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| Satvir Kaur, Junior Minster Keir Starmer's Government and Labour MP for Soutampton Test Photo: UK Parliament under licence |
by Anfrew Pope, Co-Founder of Southampton Independents and Somerset Independents
We publish the following information in the public interest. It is unfortunate that this has to be done by voluntary and community journalism, as there has been no coverage by the BBC or Daily Echo, nor any other commercial outlet locally, to our knowledge. Not so far, at least. Perhaps they will up their game now.
Satvir Kaur, Labour MP for Southampton Test, has been appointed to Keir Starmer's Government as a Junior Minister. In the register, it states that she was on Maternity Leave until February 2026.
Her cover, it says, was Josh Simons MP.
Simons recently resigned in February 2026, according to the Manchester Evening News, amid:
"claims that a think tank he ran before entering Government, paid a PR firm at least £30,000 to look into journalists"
In his first interview since resigning, Simons now claims in a BBC interview one month after his resignation, that he was "naive" in the scandal involving journalists and a think tank called Labour Together.
Now that she is a Minister, Kaur is required to lodge an entry in the Ministerial register, a copy of which is below:
"Satvir Kaur MP, Parliamentary Secretary
The Minister is on maternity leave until 23 February 2026. Josh Simons MP is acting as maternity cover.
6. Any other relevant interests
Trade union memberships
- Member, UNISON
Previous employment/roles
- Leader, Cabinet Member and Local Councillor, Southampton City Council (2011-2024)
7. Relevant interests of spouse, partner or close family member
- The minister’s spouse/partner is Head of External Affairs at Persimmon Homes"
The entry confirms that Kaur's husband, former Southampton Tory councillor Ben Walker, is the Head of External Affairs at Persimmon Homes.
On a recent BBC South Today Politics programme, Kaur stated that she was "obsessed" with new forms of construction.
In January 2025, as reported by Construction News UK, Persimmon Homes announced:
"Persimmon Homes launches model home to trial new technology"
