Satnam was first elected as a councillor for Tufnell Park ward in 2014. He is recently retired as principal of the Working Men’s College. He has also worked in a law centre and sixth form college and served on the council of City and Guilds. Satnam has previously served as a governor at NRC (Islington PRU) and Acland Burghley; he is now a trustee of the Hilldrop Community Centre and Cripplegate Foundation and has a long record of involvement in anti-racism and anti-cuts campaigning.
Satnam sits on the Environment, Climate and Transport Scrutiny Committee, the Investigating and Disciplinary Committee, the Licensing Regulatory Committee, the Pensions Committee and the Standards Committee.