Plumber-Turned-MP Hannah Spencer Apologizes for Canceling Jobs After Historic Win
In British politics, victory speeches typically overflow with triumphant declarations and party slogans. However, Hannah Spencer, the newly elected Member of Parliament for Gorton and Denton, chose a strikingly different approach: an apology. Moments after being declared the winner in a dramatic by-election, the 34-year-old plumber-turned-politician addressed her supporters with a heartfelt regret.
"I think I might have to cancel the work that you had booked in, because I’m heading to parliament," Spencer was quoted as saying by The Times. In a political landscape often dominated by lofty rhetoric, her matter-of-fact apology for inconveniencing plumbing customers resonated as a refreshing and humble gesture.
From Toolbox to Ballot Box: The Rise of Hannah Spencer
Hannah Kathrine Spencer, born in Bolton around 1991 or 1992, left school at the age of 16 and trained as a plumber. She later completed qualifications as a gas engineer and, most recently, as a plasterer. After participating in a Prince’s Trust enterprise programme, she founded her own business, Hannah’s Household Plumbing.
In February 2026, Spencer achieved one of the most significant upsets in recent British political history. She won the Gorton and Denton by-election with 40.7 percent of the vote, overturning Labour’s long-standing dominance in a seat the party had held since 1931. This victory made her the first Green MP in the north of England and the party’s first-ever by-election winner.
A councillor for Hale ward on Trafford Council since 2023, Spencer entered politics only in 2022. She was driven by anger over widening inequality exposed during the pandemic and the Partygate scandal. Prior to her breakthrough, she finished fifth in both the 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral race and the Warrington North general election contest.
A Campaign Marred by Toxicity and Misinformation
Spencer’s rapid ascent was shadowed by a bruising and polarised campaign. Labour ministers accused her and the Green Party of England and Wales of mobilising Muslim voters over the war in Gaza. Critics alleged they were deliberately raising the issue’s salience in a constituency where approximately three in ten residents are Muslim.
Spencer dismissed these claims as "disappointing," stating that she had spoken to "tens of thousands of people across the constituency" about everyday concerns, such as NHS waiting lists and the cost of living.
Her campaign also faced targeted online misinformation, including false claims that she was married to a senior executive at AstraZeneca. Spencer is not married; the claim referred to a former partner. Other posts falsely suggested she lived in a multimillion-pound property in Hale. The abuse grew so intense that she appeared at some events with security.
A Complex Profile: Hard-Left Image and Property Interests
Spencer has been portrayed as a hard-left challenger to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. However, scrutiny has also fallen on her property interests. She owns two homes in the more affluent Altrincham and Sale West area, together valued at around £1 million. One is a terraced house in Sale purchased in 2019; the other is a detached fixer-upper under renovation.
Green-held councils have supported second-home council tax premiums, and national party policy includes expanding social housing, implementing rent controls, and buying older housing stock for conversion. Party sources have indicated that Spencer’s past online comments about property were "normal conversations years ago."
The Greyhound Rescuer: A Relatable Public Persona
Away from politics and plumbing, Spencer rescues greyhounds, a detail that has become central to her public image. On the Green podcast Bold Politics, she spoke emotionally about her first rescue dog, Graham.
"There is a bit of Graham in all of us," she said. "We just want to be accepted and we just want to be happy and we just want to be safe."
The image of a tradeswoman balancing plastering classes at Trafford College with canvassing shifts, and then heading home to care for rescued dogs, has helped craft a relatable, outsider narrative that resonates with many voters.
A New Kind of Green Politics: Breaking Traditional Strongholds
Spencer is seen as close to Zack Polanski, whose leadership has steered the Greens toward a more populist emphasis on bread-and-butter issues such as the NHS and living costs, alongside climate policy.
Her victory in Gorton and Denton is widely viewed as a warning shot to both Labour and Reform UK. It proves that the Greens can break out of their traditional strongholds in Brighton and Bristol and make gains in northern, working-class constituencies.
Four weeks before polling day, few outside Trafford had heard her name. By dawn on Friday, after apologizing for missed plumbing jobs and thanking voters, Hannah Spencer had made history. She is now a plumber who rescues greyhounds, carrying a wrench into Westminster as a symbol of a new political era.
