Hannah Spencer, a plumber turned Member of Parliament, has become Manchester's newest MP for Gorton and Denton, marking a landmark night for both local and national politics. Her victory signifies the Green Party's fifth MP nationally and their first in Greater Manchester, winning with 14,980 votes and a majority of 4,402 against Labour and Reform UK.

On the morning after her win, Ms. Spencer wasted no time getting to work. Her first official engagement was a constituency surgery held at Longsight Art Space, where she met with local residents alongside Green Party leader Zack Polanski. Following this, she embarked on a comprehensive tour of her new constituency, making stops that included a visit to Sue's Chinese takeaway in Gorton for chips and curry sauce, and even participating in karaoke. Just hours before these activities, Ms. Spencer, 34, stood on stage at Manchester Central, where her election as Gorton and Denton's new MP was announced.

During her initial press conference at the Crystal Suite on Kirkmanshulme Lane in Belle Vue, Ms. Spencer expressed immense pride in representing the entirety of Gorton and Denton. She emphasized fighting a positive campaign against the Reform Party, which she accused of dancing to the tune of billionaire donors unwilling to pay their fair share of tax, and the Labour Party, which she stated had "stooped so low." Spencer declared the Green Party offers "an alternative to the stale, broken, old two-party politics."

Green Party leader Zack Polanski, sitting alongside Spencer, described the victory as an 'existential crisis' for Labour, believing it would 'transform the face of British politics'. Meanwhile, Labour's disastrous performance, finishing third in an area the party had held for over 100 years, immediately triggered an internal 'autopsy'. This result intensified pressure on Sir Keir Starmer and brought renewed scrutiny to the decision to block Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from standing in the by-election.

Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged the "disappointing" result and voter "frustration" but affirmed his commitment to continue fighting for change. When questioned about blocking Andy Burnham, Sir Keir maintained that Labour had an "excellent candidate." However, voters in the constituency held differing views. Lifelong Labour voter Romney Hadfield in Denton claimed the party "missed a trick," stating, "If they'd have put Andy Burnham in, we'd have won it... they've lost a lot of votes around here."

Professor Robert Ford, a political science expert at the University of Manchester, told the M.E.N. that the by-election "would have been a very, very different ball game" had Mayor Burnham run for Labour. He suggested that Burnham's exclusion from the ballot was the primary reason the Greens invested significant resources and organization into their campaign, as they felt they could win. Professor Ford noted that early evidence indicated Burnham would have won easily as he was perceived by most voters as the obvious anti-Reform candidate. Sir Keir's former deputy, Ashton MP Angela Rayner, called the result a "wake-up call" for Labour, emphasizing that voters desire the change the party promised.

During her victory lap, Ms. Spencer fought back emotions as she toured Levenshulme, a former neighborhood she now represents. Speaking with activists, locals, and acknowledging honking cars along Stockport Road, she reflected on the community's support during a "difficult and challenging" period of her life in Levenshulme. She expressed deep gratitude, stating, "My neighbours in a lot of ways who were there from the small things, we would help each other out... we just really cared about each other." This experience solidified her commitment to "cherish and protect our communities to stop us being divided." Ms. Spencer also humorously offered a "tongue-in-cheek apology" to plumbing clients whose bookings she would have to cancel due to her new parliamentary role, noting their overwhelming support for her campaign.

Ms. Spencer outlined her key priorities in her new role. She highlighted her belief that her election itself, as a person from an ordinary background and job, already shows that anyone can find a place in politics, hoping it will spark positive change. Her other main areas of focus include tackling the cost of living crisis, advocating for more Green MPs to challenge the government, and proposing the renationalization of energy companies like United Utilities. She also expressed a desire to initiate discussions about rent controls, exploring successful models from other countries to ensure people pay less of their wages on insecure, rented accommodation.

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the previous MP, Andrew Gwynne, who had served the constituency since 2005 when it was known as Denton and Reddish. In the wake of the election, Greater Manchester Police confirmed receiving a report alleging 'family voting' occurred during the by-election and are now reviewing its contents. Reform UK, whose candidate Matt Goodwin placed second, had earlier reported suspected cases to the police. This follows warnings from election observer group Democracy Volunteers about "concerningly high levels" of illegal family voting. Reform leader Nigel Farage also claimed there was "sectarian voting and cheating," remarks the Green Party dismissed as an attempt to undermine the election result.