Satvir Kaur is the Labour Candidate for Southampton Test at the 2024 General Election. She is a Councillor on Southampton City Council and was the Leader of the Council until a few days before Christmas 2023.
According to the Daily Echo, and repeated by BBC Hampshir, Kaur resigned just before Christmas as the Leader in order to concentrate on her campaign to be elected to Parliament.
But the full truth is not that simple. Her resignation coincided with the Council being brought to the brink of bankruptcy.
A near bankruptcy, called a Section 114 notice, that Kaur claimed was a "lie" despite the reality of the situation faced by the Council before, during and after she was Leader:
- having been the Leader of the Council since May 2022 and before that, making financial decisions in the Cabinet of the Council for over a decade having entered the Cabinet in 2013. The Cabinet contains around ten or fewer Labour councillors. The thirty or more other councillors do not get a say in those decisions which amount to millions of pounds of spending in total.
- the Chief Financial Officer warning of the Section 114 notice and then leaving
- the Government now having to help to bail out the Council
- the Chief Executive Officer resigning around the same time that Kaur resigned as Leader
- her successor as Leader Councillor Lorna Fielker having to deal with the sinking ship that Satvir Kaur had abandoned. Fielker then asking the Government to raise Council Tax by 15% but trying to hide this request from the public who would pay, until it was revealed in a Council public meeting
Does this sound like rats leaving a sinking ship? Southampton residents will have to decide for themselves when they cast their vote.
If this is the mess that Kaur left as a Councillor, what damage could Satvir Kaur do as a Member of Parliament?
Backbench MPs have very little power over spending. If she is elected, perhaps the taxpayer will be grateful for that.
But imagine what damage she could do if she actually got her hands on a Government Department with a huge budget?
Would Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer allow her to be a Minister, given Kaur's disastrous background?
With Labour Satvir Kaur's record, it is a worrying prospect for the people of Southampton and for the rest of the country, should the people of Southampton Test elect her.
And especially so given her failure to respond to the questions that we sent to her. These were sent to all candidates with contact details available.
1. Why are you standing in this General Election?
2. Why are you standing for the <insert party or independent here>?
3. What will you do in the first 100 days if elected?
4. What do you think are the best top 5 policies of your party?
5. What do you think are the top 5 issues that Southampton people want addressed, and what do you intend to do about them?
6. What track record do you have of winning campaigns?
Why Southampton Independents Is Covering the 2024 General Election
Southampton Independents recommends no particular candidate in the 2024 General Election. We publish this information and the information about the other candidates to help inform Southampton residents for their vote, or for them to choose not to vote or to positively spoil their ballot by writing "none of the above". It's your choice.
The other candidates for Southampton Test, with their answers to our questions, are here.
