Member of Parliament reports experiencing daily racist abuse

A newly elected Member of Parliament, who previously served her community for 13 years as a councillor, has stated she has encountered “extreme” online hostility since securing a seat in Parliament. Satvir Kaur, the former leader of Southampton City Council, has been involved in public office since 2011. Following her victory in the Southampton Test constituency during July’s general election, Ms Kaur expressed that she feels she has “attracted all the misogynists, racists and haters” online. Her comments were made during an appearance on BBC Radio Solent as part of its Hot Seat feature. Host Louisa Hannan questioned the Labour MP: “We know, sadly, women in politics get a lot of abuse. Is that something you’ve encountered? I mean, I know it’s early days.” Ms Kaur responded by describing the abuse as “extreme,” noting that racist comments have been “constant, almost on a daily basis.” She remarked, “It’s kind-of more than I thought. I mean, you always get it when you’re in the public eye.” She further added, “Being a politician, suddenly you somehow become sub-human – when all you’re really trying to do is make a positive difference to people’s lives.” Ms Kaur elaborated, “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 the misogynists, and all the racists and all the haters out there.” Despite this, Ms Kaur indicated that the animosity actually “encourages” her, stating: “I want other people from areas of deprivation and brown girls to feel as though, if I can do it, they can do it.” She also mentioned maintaining a zero-tolerance policy on her social media accounts, where individuals who are abusive or make personal comments are immediately blocked. She explained her approach: “Sometimes I bite, but I really try to make an effort not to respond and to ignore it because I don’t want to give it airtime.” She continued, “I don’t want to spread hate, there’s enough hate out there. I talk to people on the doorstep and one of the things that they’re really concerned about is hate crime and I don’t want to promote it.”