Neale Hanvey

@JNHanvey

Born in Belfast but raised in Scotland, Neale attended Glenrothes High School before starting a career in nursing, qualifying as both a registered general nurse and as a registered mental-health nurse. 

He moved to London in 1993 to work for University College Hospital’s clinical haematology and bone marrow transplant service before leading its Teenage Cancer Trust unit and taking on the role of senior nurse for oncology. In 2005 he was appointed divisional nurse director for rare cancer at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

He has been a contributing author to academic textbooks and has presented his own primary research internationally after obtaining an MSc (distinction) at City University, London, and has been a guest lecturer on adolescent cancer and sarcoma at a variety of universities. 

Following a return to Scotland, in 2012 he entered the world of politics as councillor for Dunfermline Central. In December 2019 he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. During his tenure he was the Alba Party’s Westminster leader. He lives with his husband and two children in Fife.

“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.”