Hannah Spencer, who won the Gorton and Denton by-election last week, was sworn in this afternoon in the House of Commons
New Green Party MP Hannah Spencer has been sworn in after her resounding by-election win.
The 34-year-old, who worked as a plumber and plasterer before standing for Parliament, took the oath of office in the House of Commons. Ms Spencer stormed to victory in Gorton and Denton with 14,980 votes – a majority of 4,402.
Labour was relegated to third place, with hard-right Reform candidate Matt Goodwin came second on 10,578 votes. It is the Greens’ first ever victory in a parliamentary by-election.
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In her victory speech on Friday, Ms Spencer joked: “I think I might have to cancel the work that you had booked in, because I’m heading to Parliament.
“And when I get there, I will make space for everyone doing jobs like mine, we will finally get a seat at the table.” And she told voters: “I’m not here to be a career politician. I’m here to hold the door open for others who do jobs like mine.”
Speaking ahead of her journey from the North West on Monday morning, Ms Spencer told ITV News: “None of us are perfect but we’re human and we need more humans in parliament who care about each other. I promise to always do my best, and always be decent, and I will always do you proud.”
The by-election result has piled pressure on Keir Starmer. The constituency was a safe Labour seat, and former MP Andrew Gwynne secured more than 50% of the vote at the 2024 general election.
Mr Gwynne, who was suspended by the Labour Party after leaked WhatsApp messages appeared to show him making disparaging remarks about constituents, stepped down in January due to ill health.