Author: Satvir

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Bringing together Southern Water and Shirley businesses affected by works

Southampton Test MP Satvir Kaur last night brought together Southern Water and businesses from Shirley High Street to discuss the impact months of major sewer repair works have had on trading.

The meeting, hosted by Satvir Kaur MP at St Boniface Church Hall on Tuesday evening, saw businesses raise questions directly with senior staff from Southern Water and contractor Cappagh Browne.

Representatives from a total of 21 local businesses attended, including The Temple Bar, Make it Magic and The Salisbury Arms.

Southern Water began emergency repair works on Shirley High Street in April after a sewer collapsed, with the works causing disruption to access and traffic in the area, and local businesses reporting substantial impacts on trade and takings during the months-long duration. The works are now complete, and the section of the High Street affected was fully reopened to traffic last week.

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Southampton to get new mental health emergency department

A new mental health emergency department is set to open in Southampton after University Hospital Southampton was awarded a share of £156 million in government funding.

The new facility at Southampton General Hospital will aim to provide patients experiencing mental distress with faster access to specialist care in a calmer environment, reducing the need for people to wait in busy A&E departments.

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Richard Green Internship Reflection: Taha Malik

By Taha Malik

Going into this internship, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I had a rough idea of hoping to see what politics is about and get a show of how an MP works and how they help their constituents. I knew parliament/politics would be fast paced, and did half-expect to be mostly shadowing the team and watching from the sidelines.  

Instead, I was given real responsibility right from my very first week, and that hands-on approach made all the difference.     

Rather than just observing, I was integrated directly into the daily workings of the office. My work included bridging the gap between the issues local constituents had with the various government departments in Whitehall, and handling communications between constituents and central government. I assisted with various issues ranging from housing, health and asylum, which gave me a clear, practical view of how ministerial offices, civil servants, and parliamentary teams coordinate behind the scenes.     

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Richard Green Internship Reflection: Maryam

By Maryam Roble

This internship has taught me so much about politics, public service, and, most importantly, my own potential. As a Black Muslim woman from a working-class background, I never truly saw politics as a space where I belonged. There is still a lack of representation from diverse backgrounds, and for a long time, I didn’t think this was a career that someone like me could pursue. Working with Satvir Kaur MP has completely changed that perspective. She has shown me that being unapologetically yourself is one of the greatest strengths you can have in politics. Watching her lead with authenticity has been incredibly inspiring and has given me the confidence to believe that there is a place for me after all.

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Satvir holds meeting with Inner Avenue residents demanding action on drug crime and anti-social behaviour

Over 60 residents from the Inner Avenue area of Southampton joined Satvir Kaur MP for a meeting on Saturday, to address an escalating problem with drug related crime and anti-social behaviour on Southcliff Road and in the surrounding area. The meeting was organised in response to a petition handed to the MP by over 50 local residents calling for urgent action to tackle the issue.

The meeting brought residents together with a panel of decision makers and community leaders. Chaired by the MP, the panel included Councillor Toqeer Kataria, Bevois Ward Councillor and Cabinet member for Communities and Safety, senior service managers from Southampton City Council, the police, and the Director of Youth Services at the YMCA, along with the local resident who led the community petition. Councillor Jacqui Rayment and Councillor Paul Kenny, also Bevois Ward councillors, were in attendance too.

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Freemantle locals raise fly-tipping, housing and transport in first Big Community Conversation coffee morning

Freemantle residents joined Satvir Kaur MP in a fully booked coffee morning at Freemantle Baptist Church on Saturday – the first in a new series designed to “get Southampton talking”.

Under the banner ‘The Big Southampton Test Community Conversation’, local residents met with Satvir Kaur, ward councillors, volunteers and neighbours to discuss the issues affecting them, and to explore possible solutions.

Over 40 residents were in attendance, taking part in a discussion covering a range of topics, including concerns around housing, immigration, fly-tipping and street cleanliness.

