Hannah Spencer
Green MP for Gorton and Denton; won the party's first Westminster by-election in history, February 2026.
Last refreshed: 13 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
How did a Green candidate overturn a Labour majority held since 1935 in a Manchester constituency?
Timeline for Hannah Spencer
Mentioned in: Labour and Greens draw level at 16%
UK Local Elections 2026How did the Greens win Gorton and Denton from Labour?
Who is Hannah Spencer the Green MP?
Is Gorton and Denton a safe Labour seat?
Background
Hannah Spencer is the Green MP for Gorton and Denton, elected at the by-election on 26 February 2026 with 40.7% of the vote — the first time the Green Party has won a Westminster by-election in its history. The seat had been Labour since its creation; Spencer overturned a substantial Labour majority in a contest widely read as a referendum on Keir Starmer's government. Her victory was cited as one of the primary catalysts for the national polling surge that placed the Greens level with Labour at 16% in April 2026.
Spencer is a climate and social justice campaigner with roots in Greater Manchester community politics. Her campaign focused on housing costs, NHS waiting times and opposition to the government's welfare reform programme. The constituency, covering parts of east Manchester including Gorton, Denton and Reddish, had returned a Labour MP at every election since 1935.
The by-election result reshaped the political narrative around the 2026 local elections, with Labour strategists scrambling to understand how a SAFE northern seat became a Green gain. Spencer's win is now a centrepiece of Zack Polanski's pitch that the Greens can take seats from Labour in working-class urban areas, not only in university towns and inner London.