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Neale Hanvey

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Neale Hanvey
Official portrait, 2019
Leader of the Alba Party in the House of Commons
In office
26 March 2021 – 5 July 2024
LeaderAlex Salmond
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Member of Parliament
for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
In office
12 December 2019 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byLesley Laird
Succeeded byMelanie Ward
Councillor, Fife Council
In office
3 May 2012 – 4 May 2017
ConstituencyDunfermline Central
Personal details
Born
James Neale Hanvey

(1964-12-28) 28 December 1964 (age 59)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Political partyAlba (2021–present)
SNP (until 2021)
Residence(s)Fife, Scotland
Alma materCity University, London
Websitenealehanvey.com

James Neale Hanvey (born 28 December 1964)[1][2][3] is a Scottish nationalist politician who served as the Leader of the Alba Party in the House of Commons from 2021 to 2024, and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath from 2019 to 2024.[4]

Formerly a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he defected from the SNP to the Alba Party in March 2021. He was the SNP member and spokesperson for the Health and Social Care Select Committee[5] and he was briefly SNP Spokesperson on the Covid Vaccine Deployment.

Early life and career

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James Hanvey was born in Belfast, the son of James Hanvey and Mary Hanvey (née Withers). He was educated at Glenrothes High School before starting a twenty-five year career in the National Health Service.[1][6] In 2005, he was appointed as the divisional nurse director for rare cancer at the Royal Marsden Hospital.[7] He has been a contributing author to medical textbooks.[8]

Political career

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After returning to Scotland in 2012, Hanvey was elected as a Scottish National Party councillor in the 2012 Scottish local elections for the Dunfermline Central ward in Fife.[9][10] During his time as a councillor, Hanvey was the SNP spokesperson for health and social care, SNP group convener, and latterly SNP group leader in 2017,[11] but lost his seat at the 2017 local elections.[12] In October 2019, he was selected as the SNP candidate for the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency at the 2019 general election.[13]

Suspension and re-admission to the SNP

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In November 2019, Hanvey was suspended from the party following allegations that he made antisemitic social media posts in 2016, in which he compared Israel's treatment of the Palestinians to the treatment of Jews during the Second World War and shared an article from Sputnik that included an image of George Soros as a puppet master controlling US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.[14][15][16] As a result, the SNP withdrew support for his campaign, but he remained as the party candidate on the ballot paper because the 14 November 2019 deadline for nominations had already passed.[17] Hanvey accepted the suspension and apologised for the offending posts, stating that he was "genuinely and deeply sorry" and that "Although I do not in anyway consider myself anti-Semitic, on reflection the language I used was, and this is clearly unacceptable."[18][15]

At the 2019 general election, Hanvey was elected to Parliament as MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, winning with 35.2% of the vote and a majority of 1,243 votes.[19][20][21] He sat as an independent MP upon his election.[22]

During his suspension from the SNP, Hanvey was advised by the Antisemitism Policy Trust (APT) and attended several APT activities in Parliament.[23] He also appeared before the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities to apologise in person and thank them for their "generosity of spirit and willingness to help" during this time.[24]

In March 2020, the SNP's conduct committee agreed that Hanvey should be readmitted to the party in May 2020.[25][26] The SNP released a statement on 2 June to confirm that Hanvey's six-month suspension from the party had ended on 27 May and that he would now join the SNP Westminster Group to sit as an SNP MP.[27][28]

On 2 July 2020 it was announced that Hanvey had been appointed as the SNP member and spokesperson for the Westminster Health and Social Care Select Committee.[5] In November 2020, a year after his suspension, Hanvey was elected to the SNP's Member Conduct Committee.[29]

In February 2021, Hanvey lost his role as the SNP's vaccine spokesperson after refusing to apologise for publicly backing a crowdfunding campaign for a defamation case against several individuals, including SNP MP Kirsty Blackman.[30]

Exit from the SNP

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In March 2021, Hanvey left the SNP to join the newly formed Alba Party and then stood as a candidate in the Mid Scotland and Fife region in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[31] Neither he nor his party succeeded in gaining a seat.

