Darlington Conservative Party member forced to apologise after transphobic 'gender bender' comment

Ethan Pugh, 19, was set to stand in Darlington Borough Council's upcoming local elections. Credit: Google Maps

A member of the Conservative Party has been forced to apologise after telling people to "forget about all this gender bender c**p" on social media.

Ethan Pugh, who was set to stand in Darlington Borough Council's upcoming local elections, left a comment under a news story from the London Evening Standard on Facebook, which reported on a Green party councillor from London storming out of a council meeting after being repeatedly misgendered.

The 19-year-old's since-deleted comment read: "Wet wipes, the lot of them. Councillors are meant to stand for the greater good. Forget all this gender bender c**p, think of the constituents you are meant to represent."

The news story on which Mr Pugh commented outlined events in Newham Council, London, where Danny Keeling, the leader of Newham's Green Party, stormed out of a meeting after being repeatedly misgendered.

There is a large LGBT+ community in Darlington, and the town hosts a well-attended Pride event in August. Credit: Darlington Council

Keeling, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, accused colleagues of discrimination.

Mr Pugh said he realised the use of the phrase "gender bender" was "insensitive, unnecessary, and irresponsible."

He said: "I would like to formally apologise for my actions of March 1. My use of the inappropriate phrase 'gender bender' was insensitive, unnecessary, irresponsible, and down to a lapse in judgement.

"I have worked closely with charities which support people in the LGBT+ community for several years, so I understand the difficulties which are faced by many in the community and can understand my comments were offensive.

"I was not attempting to offend anyone and meant no malice. I would like to offer my sincere apologies to everyone who has been affected by this."

Leader of the Council Cllr Jonathan Dulston confirmed that Mr Pugh had been suspended from the party.

Cllr Dulston said: "Ethan has been suspended from the party pending investigation. We will follow internal investigation procedures to the letter.

"I do not support the comments he made and they are not representative of the Darlington Conservatives."

Mr Pugh has been an active part of the Darlington Conservative party for years and was set to stand in the local elections in May.

It is unknown whether he will still stand.

There is a large LGBT+ community in Darlington, and the town hosts a well-attended Pride event in August.

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