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11th May 2017
Posted by BBC Essex News
Jack Monroe Southend MP bid ends after hate mail
Jack Monroe announced her intention to stand on 28 April
The food blogger Jack Monroe will not contest the Southend West parliamentary seat after she said she received hate mail and had deteriorating health.
Ms Monroe was to stand for the National Health Action (NHA) Party but tweeted a letter announcing her withdrawal.
She said she took the decision after receiving two letters "along the lines of 'die you bitch'" and after being bedridden by arthritis twice.
She also cited "my own sanity" and the "safety of my seven-year-old son".
She said: "Throwing all of my energy into a personal campaign is the fastest way to burnout I can possibly imagine."
As well as publishing several budget cook books, Leigh-on-Sea-based Ms Monroe is a campaigner on health and poverty issues.
In March, she successfully sued columnist Katie Hopkins over two tweets published in 2015.