Southampton MP Satvir Kaur says she faces almost daily abuse

A new MP who served her community for 13 years as a councillor says she has faced “extreme” online hate since winning a seat in Parliament.

Satvir Kaur, former Southampton City Council leader, has been in public office since 2011.

In July’s general election, she won the Southampton Test seat, but Ms Kaur says she feels like she has “attracted all the misogynists, racists and haters” online since.

She was speaking to BBC Radio Solent as part of its Hot Seat feature.

Host Louisa Hannan asked 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 to say it had been “extreme” and racist abuse had been “constant, almost on a daily basis”.

“It’s kind-of more than I thought. I mean, you always get it when you’re in the public eye,” she said.

“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.

“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.”

But Ms Kaur said the hate actually “encourages” her, adding: “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 added she has a zero-tolerance policy on her social media accounts where, if someone is abusive or makes personal comments, they are immediately blocked.

She explained: “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.

“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.”