Hannah Spencer is the Green Party MP for Gorton and Denton, having won the seat in a by-election on 26 February 2026.

At the February 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election, Spencer received 14,980 votes, representing 40.7% of the total vote share. The Reform UK candidate, Matt Goodwin, placed second with 10,578 votes (28.7%), while the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia, secured 9,364 votes (25.4%). Spencer was duly elected with a majority of 4,402.

The Gorton and Denton constituency, located in Greater Manchester, was newly created ahead of the 2024 general election, drawing from the abolished Manchester Gorton constituency and Denton and Reddish constituency.

The previous MP for the area was the Labour politician Andrew Gwynne, who held the predecessor seat of Denton and Reddish from 2005 to 2024 and the redrawn Gorton and Denton seat from 2024 until his resignation in early 2026.

A Labour safe seat, the constituency and its predecessors had been held by the Labour Party since 1931.

Political Career

Spencer is the fifth Green Party MP to be elected to the House of Commons, and the first to represent a constituency in the north of England. She is also the first Green Party candidate to win a parliamentary by-election.

During an interview with PoliticsJoe in April 2026, Spencer criticised the drinking culture in parliament. Her comments drew criticism from Nigel Farage and other MPs and she went on to raise the issue during a session of prime minister’s questions (PMQs) in May 2026. Spencer stated that “some MPs drink before voting, and that really shocked me when I came to parliament, because this is our workplace.”

Spencer asked the prime minister, Keir Starmer, whether he agreed “with me that MPs should not be drinking on the job, given that we vote on huge things like the climate crisis, disabled people’s rights, housing and child poverty?”

Spencer delivered her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 12 March 2026 during a debate marking International Women’s Day.

In it, she said: “The cleaners, bus drivers, nursery workers, foster carers, home carers, unpaid carers, teaching assistants, bin collectors, warehouse workers, delivery drivers, school dinner staff, lollipop wardens, supermarket workers, posties, library staff, kitchen porters, farm workers, mechanics, ground workers, scaffolders, electricians, plasterers and plumbers – we deserve to be here; every single one of us. And I will make space for you to come and join me, to get to have your say.”

She added: “Thank you so much for putting your faith in this plumber and newly qualified plasterer. Together, we can make hope normal again, and we will look after each other, whoever we are, because where I am from, that is just what we do.”

Before entering parliament, Spencer served in local government. She was elected as a councillor on Trafford Council in May 2023 and became the leader of the Green Party group on the council in May 2025. Spencer stepped down as a councillor in May 2026.

Spencer stood as the Green Party candidate in the 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral election, coming fifth with 6.9% of the vote. She was also the Green Party candidate for the Warrington North constituency in the 2024 general election, finishing fifth.

Political Views

The Greens are an environmentalist and progressive political party positioned on the left of British politics.

The party’s foundational ideological beliefs are set out in its official core values and “philosophical basis”. This latter document outlines the aims and beliefs of the party, providing the basis on which all its policies are agreed.

The opening to the Green Party’s philosophical basis states: “A system based on inequality and exploitation is threatening the future of the planet on which we depend, and encouraging reckless and environmentally damaging consumerism.

“A world based on cooperation and democracy would prioritise the many, not the few, and would not risk the planet’s future with environmental destruction and unsustainable consumption.”

The Greens’ 10-point statement of core values commits the party to “social and environmental justice, which supports a radical transformation of society for the benefit of all, and for the planet as a whole.”

The party’s 2024 general election manifesto, branded with the slogan “Real hope. Real change”, focused heavily on the cost of living and affordability.

Spencer endorsed Zack Polanski in the 2025 Green Party leadership election.

In May 2026, Spencer signed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, calling on the government to establish a “national commission on electoral reform”. Tabled by Alex Sobel as chair of the fair elections APPG, the amendment aimed to force a rethink of the first past the post voting system.

Before Politics

Hannah Kathrine Spencer was born in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on 19 April 1991.

Spencer left school at 16, later attempting sixth-form studies before dropping out.

Spencer trained as a plumber and obtained a national vocational qualification (NVQ) in plumbing from Bolton College. She embraced the nickname “Hannah the Plumber” in the 2026 by-election campaign.

In February 2026, Spencer qualified as a plasterer.

Personal Life

Spencer has four rescue greyhounds. She has campaigned against greyhound racing.

Her mother worked as a nurse.

Trivia

Spencer enjoys running and completed the Manchester Marathon in 2026.