after the 2024 election. She is now Mother of the House – the title given to the longest serving female MP – and all those who plotted to block her from standing must watch as she receives the respect she deserves. After enduring so much racism, and at a time of few political wins for the left, we have to ask: how did Abbott end up having the last laugh?

Her autobiography offers some clues. Born to working-class Jamaican parents in 1953, she was clearly always both strong-willed and intellectually gifted. Which is not to say she didn’t have to work hard: early signs of her determination include insisting to her teachers that she apply to Cambridge, swotting up on Latin for the entrance exam, and beating considerable odds by winning a place from her state school. After graduation she entered the Home Office as part of the civil service fast stream, and made history in 1987 as the first Black woman MP.

Politics Weekly UK is in the London suburb of Chingford and Woodford Green, where a spat between Labour and its former candidate is threatening to split the progressive vote. The Guardian’s John Harris talks to the now independent candidate, Faiza Shaheen; Labour’s new candidate, Shama Tatler; and Iain Duncan Smith, who has represented the area for the Conservatives for more than 30 years

Chingford and Woodford Green candidates:

Iain Duncan Smith – Conservative party

Years of work and my connection to the community have been brushed aside. But after months of being isolated and bullied, I should have known this was coming

On Wednesday night I was removed, via email, from being the Labour parliamentary candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green. I live and grew up here, and this battle means so much to me personally.

I was asked to attend a sham 45-minute online meeting via email just hours before my deselection, with three members of the National Executive Committee – one of whom never put his camera on or said a word – and my fate was decided. More than four years’ work thrown in the bin. My connection to my community brushed aside. My deep and utter commitment dismissed. And the desires of thousands in my constituency disregarded.

Faiza Shaheen was the Labour parliamentary candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green in 2019, and teaches at the London School of Economics

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Where you are born in the UK and the wealth of your family are the key factors that determine life outcomes, new figures reveal

Every parent wants their child to reach their full potential and flourish: my mum called me Faiza because it means “winner” in Arabic in the hope that success would be inevitable. It’s an emotion that runs deep, and one that politicians across the spectrum are keen to tap into, for ever promising to build an “aspirational” or truly “meritocratic” society where any individual can make it as long as they work hard enough.

Equality of opportunity is a phrase commonly used by our politicians, even for those too scared to talk about equality more generally. Yet for decades we’ve been moving in the wrong direction. A recent report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that where you are born in the UK, and the income and wealth of your family, now matter more than ever in defining life outcomes, with social mobility at its worst in more than 50 years.

Faiza Shaheen is a visiting professor in practice at the London School of Economics, the Labour party parliamentary candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green, and the author of Know Your Place

We asked a panel of commentators for their view on the government’s electoral strategy

In the face of Labour poll leads, Rishi Sunak and his government appear to be increasingly focused on rightwing campaigns related to the culture wars, migration and opposition to environmental initiatives and targets. Do you think this is, or could be, a credible strategy?

John Redwood is the Conservative MP for Wokingham

Rowena Mason is joined by Faiza Shaheen, Helen Lewis and Will Tanner to discuss No 10’s hiring of adviser Andrew Sabisky, Labour’s deputy leadership race, and the importance of ‘difficult women’ in Westminster.

After it was revealed that the Downing Street adviser Andrew Sabisky had previously suggested intelligence is linked to race, and made other controversial comments, he promptly resigned. However, his recent hiring by Dominic Cummings in a drive to employ more “misfits and weirdos” in No 10 has called into doubt the vetting process. It has also raised questions about Cummings’ role in Downing Street and what Boris Johnson’s refusal to comment means.

Also this week, a report revealed that ‘red wall’ voters may not have liked Labour’s plans to tax the very wealthy more, and instead prefer the idea of taxes being fairer across the board – supporting modest tax hikes and closing of loopholes.

Anushka Asthana looks back on an extraordinary period of chaos in politics since David Cameron called the EU referendum. Plus: on the day the UK leaves, Faiza Shaheen argues that remainers must now put their energy into ideas to take Britain forward

Ever since David Cameron called a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union, politics in the UK has been chaotic and unpredictable. Some of the biggest names in Westminster were forced into taking huge gambles with their careers – and many of them lost in spectacular style.

Anushka Asthana has been reporting from in and around Westminster for the entire Brexit period. She looks back to the big decisions and the pivotal moments that resulted in the UK formally exiting the EU at 11pm tonight.

I’ve seen the suffering caused by his universal credit scheme. This knighthood lays bare our country’s moral bankruptcy

Iain Duncan Smith, the architect of welfare reform and therefore a man responsible for so much pain and suffering, especially among sick and disabled people, was on the Queen’s new year honours list. What sort of message does this send to families plunged into poverty by his cruel welfare policies? Their hardship is effectively being celebrated.

I stood as the Labour party candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green against IDS at the general election. My motivation was that my mum had been in the direct firing line of his welfare reforms. She was reassessed when he was secretary of state for work and pensions. The stress it caused her, how terrified she was, is something I can never forget. In her 50s at the time, she kept telling the rude and aggressive DWP assessors: “I don’t want to be sick. I want to work.” When she died in 2017, her house was full of letters fighting for her benefits. It’s a common story, but as I have since learned, she was relatively lucky.

I won’t accept awful people doing awful things at the top of our political system – why should I? Why should any of us?

Related: There’s a lesson in Boris Johnson’s jolliness. Liberal miserabilism is a turn-off | Anne McElvoy