Who is Hannah Spencer? Green Party’s NEW Gorton and Denton MP after shock outcome
Plumber Hannah Spencer, 34, describes herself as a “gas engineer, marathon runner and a housemate to four rescued greyhounds”
Plumber Hannah Spencer, 34, (Image: Jacqueline Lawrie/LNP)
Hannah Spencer was named as the Green Party MP for the Gorton and Denton constituency in a hammer blow to both Nigel Farage and Keir Starmer.
Labour’s Angeliki Stogia and Reform’s Matt Goodwin, who has been backed by the far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson, were beaten at the polls by the Greens. Plumber Ms Spencer, 34, was the leader of the Green Party group on Trafford Council. She described herself on Instagram as: “Plumber and gas engineer, marathon runner, housemate to four rescued greyhounds… anti-racing.”
When she was unveiled in January she said: “I work as a plumber, something I’ve done since leaving education at 16. I’m training to become a plasterer too. I’ve lived in the constituency and still work here. So, I know the issues and what people want to change.”
Back in 2015, Ms Spencer said that she had launched her own plumbing business that year, having juggled plumbing with other jobs after leaving education aged 16. And she said last week: “I see in my job all the time the way that people are living and struggling. I’ll go to do a gas check on a boiler, and that boiler’s not been turned on since the person went there a year to do another gas check, because people just cannot afford to have the heating on.”
Keir Starmer’s party say they set record numbers for people spoken to on polling day, and will be hoping to win the Greater Manchester seat it’s held for nearly 100 years – and won in 2024 with a 13,413-strong majority. The Acting Returning Officer announced that 36,903 people people voted in the by-election. It means a turnout of 47.62%.
Labour lost the only other Westminster by-election since the 2024 general election, in Runcorn and Helsby, to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK last May. Gorton and Denton was seen as a tight race between Reform’s Matt Goodwin, Labour and the Greens.
Turnout on Thursday was 47.6%, broadly in line with the 47.8% recorded in 2024. The contest was triggered by former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne standing down for health reasons.
Earlier in the evening a Green Party source told the Mirror: “We’ve said from the start that we weren’t here to be disappointed with Labour but to replace them, and from day one of this by-election, we’ve said only Greens could beat Reform.
“The Greens are now the only party that can protect this country from the dangerous threat of Reform. Labour has shown it is not up to the job. We need to wait for the results to come in but whatever happens, it’s fair to say Greens are here to stay as the progressive voice of British politics.”
The Mirror’s Real Britain columnist Ros Wynne-Jones has been out speaking to voters in Levenshulme, a diverse part of the constituency with a close-knit community. Voters here report feeling utterly fed up with being bombarded with literature and constant door knocks from all parties. They say they have been under the national microscope for weeks, while local issues are not actually being addressed.
Earlier in the evening a row erupted over claims of family voting at the Gorton and Denton by-election. By-election officials reacted with fury after Democracy Volunteers – an election observer group – said they had seen “concerningly high levels of family voting” in the battle.
Officials said no such issues had been reported throughout the day and questioned why the group had not raised the serious allegations throughout the day. Democracy Volunteers said it had seen family voting in 12% of polling stations.
Reform UK member and former Tory Nadhim Zahawi appears to be accepting Reform will lose the by-election, citing the family voting. He said: “Matt did a brilliant job. We’ll probably get 10,000 votes, but the big story is this industrial levels of fraud.”
But Manchester City Council responded with fury after claims “family voting” was witnessed at polling booths. A spokesperson for the Acting Returning Officer said: “Polling station staff are trained to look out for any evidence of undue influence on voters. No such issues have been reported today.
“If Democracy Volunteers were so concerned about alleged issues they could and should have raised them with us during polling hours so that immediate action could be taken. We have operated a central by-election hub which was has been rapidly responding to reported issues during the day, in liaison with the police – who had a presence at every polling station – where necessary.
“It is extremely disappointing that Democracy Volunteers have waited until after polls have closed to make such claims.”