More ‘Community Conversation’ events are to follow, with the next scheduled to take place in Portswood and Coxford, with invitations to be sent out to residents in due course.

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Applications now open for my paid summer internship programme, named in friend’s memory

I’m really excited to be launching my Richard Green Internship programme, a great opportunity for a local young person to experience the rush of political life, both in my constituency office and in Westminster. If you’re at college or university, live in Southampton Test, and are passionate about politics and making a difference – I want to hear from you!

The internship will be a month-long, focused opportunity – running from 6th July to 7th August – with time spent in both the constituency and in Parliament. Applications close at midnight on Monday 15th June.

APPLY NOW

I’ve named this paid internship in the memory of my good friend Richard Green, who sadly died too early. Rich worked in politics, both in Southampton and London, and was an incredible advocate for engaging and training young people in the field. He was passionate about providing opportunities to people from all backgrounds, and he influenced and inspired me enormously over the years. It’s a huge honour to name this opportunity after him.

If you’re wondering if this opportunity is for you or feel anxious about putting your name forward – please, please go ahead and apply. Growing up in inner city Southampton on free school meals, I never thought politics was for people like me, know how much these opportunities can matter, and want to hear from students from all walks of life.

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Southampton MPs urge city’s renters to ‘Know your Rights’ as new laws come into force from today

Southampton MPs have today hailed a landmark moment for renters in the city as new rights for tenants come into force.

Satvir Kaur, MP for Southampton Test, and Darren Paffey, MP for Southampton Itchen, are encouraging the thousands of renters in the city to make sure that they are aware of their new rights as a result of the government’s Renters Rights Act.

Under the new laws that come into force today:

  • Landlords will no longer be able to make evictions for no reason with a Section 21 notice, putting an end to revenge evictions for tenants who make legitimate requests for repairs or complaints about conditions.
  • Tenants cannot be made to pay rent more than one month in advance
  • Landlords can only put the rent up once a year and they must give at least two months’ notice. Tenants will also be able to go to a rent tribunal if they think the rent is too much.
  • It will be illegal to refuse tenants just because they receive benefits or have kids.

Councils are also being given new powers to crack down on rogue landlords. Landlords will still be able to get their properties back for clear and justifiable reasons – like selling up, moving in, or dealing with rent arrears and antisocial behaviour.

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What it means to have a Labour Council working with a Labour Government

Satvir Kaur MP with Leader of Southampton City Council, Councillor Alex Winning

It’s election time again, with just a couple of days to go until Southampton goes to the polls. You may have received your ballot papers already, if you vote by post. This time around, we’ll be choosing who we want representing us on our City Council.

It’s an important choice, and one that should be carefully considered, but it is a choice that I believe should always be made. The opportunity to vote is a fundamental human right and one that has been hard fought for by many. Decisions made by politicians have an enormous impact on our lives, whether taken at a national level – by the Government and by MPs – or at a local level, by councillors and the local Executive.

For the first time in a very long time, we have a Labour Council in Southampton working hand-in-hand with a Labour Government in Westminster. The benefits of this partnership cannot be overstated and, for the first time since 2010 – when Conservative and Lib Dem austerity took a wrecking ball to city coffers – we are seeing local authorities receive funding based on local need. With Labour, money allocated to councils is tied to local levels of deprivation, rather than favouring a particular political stripe, as we suffered previously.

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Southern Water – latest correspondence

In the last couple of days, I’ve written to the Chief Executive of Southern Water on two occasions, about two separate issues in Southampton.

Firstly, I wrote regarding the ‘screening application’ published on Southampton City Council’s Planning Portal yesterday, concerning upgrades to Southern Water’s Portswood Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Local residents are rightly concerned about the impact the upgrade works might have on their community, and so I have requested a meeting with Southern Water to discuss how construction will affect people living close by – in St Denys, particularly on Kent Road – and to find out what they will do to mitigate any adverse impact.

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