Families in Southampton Test are more than £1,670better off when taking out a typical mortgage since Labour came to office, new analysis has found.
A household taking out a new, representative, mortgage on a £260,000 house in December 2025 – the median price in Southampton Test – will pay £1,670a year less than they if they took out an identical mortgage in June 2024, at the time of the election.
This week, it was my absolute pleasure to be invited to attend St Denys Primary’s annual carol concert, held opposite the school at St Denys Church. Whilst, first and foremost, I was there to enjoy the incredible show laid on by the students, I was also there to present prizes to the winners of my 2025 Christmas card competition.
I am very grateful to the students of St Denys for taking part this year and a big congratulations goes to Hallie Haddon, aged 9, on coming out top with her incredible Christmas tree design!
Satvir Kaur MP has welcomed the Labour Government’s announcement that Southampton City Council will get a £84.6 million cash injection for essential services – a 32% increase in the Council’s spending power. Under the Tories, local authorities were starved of investment, with core spending power down by around a quarter since 2010. That put immense pressure on councils up and down the country, including Southampton City Council. But the Labour Government has announced a radical overhaul of how local government is funded, reversing Rishi Sunak’s cheap political efforts to put money into wealthy shires and Tory seats.
Satvir Kaur, Member of Parliament for Southampton Test, joined Business in the Community this week to deliver books to local children as part of BIC’sChristmas Books Campaign, an annual initiative that tackles low literacy rates by ensuring children in deprived areas receive books to enjoy and to help build reading confidence.
Southampton’s two Labour MPs, Satvir Kaur and Darren Paffey, alongside the Leader of the council, Cllr Alex Winning, have called on the government to give Southampton the funding it needs after 14 years of austerity following a shake-up of local government funding allocations.
Autumn has arrived in Southampton. The clocks have gone back, Halloween has been and gone, and the air has turned crisp — so what better way to spend an afternoon than in one of our local libraries? And that’s exactly where I headed with my newborn daughter, to celebrate Green Libraries Week with the team at Southampton Central Library. Green Libraries Week recognises the role libraries play in promoting sustainability and community action.
Taking my daughter, who’s now proudly one of the city’s youngest library users and has her very first library card, was incredibly special to me, as I grew up attending the very same library (a place I still love!). We all know libraries are so much more than bricks and books; they are great spaces for people of all ages, with the most dedicated and welcoming staff and volunteers. Huge thank you to everyone who works there and helps out, you enrich lives and help our communities thrive.
I fought hard to keep our local libraries open while on the council, and now as the MP for Southampton Test, I have been supporting a campaign led by Southampton’s young reading ambassadors, calling for libraries to be in all schools. I was pleased to advocate for them and proud of their contribution in getting this government to commit to a library in every primary school. A great local and national win!
Another great Southampton win has been the additional funding our city has received recently from the government. Fair funding for Southampton is something I am constantly fighting hard for. For too long places in the south, like Southampton, have been overlooked, but it’s good to see the government recognising our acute needs and ensuring we have the funds to make a difference.
This includes an incredible £20 million for Redbridge and Millbrook, as part of the government’s Pride in Place programme, that I fought hard to secure. That’s £2 million every year for the next decade on projects that create jobs, improve community facilities and green spaces, and make our streets cleaner and safer. This is a great opportunity for the community to get involved, decide what improvements their area needs and how this money should be spent.
I’m excited to get this going and want as many local people as possible to play an active role in the decision-making. It’s why this week letters should be dropping onto the doorsteps of residents in the area, asking for their views. And I’ll also be hosting a series of drop-in sessions across the area, starting on Saturday 29th November 2025, so I can hear directly from you about what matters most.
Other exciting funding announcements for our city include £6 million towards a new urgent treatment ‘walk-in’ centre at Southampton General Hospital. We all know the local A&E department is bursting, as the hospital often issues warnings about “very high attendances” at its emergency department and urges residents to attend only when “absolutely necessary”. This new facility is being created to help relieve pressure on A&E and will treat patients with minor illnesses and injuries, allowing the emergency department to focus on those who need urgent, life-saving care.
Southampton General is one of the best hospitals in the country, with outstanding staff who go above and beyond every day. But we all know how tough things have been — longer waits, higher demand, and increasing strain. That’s why this investment matters. It’s part of a wider plan to strengthen our NHS, from improving access to GPs to investing in community health services.
Southampton also received £660,000 of government funding to help tackle and prevent homelessness. Helping to secure this funding was important to me, as we have brilliant local charities like the Society of St James and Two Saints who do a great job, but it’s clear they need more resources, as well as more help to tackle the root causes of homelessness. That’s why not only is this extra money important, but the recent Renters Rights Bill finally becoming law has been crucial, which bans no-fault evictions (the main contributor to homelessness in Southampton). This, alongside national investment to build more affordable and social housing, will hopefully help end homelessness for good.
If you need help, want to share your thoughts about policy, or book an appointment, please contact me on satvir.kaur.mp@parliament.uk or 02382 546 357.
Southampton Test MP Satvir Kaur has launched a brand-new competition to celebrate the city’s entrepreneurial spirit — the Southampton Test Small Business Champion 2025.
The initiative aims to shine a spotlight on the amazing small and independent businesses that help drive Southampton’s local economy—from creative cake decorators and family-run shops to accountants, cafés, and tech start-ups.
Satvir Kaur has secured £20 million of government funding for people in Millbrook and Redbridge to invest in their communities.
As part of the Labour government’s new Pride in Place Programme, these areas will receive £2 million per year over the course of ten years, and will be pioneering a new way of deciding how to spend public money on local projects.
The money can be spent on anything from local park improvements to fixing up empty buildings and high streets, but it is up to the residents to decide what to do with it.
The fund relies on locals from across the Millbrook estate and Redbridge coming together to submit ideas for how to spend the £20 million total, and a call has gone out for people to volunteer to sit on a local board that helps coordinate the project.
Southampton Test MP Satvir Kaur has been appointed as Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office. The appointment comes shortly after she welcomed a baby girl at Princess Anne Hospital in August.
Satvir said, “There’s nothing like feeding your two-week-old newborn and suddenly getting a call from No. 10. It is hugely humbling and a real honour to be asked to join Darren Jones MP and the Cabinet Office team to help deliver our plan for change. Enormous thanks to Josh Simons for stepping in while I complete my maternity leave.”
Satvir succeeds Georgia Gould MP and Abena Oppong-Asare MP, who have served as junior ministers since July 2024.
While Satvir is on maternity leave, constituents can continue to contact Satvir in the usual way. She will return to Parliament early next year, working remotely in the meantime with her team continuing business as usual.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch; email satvir.kaur.mp@parliament.uk or call the office on 02382 546 357.
This week my husband and I became very proud parents for the first time and are over-joyed to welcome our beautiful new baby daughter into the world.
Huge thanks to the wonderful team at Princess Anne Hospital and everyone’s support and best wishes during what has been a rollercoaster journey.
We’re looking forward to this new adventure (not so much the sleepless nights!) as I officially go on maternity leave to spend time with my new baby.
Whilst I am on maternity leave, you can still contact me as normal in the usual way. I will be returning to Parliament sometime early next year but will be doing some things remotely in the meantime. I will also be around and about Southampton with my new baby and will still be attending to important constituency duties.
My team will be working as normal throughout and are, as always, ready to help. Please do get in contact if you need us.
Thank you all so much for your understanding and kindness during this very special time for me and my new family.