In August 2021 he spoke of concerns that he was being spied on by a political party.[32] Later that month, he faced criticism for using the situation in Afghanistan to attack Ian Blackford, talking of trans rights in a tweet saying "Not to diminish the extant horrors in Afghanistan for women, girls and LGBT people in any way, but Ian Blackford opining on protecting women and girls is a tough listen given the deaf ears to such concerns at home", which Hanvey promptly deleted.[33]

On 13 July 2022, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle ejected Hanvey and his Alba colleague Kenny MacAskill (East Lothian) from the House of Commons for disrupting the start of Prime Minister's Questions. The two had been protesting about the refusal to grant consent for a second independence referendum. As both Members were named by the Speaker, by convention MacAskill and Hanvey were handed five day suspensions from the House.[34][35]

In the 2024 general election, Hanvey stood for re-election and lost his seat and his deposit. It was won by Melanie Ward of the Labour Party.

Views

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Hanvey has signed the Women's Pledge, which originated amongst members of the SNP.[36] The pledge opposes the Scottish Government's proposed Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, which would allow transgender people to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate on the basis of a statutory self-declaration, rather than the existing Gender Recognition Panel which require the involvement of a medical expert.[37][38] He later claimed he was personally targeted for doing so.[39]

In April 2021, Hanvey shared an article falsely claiming the SNP were channelling public funding to organisations campaigning to lower the age of consent to 10.[40] The SNP described these claims as "deeply homophobic and untrue", and the claims were also condemned by Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie.[41]

Hanvey has called for an end to arms sales to Saudi Arabia from Scottish weapons manufacturers due to the Saudi atrocities in Yemen.[42]

Hanvey has repeatedly raised the issue of deaths relating to the Covid-19 vaccines in parliament and questioned ministers on the number of adverse reactions and fatalities linked to the vaccines. He was criticised for sharing a platform, in June 2024, with a convicted domestic abuser and alleged covid conspiracy theorists accused of spreading misinformation and false claims about the vaccine. Hope not Hate said "Neale Hanvey's attendance at the Bring the Noise podcast is a huge red flag but this isn't the first time he's been caught flirting with the conspiracy scene. It's unacceptable for MPs to attend this event and platform these dangerous and conspiratorial views."[43] Scottish Women's Aid commented "Given the breadth of domestic abuse in Scotland's families and communities, we expect everyone but especially our public leaders to ensure both that they support organisations and individuals that advocate for improved responses for the women and children affected by domestic abuse and that they refrain from empowering those who choose to be part of the problem."[44]

In 2021, Hanvey's favourited YouTube videos were found and included content on astral projection, aliens, the illuminati and other conspiracy theories.[45]

Personal life

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Hanvey is openly gay.[46] He lives in Fife with his partner, Avelino Prado Cortes, and twin sons. The couple have been together since 1994, and entered into a civil partnership in 2011.[1]

