Who is Hannah Spencer, the plumber and plasterer who won the by-election?
All eyes are on Hannah Spencer, the 34-year-old plumber who took the Gorton and Denton by-election in a sweeping victory for the Greens.
The Mancunian and the Greens celebrated the party’s first-ever by-election win as the results were counted, giving her a lead of 4,402 votes.
While Labour, for whom the loss behind both Greens and Reform was the ultimate nightmare, will begin the painful process of licking their wounds, the spotlight is on Hannah.
Here is a deep dive into her background and life.
Where is Hannah Spencer from?
Want to understand more about how politics affects your life?
Metro's senior politics reporter Craig Munro breaks down all the chaos into easy to follow insight, in Metro's politics newsletter Alright, Gov? Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here.
Hannah Spencer was born in Bolton, a town northwest of Manchester City, which forms part of Greater Manchester.
She left school at 16 and took a stint at a sixth form before dropping out and finding her vocation.
Her current home is in Trafford, where she reportedly owns two homes in the Altrincham and Sale West area, one of which she bought with her former partner.
Earlier, Spencer has reportedly lived in Levenshulme, which is part of Gorton and Denton constituency.
Is she really a plumber?
Yes, she has worked in the trades for years and owns her business, Hannah’s Household Plumbing.
She reportedly became a plumber around 2008 and she went on to earn a National Vocational Qualification in the profession from Bolton College.
She has also completed an NVQ in gas engineering, and started a plastering course in the new year.
Spencer has shared about her work online and talked about the stereotypes she has come across as a woman in the industry.
During her victory speech this morning, she joked about having to ‘cancel the work’ that has been booked.
She said: ‘Now, to my customers, I’m sorry, but I think I might have to cancel the work that you haven’t booked in, because I’m heading to parliament.’
When did she get into politics?
Spencer, who is a dog lover and proud owner of four rescue greyhounds, got into politics because of the animals and her passion to have dog racing banned.
And her political career and experience of elections has quickly mounted since.
After joining the Greens in 2022, she was elected as a local councillor for the Hale ward in Trafford the following year.
And in 2024, she was already eyeing up the Greater Manchester mayoral job held by Andy Burnham. She entered the race as Green Party’s candidate and finished fifth with almost 46,000 votes.
Last month, she was officially selected as the Green Party candidate for Gorton and Denton to challenge Labour and Reform, who many predicted would compete for the election win.
What does she stand for?
Spencer pitched her campaign on politicians being genuinely relatable, and being against hate and division, which she has accused right-wing parties like Reform of sowing.
She campaigned for the rights of workers and women, including trans women, and the people of Gaza.
Her ‘number one priority’ in the by-election was to ‘cut the cost of living’ and ‘fight between hope and hate.’
She said during the race: ‘We need more people from all backgrounds in the places where decisions are made.’
Spencer has also been vocal about opposing the far right and calling out Islamophobia.
In her election victory speech, she said: ‘I won’t accept this victory tonight without calling out politicians and divisive figures who constantly scapegoat and blame our communities for all the problems in society.
‘My Muslim friends and neighbours are just like me, human.’
What have other politicians said about her?
One of her close allies has been, unsurprisingly, the Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who has endorsed Spencer throughout the campaign.
Polanski said last month as the race geared up: ‘We promised to throw the kitchen sink at this election. Well we’ve definitely voted for the right candidate with the skills for the job! Hannah & the Greens are taking the fight to Reform.’
Reform’s Matt Goodwin accused Spencer of ‘reading off a script’ during the election hustings, to which she shot down by responding that Reform are ‘not used to people who speak from the heart.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.