Neale Hanvey is a British nurse, politician, LGB separatist, and anti-transgender activist. Hanvey is an advisor for anti-trans group Sex Matters.
Background
James Neale Hanvey was born on December 28, 1964 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, grew up in Scotland, and was educated at Glenrothes High School. Hanvey had a 25-year career in the National Health Service. In 2005 Hanvey was named divisional nurse director for rare cancer at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London and contributed to medical textbooks.
Hanvey was elected an SNP councillor to Fife Council in the 2012 Scottish local elections and served until May 2017, including periods as SNP spokesperson for health and social care and group leader. In October 2019, Hanvey was selected as the SNP candidate for the 2019 UK general election in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. In November 2019 the SNP suspended Hanvey over past social-media posts, but Hanvey still won the seat, initially sitting as an independent MP. Hanvey was readmitted to the SNP in May 2020, joined the party’s Westminster group in June 2020, and became the SNP member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee in July 2020.
Hanvey left the SNP in March 2021 to join the Alba Party and stood unsuccessfully in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. In July 2022, Hanvey was briefly suspended from the Commons after a protest during Prime Minister’s Questions. Hanvey contested the renamed Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency at the 2024 general election but was defeated. In March 2025 Hanvey was elected Alba Party depute leader.
Hanvey and Avelino Prado Cortes have been together since 1994, and entered into a civil partnership in 2011. They have twin children.
Anti-trans activism
Hanvey signed the SNP’s Women’s Pledge, which opposed revisions to the Gender Recognition Act.
In a Sex Matters profile, Hanvey stated:
“Sex Matters because it shapes our physical development, reproductive capabilities, and health outcomes, as health, disease and treatment are predominately guided by one’s natal sex. Sex also plays a crucial role in understanding and shaping our social world, legal frameworks, and competitive sports.
As a material category the immutability of sex is essential for maintaining epistemological consistency, as it provides a clear biological language for reliable scientific inquiry, protection in law and coherent classification across various disciplines. In political life it sits at the heart of how public policy has been shaped and provides a meaningful framework for addressing inequalities in their broadest sense.”
References
Borwning, Oliver (March 2, 2024). Alicia Kearns rebukes MP for removing ‘T’ from ‘LGBT’ in Commons debate. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/lgbt-alicia-kearns-commons-neale-hanvey-b2505701.html
Hansford, Amelia (December 12, 2023). Neale Hanvey criticised for comparing self-ID for trans people to Section 28. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/12/12/neale-hanvey-column-section-28-conversion-therapy/
Perry, Sophie (December 6, 2023). Westminster conversion therapy debate descends into scare-mongering about ‘transing away the gay.’ PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/12/06/westminster-conversion-therapy-trans-debate-joanna-cherry-neale-hanvey/
Dickie, Douglas (January 28, 2023). Ex SNP MP claims he was hounded from party after raising gender reform concerns. Scottish Daily Express https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/former-snp-mp-claims-hounded-29073901
Wallt, Sam (February 24, 2022). Alba Party MP claims homophobia ‘is back at the behest of Stonewall.’ Civil Society https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/alba-party-mp-accuses-stonewall-of-homophobia.html
Staff report (February 7, 2021). SNP MP Neale Hanvey sacked from Westminster frontbench. BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-55966929
Anti-trans coverage
Clark, Malcolm (March 4, 2024). The unbearable ignorance of the trans lobby. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/03/04/the-unbearable-ignorance-of-the-trans-lobby/
Foster, Kate (July 1, 2024). NHS chiefs suspended female worker after she complained about sharing changing room with trans woman in row which has sparked concerns among women’s rights groups. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13589027/NHS-chiefs-suspended-female-worker-complained-sharing-changing-room-trans-woman.html
Horne, Marc (December 6, 2019). SNP members ‘victims of LGBT campaign.’ The Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/snp-members-victims-of-lgbt-campaign-dl5pbc2mk
Brooks, Libby (October 14, 2019). Several women ‘close to quitting SNP over gender recognition plans.’ The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/14/snp-women-close-to-quitting-gender-recognition-proposals-trans-rights-scotland
Selected writing by Hanvey
Hanvey, Neale (December 12, 2023). Neale Hanvey MP: There’s never been a more dangerous time for LGB people in my lifetime. Alba Party https://www.albaparty.org/dangerous_time_for_lgb_people
Resources
Sex Matters (sex-matters.org)
- Neale Hanvey
- sex-matters.org/about-us/advisory-group/neale-hanvey
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)