He lists his recreations as "composing electronic music (having previously released material under the name 'Security Blue'), swimming, music, film".[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Hanvey, (James) Neale, (born 28 Dec. 1964), MP (SNP) Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, since 2019". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2020. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u293966. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  2. ^ "UK Parliamentary Election for the constituencies of Dunfermline and Fife West; Glenrothes; Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath; North East Fife" (PDF). Returning Officer, Fife Council. 14 November 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  3. ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  4. ^ "General Election 2019: Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Health and Social Care Committee – Membership – Committees – UK Parliament". committees.parliament.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Hanvey looks to use health experience in new role". Central Fife Times. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Health and Social care appointment". Central Fife Times. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Cancer Care for Adolescents and Young Adults – Wiley". Wiley.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Jim Leishman elected as Labour councillor in Dunfermline Central". BBC News. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  10. ^ Council, Fife (26 February 2024). "Home". www.fife.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Dunfermline Central Councillor Neale Hanvey elected as new SNP group leader in Fife". Dunfermline Press. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  12. ^ Watson, Johnathon (5 May 2017). "Fife Council election results — Tory in, SNP leader out in Ward 3: Dunfermline". The Courier. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Axed SNP candidate elected to Westminster". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Apology for posts was a watershed moment for me". blogs.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Axed SNP candidate elected to Westminster". 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  16. ^ "Neale Hanvey". Campaign Against Antisemitism. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Nicola Sturgeon: SNP members must stop supporting candidate Neale Hanvey". The Scotsman. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  18. ^ @JNHanvey (28 November 2019). "Statement from Neale Hanvey regarding his suspension as SNP candidate for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "General Election 12 December 2019". Fife Council. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  20. ^ "Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath parliamentary constituency – Election 2019" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  22. ^ Peeble, Sheryl (13 December 2019). "Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath: Neale Hanvey hails victory after being 'cast aside' by SNP". The Courier. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Apology for posts was a watershed moment for me". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  24. ^ Frot, Mathilde (2 June 2020). "MP suspended after using antisemitic language on social media readmitted to SNP". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  25. ^ ."SNP to readmit MP Neale Hanvey after anti-Semitism probe". BBC. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  26. ^ Farquharson, Kenny. "Suspended candidate Neale Hanvey vows to overturn SNP ban". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  27. ^ Frot, Mathilde (2 June 2020). "MP suspended after using antisemitic language on social media readmitted to SNP". Jewish News. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  28. ^ "Anti-Semitism row MP Neale Hanvey rejoins SNP as suspension ends". The National. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  29. ^ Learmouth, Andrew (30 November 2020). "SNP NEC results revealed: Michael Russell becomes party president". The National. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  30. ^ O'Donoghue, Daniel (6 February 2021). "SNP's Neale Hanvey sacked after backing campaign to sue Aberdeen MP Kirsty Blackman". The Courier. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  31. ^ "MP Neale Hanvey defects from SNP to new Alba Party". BBC. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  32. ^ "'Freaked out': Alba Party Fife MP Neale Hanvey in 'spying' allegation". Dundee Courier. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  33. ^ "Kirkcaldy Alba MP Neale Hanvey criticised for 'disgusting' and 'disgraceful' tweet on Afghanistan crisis". The Scotsman. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  34. ^ Hansard, House Of Commons Hansard, 13 July 2022, retrieved 14 July 2022
  35. ^ TV Footage of Naming, The Mirror, 13 July 2022, retrieved 14 July 2022
  36. ^ Neale Hanvey [@JNHanvey] (5 November 2019). "I have signed the women's pledge and I support women's hard won sex based rights and protections. #WomensPledge" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  37. ^ Brooks, Libby (14 October 2019). "Several women 'close to quitting SNP over gender recognition plans'". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  38. ^ Horne, Marc (6 December 2019). "SNP members 'victims of LGBT campaign'". The Times. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  39. ^ Dickie, Douglas (28 January 2023). "Ex SNP MP claims he was hounded from party after raising gender reform concerns". Scottish Daily Express. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  40. ^ "'Claims SNP funding 'paedophile charter' lobbying groups are FFS". The Ferret. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  41. ^ Matchett, Conor (11 April 2021). "Alba candidate criticised for 'dangerous and irresponsible' claims about age of consent by charity". The Scotsman.
  42. ^ Gordon, Tom (5 January 2023). "Alba MP demands arms sales halt despite risk to local jobs in Fife". The Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  43. ^ "'Huge red flag': Alba politician to speak at event alongside alleged conspiracy theorists". The Ferret. 30 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  44. ^ "'Alba Party candidate shares stage with convicted abuser despite vow to defend women's safety". The Daily Record. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  45. ^ "Favorites – YouTube". archive.is. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  46. ^ Brown, Steve (16 December 2019). "The new UK Parliament reportedly has the highest number of LGBTQ MPs in the world". Attitude.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
2019–2024 		Succeeded by
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