Hannah Spencer, a working class plumber turned Green Party politician, has moved to the centre of the Gorton and Denton by election as voters prepare to go to the polls on 26 February, in a contest increasingly framed as a showdown between the Greens and Reform UK in Greater Manchester.
Who Hannah Spencer is and why she is in the news
Hannah Spencer is the Green Party’s parliamentary candidate in the Gorton and Denton by election, which was triggered by the resignation of long‑serving Labour MP Andrew Gwynne on health grounds. In her mid‑30s, she is a plumber by trade and leads the Green group on Trafford Council, representing Hale since 2023.
Leaving school at 16, Spencer has spent close to two decades working as a plumber and is also training as a plasterer. She presents this as proof that she understands the realities facing local workers, renters and small businesses. She has brushed off online mockery of her job and background with the dry retort that after nearly 20 years in the trade, critics would hardly be satisfied by seeing “a toilet I’ve fixed”.
Before entering this by‑election, Hannah Spencer ran in the 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral contest and now serves as a national spokesperson for the Green Party on migration and refugee issues. On the campaign trail she has become known for championing renters’ rights, opposing greyhound racing and turning up at events with four rescued greyhounds, underlining her animal welfare message.
Hannah Spencer’s campaign message: “Hope against hate”
Hannah Spencer’s pitch to Gorton and Denton is built around a clear dividing line: that the contest has become “Green versus Reform hope against hate”. She accuses Reform UK’s candidate, academic and broadcaster Matt Goodwin, of seeking to fracture the local community and of failing to recognise many residents and workers as fully British. In contrast, she frames her campaign as an attempt to unite people around shared economic and social interests.
Her campaign has focused on the cost of living, public services and housing. Spencer says her priority is to bring people’s bills down through investment in home insulation, social housing and better public transport, arguing that these measures can cut both costs and emissions. She is also tapping into anger over Labour’s stance on Gaza, insisting that many voters feel Labour “failed them” on Palestine and promising a firmer line on international law and arms exports.
Hannah Spencer repeatedly stresses her working class background as central to her appeal. She has criticised Westminster as a “small club” dominated by those who went to elite schools or Oxbridge, arguing that people are tired of politicians who have never had to worry about paying the next bill. Green figures have played up her dual trades, joking that with parliament’s leaking roofs and crumbling walls, it could do with a plumber and a plasterer and that she can do both.
Polls, momentum and the shape of the race
There is no detailed public polling for Gorton and Denton itself, but several wider trends are shaping the contest: a softened Labour lead nationally, the rise of Reform UK on the right and growing Green support among younger and left‑leaning voters. At the last general election, Labour held the seat with a comfortable majority, while the Greens finished behind Reform UK, giving Hannah Spencer’s team hope that Labour’s vote could splinter enough for an upset or a very strong second place.
National polls in early 2026 have shown Labour’s lead narrowing as Reform UK consolidates disillusioned Conservative and right‑leaning voters, while the Greens gain support among those frustrated with Labour’s climate and foreign policy stance. In this by‑election, Spencer is explicitly courting tactical anti‑Reform votes, citing backing from tactical voting initiatives and left‑leaning groups that view her as best placed to keep Reform UK out.
On the ground, reports from the constituency point to an energetic Green operation. Hannah Spencer’s campaign has been visible in areas with existing Green support, with regular street stalls, door‑knocking and busy local meetings. Reform UK, meanwhile, is relying on Goodwin’s media profile and a national message on immigration and so‑called culture‑war issues, pitching the by‑election as a verdict on Labour leader Keir Starmer.
Misinformation, scrutiny and online attacks
The rapid rise of Hannah Spencer’s profile has brought a wave of online misinformation and hostile commentary. Fact‑checkers have had to confirm that she is the Green Party’s official candidate in Gorton and Denton after social media posts falsely claimed otherwise or suggested shadowy corporate links.
Spencer has also been targeted with more personal conspiracy‑style claims, including suggestions that she is secretly connected to pharmaceutical bosses or that she is not really a plumber. She has dismissed these stories as baseless, saying she has been struck by the sheer volume of lies but believes it shows opponents have little of substance to attack.
Commentators have noted that some of the backlash directed at Hannah Spencer carries a strong class and gendered undertone, with critics deriding her for not fitting a clichéd “white van” image or for talking about Gaza alongside local concerns. Supporters argue that the attacks highlight how hard it remains for working‑class women to break into frontline politics, while detractors question whether she has enough national‑level experience to serve as an MP.
What matters to voters – and what is at stake
On doorsteps across Gorton and Denton, voters are raising familiar worries: rising rents and energy bills, long NHS waiting lists, crime and anti‑social behaviour, and a sense that Westminster is remote from everyday life. Hannah Spencer has tried to link these concerns to a Green platform centred on cheaper, warmer homes, stronger rights for renters, better working conditions and resistance to further privatisation in the NHS and other services.
For many Muslim and pro‑Palestinian voters, Labour’s handling of the Gaza war appears to be a major factor in this by‑election. Spencer has sought to channel that disillusionment, promising tougher scrutiny of arms exports and a stronger focus on international law and human rights. Her critics, however, argue that local bread‑and‑butter issues and the desire to keep Reform UK out will ultimately weigh more heavily in the final vote.
If Hannah Spencer wins, she would immediately become one of the Green Party’s most prominent MPs and a notable working‑class voice at Westminster, reinforcing the Greens’ effort to move beyond their traditional middle‑class image. Even a strong second place, especially if it pushes Reform UK into third or significantly cuts Labour’s majority, would be seized on by the Greens as proof that targeted campaigning can turn growing support into real electoral gains.
The wider electoral context
The Gorton and Denton by election takes place against a backdrop of volatility and polarisation in British politics. Across Europe, right‑populist parties have been gaining ground, and similar themes of immigration, identity and economic insecurity feature heavily in Reform UK’s messaging in this contest. At the same time, the Greens are benefiting from frustration over climate policy, housing shortages and inequality that many voters feel have not been adequately addressed by the main parties.
Within Labour, tensions over candidate selections have added to the sense of flux. The party’s decision to prevent high‑profile figures from standing in certain seats, including in Greater Manchester, has angered some local members and MPs and fuelled claims that the leadership is too controlling. That internal unease, combined with external pressure from both Reform UK and the Greens, makes this by‑election more unpredictable than the seat’s past Labour majority might suggest.
In this setting, Hannah Spencer’s performance will be watched closely as a test of whether a Green candidate with a rooted local and working‑class story can break through in England’s first‑past‑the‑post system against both Labour and a high‑profile right‑wing challenger. The result will shape arguments about whether there is more space than previously assumed for smaller parties to convert activist energy and media attention into Westminster seats.
What’s next for Hannah Spencer – key dates and decisions
As polling day approaches, Hannah Spencer is expected to intensify doorstep campaigning, community events and media appearances, positioning herself as a straight‑talking alternative to both Labour and Reform UK. Green organisers and tactical voting groups are stepping up appeals to anti‑Reform voters to rally behind her as the most effective way to block a Reform UK breakthrough in Gorton and Denton.
Voters will cast their ballots on Thursday 26 February, with counting overnight and the result expected in the early hours of the following morning. A victory for Hannah Spencer would take her from plumbing jobs and council meetings to the green benches at Westminster, a shift her supporters say would symbolise a different kind of politics rooted in everyday experience. Even if she falls short, a significantly improved Green share of the vote would establish her as a key figure for future contests and send a clear message to Labour that disillusioned voters in constituencies like Gorton and Denton can no longer be taken for granted.
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