A young member of the Conservative Party, who was set to stand for in the upcoming local election, has "sincerely apologised" after making a transphobic comment on Facebook. 

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

On Wednesday (March 1) he left a comment under a news story from the London Evening Standard, which reported on a Green party councillor from London storming out of a council meeting after being repeatedly misgendered.  

Mr Pugh's comments, which called the councillors in question "wet wipes", as well as telling people to "forget all this gender bender c**p", have been interpreted as transphobic. 

Cllr Jonathan Dulston confirmed that Ethan had been suspended from the party, pending an investigation into the comment. 

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The news story Mr Pugh was commenting on outlined events in Newham Council, where Danny Keeling, the leader of Newham's Green Party, left a meeting after being repeatedly misgendered.

Mx Kelling, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, accused colleagues of discrimination after the meeting. 

Mr Pugh's since-deleted comment said: "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."

In a comment to The Northern Echo, Mr Pugh said he realised the use of the phrase "gender bender" was "insensitive, unnecessary, and irresponsible."

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He said: "I would like to formally apologize 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."

Cllr Jonathan Dulston, the Leader of Darlington Borough Council, 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. 

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He added: "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. As of yet, it is unknown whether he will still stand. 

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