Hannah Spencer becomes new Green MP, infuriating the right
London: A simple message about the cost of living showed why plumber Hannah Spencer, who left school at 16, won for the Greens in a by-election that shook British politics.
Spencer, 34, spoke on behalf of struggling families in a victory speech that touched on the deep disappointment of Britain’s breakup, but he did so with an appeal from the left rather than a push to the right.
“I didn’t grow up wanting to be a politician,” he said. “I am a plumber and two weeks ago while all this was going on I also qualified as a plasterer because I get things done even in chaos, under pressure.
“I’m no different to everyone else in this constituency: I work hard, that’s what we do, but things have changed a lot in the last few decades.
“Because working hard would get you something. It would get you a house, a good life, holidays, it would get you a place. But now, what does working hard get you?”
“Because talk to anyone here and they will tell you that people who work hard… can’t put food on the table, can’t buy school uniforms for their kids, can’t turn on their heating, can’t live off the pension they worked so hard to save, can’t even dream of ever having a holiday again because life has changed.
“Instead of working for a good life, we’re trying to line billionaires’ pockets. We’re running dry. And I don’t think it’s extreme or radical to think that hard work will get you a good life.”
This is how he defeated the Labor government led by the meek and embattled Keir Starmer and infuriated the right-wing UK Reform Party, led by the talkative but untested Nigel Farage.
Reform UK were so angry at their defeat that Farage blamed the defeat on dirty tactics. The controversy centers on allegations of “voting in the family” in which husbands tell their wives how to vote; This is an illegal but mostly unprovable practice. This debate began in the hours after the polls closed, especially among conservatives who associate family votes with ethnic communities.
“This election was a victory for sectarian voting and fraud,” Farage said.
In fact, the result showed that Farage had not yet persuaded enough voters to swing right enough to bring him to power. Reform England has strong results in national opinion polls, but has failed to win a local campaign when counted.
The district in this by-election was a disadvantaged area of Greater Manchester where the population was 57 per cent white, 27 per cent Asian and 9 per cent black. Voters, Gorton and Denton, are the face of a changing Britain.
39 percent of the community is Christian and 28 percent is Muslim. According to the Office for National Statistics. By ONS standards, a frightening 61.5 per cent are considered deprived of income or housing.
Spencer campaigned on the need to fix basic services, raise wages, address social problems related to the drug trade and invest in the National Health Service, the iconic forerunner of Medicare.
He also walked through the communities every day with a big smile, bright clothes and his four hounds. It was an antidote to the lethargic political class: it kicked out the “cool boys” from Oxford and Cambridge to parliament at Westminster.
He hits back when right-wing critics challenge his working-class credentials In his interview with New Statesman: “I’ve been a plumber for about 20 years. What do they want, do they want to see the toilet I fixed?”
The Greens knew voters were aware of their attitudes on climate and Gaza, so they campaigned on the cost of living issue. In a district with conservative social views, Spencer made sure voters knew he didn’t want to legalize drugs.
“We’re really clear that we want to regulate drugs.” he said Manchester Evening News. “This drug law, which has been in force for 60 years, does not work. People can already buy class A drugs on the street. Children already have access to them.
“We say we want to make it harder for people to access this and we want to dismantle the criminal networks that have greasy gloves in our communities.”
The biggest loser was the Labor Party Gorton and Dentona domain it has held for decades. He received just 25.4 percent of the vote on Thursday. A decrease from 50.8 percent in the 2024 general electionsdecreased compared to the previous election.
The Greens took the lead with 40.7 percent of the votesIt was 13.2 percent less than two years ago. Discontent with the government is clearly visible.
It has increased support for reform, but not enough. It received 28.7 per cent of the vote: more than Labor but well behind the Greens.
The British media were shocked by the result. The tide against the government is dramatic; just like in Australia and in the UK byelections.
Conservatives say Starmer is doomed, but many observers already saw him as a dead man walking. His big chance to salvage his leadership will come at elections in Scotland and Wales in early May, which will be a much bigger test for Labour’s support.
There is no way to extrapolate these results across the country. Only 47.6 percent of voters cast ballots.
A big problem for Farage was that his candidate, Matt Goodwin, was a cardboard cutout from the Reform Center: busy attacking the woke agenda, active on X and always available for right-wing television channels. But he didn’t come from the Manchester area; He was brought up by a single mother in Hertfordshire and had no personal story that voters could relate to. He was professor of politics at the University of Kent before moving to Conservative television and then Reform.
He even struggled when Labor chose local councilor Angeliki Stogia as its candidate. Stogia talked about standing up for ordinary workers, but he didn’t stop talking. Everyone knew he was elected because Starmer and his allies had blocked Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s candidacy.
So the Labor campaign had a persistent weakness. This highlighted fears in the Starmer camp that Burnham, a potential leadership rival, could return to parliament and challenge the prime minister.
Of course, voters often request An MP who will oppose the Prime Minister. With Hannah Spencer’s victory, it looks like they’ve chosen one.
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David Crowe is the European correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
