Winner of Gorton and Denton byelection was driven into politics by growing gap between super-rich and the ‘rest of us’

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Above the college workbench where Hannah Spencer has been training to be a plasterer, her fellow students recently added a sign: “Ministry of Plastering and Plumbing – Hannah Spencer MP”.

Four weeks ago, the title might have felt faintly ridiculous to a 34-year-old plumber, who only entered politics in 2023. Now, it is very real after Spencer was elected as the first Green party MP in the north of England, overturning a large majority in a once-safe Labour seat in a win that could reshape British politics for years to come.