London (Parliament Politics Magzine) – A new MP who served her community for 13 years as a councillor states she has faced “extreme” online hate since succeeding a seat in Parliament.
A Labour MP has expressed she confronts “extreme” abuse including racism almost every day.
Satvir Kaur has been in public office since 2011 and voiced the abuse has escalated since she was elected MP for Southampton Test in July. She was the first female Sikh head of a local authority in Britain when she ran Southampton City Council from 2022 to 2023.
What challenges does Satvir Kaur face as an MP?
She stated:
“It’s been extreme, it’s kind of more than I thought. You always get it when you’re kind of in the public eye and being a politician – suddenly somehow you become sub-human when all you’re trying to do is make a positive contrast to people’s lives. So I got it to a certain extent when I was a councillor and leader of the council, but I feel as though since I’ve become an MP – especially online – I feel as though I’ve attracted all of the misogynists, all of the racists, and all of the haters out there.”
What motivates Kaur to continue despite the abuse?
She contended that she receives racist vitriol
“constantly, almost daily”.
“It just motivates me more to do what I’m doing, because I want other people from places of deprivation, and brown girls, to feel that, if I can do it, they can do it,”
she expressed.
How does Kaur respond to daily racist vitriol?
The MP stated she tries to overlook the vitriol and blocks abusive words on her social media, but she does sometimes “bite”.
“I don’t want to spread hate, and there’s enough hate out there.”
Hate crime is a subject often withered by her constituents on the doorstep, Ms Kaur stated. In her maiden address, she told Parliament she is the daughter of a market vendor and grew up in inner-city Southampton on complimentary school meals.