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Letter to Network Rail: No to rail replacement services on Semi-Final Day

On Saturday 25th April, Saints will face Manchester City at in the FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley. It’s a massive moment for our team and our city. There are over 33,000 tickets allocated to Saints supporters, who will be travelling predominantly from Southampton.

However, the rail route between Basingstoke and Woking is due to have a rail replacement bus on the day, to allow for engineering works.

If this goes ahead, it will significantly impact fans travelling from Southampton to Wembley, causing severe disruption and potentially even preventing some fans attending altogether.

Today, I’ve written to the Chief Executive of Network Rail – along with Phil Parsons, Chief Executive of Southampton Football Club, and Cllr Alex Winning, Leader of Southampton City Council – calling for the works to be postponed.

We cannot allow this disruption for fans on such an incredibly special day for our team and our city.

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Southampton MPs join Council Leader in welcoming announcement that Northam Rail Bridge and A326 schemes given green light

Heidi Alexander MP, Secretary of State Transport

The Government has announced this morning that funding for schemes to replace the failing Northam Rail Bridge and to improve the A326 Marchwood Bypass corridor have been approved.

Both schemes have now been given the green light to progress as part of the Department for Transport’s third Road Investment Strategy and Major Road Network review, published today. Heidi Alexander, Secretary of state for Transport, gave a statement to the House of Commons this morning, announcing the strategy and setting out details.

The scheme at Northam Rail Bridge will see provision of a new, widened, replacement bridge on the A3024 corridor in Southampton, and the A326 scheme will see improvements made to the Marchwood Bypass corridor, connecting into the M27 at Junction 2 and serving the Waterside area of the New Forest.

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Satvir welcomes fly-tipping crackdown with Labour’s new Waste Crime Action Plan

The Government has today launched its new Waste Crime Action Plan – the toughest ever crackdown on illegal waste – backed by an additional £45 million for the Environment Agency to pursue fly-tippers and organised criminal gangs across England.

Waste crime costs the economy £1 billion every year, with nearly 1.3 million incidents of fly-tipping recorded last year alone.

In Southampton it is a huge problem, with the city recording over 12,000 separate incidents of fly-tipping in the year 2024-25, and areas such as Newtown and Portswood hit particularly hard.

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Southampton small businesses hosted at ministerial roundtable

Earlier in March, a group of Southampton small businesses met with Blair McDougall MP, Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation, at a roundtable meeting hosted in parliament by two of Southampton’s MPs.

The meeting was arranged by Satvir Kaur MP, Member of Parliament for Southampton Test, and Darren Paffey MP, Member of Parliament for Southampton Itchen, in response to conversations had with Southampton small businesses – a number of whom had expressed an interest in speaking directly to ministers about key issues within their sector.

Make it Magic, Mettricks Southampton, and Alaplas Coffee were amongst the businesses attending the high-level meeting, and other attendees included Councillor Alex Winning, Leader of Southampton City Council, and Stephen Mannion, Chief Executive of Go! Southampton.

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Satvir Kaur MP joined by Wombles for Shirley litter pick

The Wombles joined Southampton Test MP Satvir Kaur and local environmental campaigners for a community litter pick at Shirley Pond Park.

In a litter pick with a difference, the iconic Wombles teamed up with volunteers and Satvir Kaur MP to help tidy Shirley Pond Park. The park forms part of the Lordsdale Greenway, which has recently been designated a Local Nature Reserve.

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Local win for Southampton Test MP as two more schools are set to get a free breakfast club

More families and children in Southampton Test will soon benefit from free, daily breakfast clubs as the Labour government confirms the next 500 schools to offer the scheme from April, including St Mark’s and Mason Moor Primary School in Southampton, putting up to £450 a year back in local parents’ pockets. It represents a campaign win for Southampton Test’s Labour Member of Parliament, Satvir Kaur, who wrote to all eligible local schools to encourage them to apply to join the scheme. As a result, 1027 children in their constituency will be able to access a nutritious meal at the start of the day, as the schools join Bevois Town Primary School which was an early adopter of the free breakfast club rollout.

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Support for residents following Southampton General Hospital fire

Following the shocking fire at Southampton General Hospital yesterday, I know many local residents are understandably worried about what this means for appointments, visits to loved ones, and the safety of patients and staff.

First and foremost, I want to reassure everyone that I have been told that no one was hurt as a result of the fire. Thanks to the swift response of courageous hospital staff and our incredible emergency services, patients were moved to safety and the situation was brought under control quickly. I want to put on record my personal and heartfelt thanks to everyone involved for their professionalism and calm under such intense pressure. You are the very best of us and we are all hugely grateful to you for your bravery.

I know that many local residents are anxious about the situation, and so I have put together a brief Q&A to hopefully help with any concerns:

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Satvir Kaur welcomes Labour’s plan to protect leaseholders

Satvir Kaur MP has welcomed the Labour Government’s announcement that ground rents will be capped at £250 a year, calling it a “long overdue step that will make a real difference to leaseholders in Southampton Test”.

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Satvir Kaur welcomes Labour’s once-in-a-generation overhaul of the water system

Satvir Kaur, Labour MP for Southampton Test, has today welcomed the announcement of sweeping reforms to clean up the water industry, strengthen regulation and put an end to failing water companies marking their own homework.

After more than a decade of weak oversight by Conservative governments, the reforms set out in today’s Water White Paper will create a new single water regulator with tough new powers, including a Chief Engineer to carry out hands-on checks of water infrastructure and stop pipes, pumps and treatment works being left to crumble.

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Southampton Test families see £1,670 drop in annual mortgage costs since the election

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.