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The Green Party of England and Wales has suspended its health spokesperson on the eve its largest-ever conference for calling reports of rising LGBT+ hate crimes “mischievous”.
At a general election hustings in June, Pallavi Devulapalli said she had “yet to meet anyone” who denied a person’s right to “dress” and “be addressed as they please”.
Ms Devulapalli told the BBC “there is no trans-hate in society in general”.
According to government data, there has been an 11% increase in reported hate crimes against trans people in the year 2022-23.
The Greens suspended Ms Devulapalli two days before the party’s conference got under way in Manchester on Friday.
The party has not given any explanation. A spokesperson said it “does not comment on individual disciplinary cases”.
But the BBC has obtained party documents showing Ms Devulapalli was placed on an emergency suspension pending a code of conduct investigation.
Ms Devulapalli ran as the Green Party candidate in South West Norfolk.
Speaking at a hustings event hosted by Friends of the Earth during the campaign, she was asked to respond to reports on rising LGBT+ hate crime, as well as her opinion on single-sex spaces and where the Green party stood on that issue.
She told the meeting: “I’ve yet to meet anyone that actually says somebody should not have the right to be addressed as they please, and to dress as they please.
“I really think there is something mischievous in the air – to make those out to be an issue.”
She went on to say: “The confusion arises when people start conflating sex with gender.”
“Biology is a real thing – it is not a belief” she said, calling for the government to adopt the Cass Review recommendations on gender care in full.
Government data shows 4,732 hate crimes against trans people were recorded in 2022-23, up from 4,262 the previous year. Hate crimes against gay, lesbian and bisexual people have fallen 6% over the same period to 25,639.
Speaking to the BBC, Ms Devulapalli claimed her comments reflected her thoughts that hate crime against LGBT+ people was “being politicised” and “most people weren’t aware of the issue”.
She said she condemned anti-LGBT+ hate crimes, and claimed her suspension was part of a broader Green Party effort to “silence” dissent.
Cade Hatton, co-chair of the LGBTQIA+ Greens group, said Ms Devulapalli’s comments at the hustings were “just the most recent thing in a long list of things that have made people uncomfortable”.
Mr Hatton said he believed Ms Devulapalli was trying to have a debate about trans rights but had “not gone about it in the right way”.
He added that Ms Devulapalli’s suspension was an example of the Green Party’s disciplinary system “working a little more efficiently”.
The party’s rights and responsibilities policy states “trans men are men, trans women are women, and that non-binary identities exist and are valid”.
The party also supports making it easier for trans people to change their legal status without the need for a Gender Reassignment Certificate (GRC).
But there remains some tension within the membership.
Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay has not specifically commented on Ms Devulapalli said free speech was “a fundamental cornerstone of democracy in the UK and of all political parties”.
He has also denied people with gender critical beliefs, which include those who believe that people cannot change sex, were banned from expressing their views at the Green Party conference.
Last week, the Green Party launched a review of its disciplinary processes to ensure they align with the law.
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