The Green Party of England and Wales has suspended its health spokesperson, Pallavi Devulapalli, the day before the party’s largest-ever conference in Manchester for comments about rising LGBT+ hate crimes. Devulapalli called the reports “mischievous” and claimed there was no trans-hate in society during a general election hustings. Recent government data shows hate crimes against trans people increased by 11% year on year. The Green Party has not provided an explanation for Devulapalli’s suspension.
The party documents, obtained by the BBC, show that they placed Devulapalli on an emergency suspension pending a code of conduct investigation. Speaking at a hustings event, Devulapalli expressed belief that there was “something mischievous in the air” amid the discussions surrounding the rise of LGBT+ hate crime, calling for the government to adopt the Cass Review recommendations on gender care in full and denouncing conflating sex with gender.
Cade Hatton, co-chair of the LGBTQIA+ Greens group, said that while Devulapalli tried to initiate a debate about trans rights, she had done so in “the wrong way.” He also stated that her comments are “just the most recent thing in a long list of things that have made people uncomfortable.” The Green Party has a rights and responsibilities policy that affirms trans men are men, trans women are women, and non-binary identities exist and are valid, but the policy may cause tension within the membership.
Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay reiterated that free speech is a cornerstone of democracy for all political parties and that people who hold gender critical beliefs, such as those who believe that people cannot change their sex, were not banned from expressing their views at the party conference. The party has initiated a review of its disciplinary processes to ensure compliance with the law
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