Neale Hanvey

James Neale Hanvey (born December 1964) is a British politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath at the 2019 general election. Initially selected as the Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate for the seat, he was later suspended from the party prior to his election and currently sits as an Independent. He is due to be readmitted to the party in May 2020.

Hanvey was subsequently elected as MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath at the 2019 election, gaining the seat from the Labour Party's shadow Scottish secretary Lesley Laird by a narrow majority of 1,243 votes or 2.6%. He sits as an independent MP. It is thought to be the first time a challenger has undergone suspension as candidate from a party, won the seat and then sat as an independent.

Hanvey had previously been elected as a Scottish National Party councillor in the 2012 Scottish local elections for the Dunfermline Central ward in Fife, but lost his seat at the 2017 election.

Suspension from the SNP

In October 2019, he was selected as the SNP candidate for the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency at the 2019 election. He was suspended and had support for his campaign withdrawn by the party on 26 November after allegations he had previously made anti-Semitic social media posts, in which he compared Israeli treatment of the Palestinian people to the Holocaust and criticised the alleged influence of George Soros. He remained named as the SNP candidate on the ballot paper however, as this could not be changed after the close of election nominations. In March 2020, the SNP's conduct committee agreed to readmit Hanvey to the party in May 2020, on completion of an education course at a Holocaust centre.

Hanvey is one of 45 openly LGBT MPs.