Labour MP Satvir Kaur has again called Southampton community members protesting undocumented asylum seekers being housed at the Highfield House Hotel “racist” and “far right.”
Kaur, Labour MP for Southampton Test, has faced mounting criticism from sections of the community who say their concerns about community safety and anti-social behaviour are being dismissed as bigotry. The Highfield House Hotel, located adjacent to sheltered housing, has hosted asylum seekers for several years, but recent months have seen regular demonstrations outside the building.
Videos circulating online appear to show ‘anti-racism’ protesters being restrained by police and attacking the demonstrators, but Kaur only has criticism for the anti-hotel protestors. In a public statement, Kaur said: “Hate and intimidation have no place in our city. Thank you to the many residents who have contacted me about recent demonstrations in Portswood. Read my letter to the police.”
In her letter to a Southampton Superintendent, Kaur expressed concern about “regular demonstrations” outside the hotel, writing: “Whilst I hugely value and will endlessly defend the right to peacefully protest on any subject, I believe these demonstrations are crossing a line, causing a great deal of distress to residents and needlessly subjecting the neighbourhood to frequent disruption, upset and, from my understanding, racist and far-right abuse.”
She added that several residents and local councillors had reported “shocking behaviour from demonstrators, much of which sounds likely criminal, but have said that police have done nothing to intervene.” Allegations include demonstrators setting up an encampment on hotel grounds without consent, banging on windows, shouting obscenities through megaphones, and flying a flag from the hotel’s flagpole.
Yet for many local residents, especially those in the neighbouring Avondale Court sheltered accommodation the issue goes beyond the protests. They’ve reported a string of criminal acts from residents of the migrant hotel, from having their front door kicked in, late night drinking in their car park, urinating on the building, banging on windows and even break-ins to their property and garden sheds. Despite repeatedly reporting incidents, they say police and the council have failed to act and refuse to fix the CCTV at the property. They only have police crime incident numbers to show for their trouble.
This anti-social behaviour is something thats been going on for years and left residents feeling depressed and scared to go out at night. Kaur only addresses the well-being of the visiting residents of the Highfield House Hotel in the letter. Many of the long-term residents of the sheltered housing use wheelchairs and would be classed as vulnerable people. They support the anti-migrant hotel protestors, even sitting outside to watch, thankful someone is taking action and giving them a voice at last.
“There’s a feeling that demonstrators are able to abuse, harass and intimidate residents without intervention,” Kaur wrote, expressing frustration at the police response. “Whilst I am grateful to [Chief Inspector] Chris Douglas for his explanation on public safety and police discretion, I remain concerned that this is not having the desired impact or making the community feel safe.”
Recent polling by Electoral Calculus indicates that Kaur will lose the Southampton Test seat to Reform UK at the next election.
Stupid cow, she’s shown her true colours there, only protecting the illegals again and sod the actual locals who need help against the “asylum seekers”
The MP can insult me for protesting if she enjoys that kind of behaviour but it makes no difference to the problem we are protesting about.
It’s fascinating that the best an MP can manage is to insult innocent and law abiding constituents. We certainly don’t get the best representation anymore. Just highly paid public sector workers that act like they despise the English.
How do MPs earn money….
I am not a Labour voter but my local MP Darren Paffey has been intelligent enough to keep out of this and concentrate his time on local issues unlike Kaur who was useless as leader of the council.
Satvir Kaur’s comments reflect the naivety & incompetence of both the Labour (& previous Conservative) governments in dumping illegal immigrants on communities throughout the UK. She negates her responsibility to the citizens of the Southampton Test constituency and unbelievably chooses to support those- who should have been deported on arrival- who have arrived in UK illegally.
Neither Labour nor Conservative governments have a clue of how to ‘stop the boats’. I am vehemently opposed to the incompetent, ill-judged EU & UK policies that have allowed gangs to profit & outwit the authorities in bringing undocumented illegal immigrants into Europe & over the Channel into UK. Having personally seen hundreds of Africans begging in the streets of Italy & Greece in recent years, I know there should have been a better way of screening & allowing the controlled ingress of some refugees. This control should have taken place in NORTH AFRICA. At the beginning of this mass migration (2015), EU & national navies should have seized these migrant boats as they left North African shores & entered international waters. These boats should have been escorted back to the beaches of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, the migrants safely brought ashore & their boats sunk in plain sight. If these measures had been systematically practised- (& no doubt strongly criticised by the ‘lefty do-gooders’ such as Satvir Kaur), a controlled & legal immigration of those deemed desirable for European entry could have been implemented. But it is probably too late to do that now….
The next stage in this disastrous saga will probably be more people on the streets, protests (unfortunately) becoming progressively more polarised & violent & the underfunded police & local authorities having to carry out policies they probably do not agree with……..