Councillor
Prior to getting involved in politics, Spencer campaigned against greyhound racing, especially at Belle Vue Stadium close to where she lived. [13] [10]
She joined the Green Party of England and Wales in 2022, saying in 2026 that she "was so angry at the gap between the super-rich and all the rest of us getting bigger." [14] [15] She also commented that she approved of the Green Party's member-led policy-making. [16] She was elected councillor for the newly-created Hale ward on Trafford Council in the 2023 election, a part of Manchester previously held by the Conservative Party. [1] Spencer was selected as leader of the Green Party group on Trafford Council in May 2025, succeeding Michael Welton. [17] [18]
Spencer ran as the Green Party candidate for mayor of Greater Manchester in the 2024 mayoral election, finishing in fifth place with 45,905 votes (6.9%), a then record result for the Green Party. [19] [20] [21] She campaigned on addressing the cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis, retrofitting more homes with insulation, encouraging active travel, and providing more support for domestic violence victims. [22]
Spencer was selected as the Green Party candidate for the Warrington North constituency in the 2024 general election, [23] coming fifth with 1,889 votes (4.7%). [24] In the 2025 Green Party internal elections she ran for the position of local party support coordinator, losing to Rosie Rawle. [25] [26] She endorsed Zack Polanski in the 2025 Green Party leadership election. [13] Spencer was appointed Green Party spokesperson for migration and refugee support in September 2025. [27]
Election to Parliament
In January 2026, Spencer was selected as the Green Party candidate for Gorton and Denton in the February by-election, [28] following the resignation of the Labour Party incumbent, Andrew Gwynne. [29] She won the by-election with 40.7% of the votes, a majority of 4,402, defeating both Reform UK (28.7%) and the Labour Party (25.4%) to become the Green Party's fifth MP and first in the North of England. [30] [31] This was considered significant because the area was once a Labour safe seat, Labour having held the constituency since 1931, and because this was the first parliamentary by-election win for the Greens. The result was widely considered a significant blow for the prime minister, Keir Starmer. [32] [33]
In what became a three-way race between Labour, Reform UK, and the Green Party, Spencer described the by-election as a contest of "Green v Reform. Hope v hate". [34] During the election campaign, Spencer emphasised that she was local to Manchester and argued that her work as a tradesperson, which regularly took her into ordinary people's homes, helped her have a strong sense of everyday voters' realities, and that members of Parliament should come from more diverse walks of life. [35] [36] [37] [38] Her campaign focused on the high cost of living, which she proposed to address by reducing inequality, partly via a wealth tax, and on supporting public services, including nationalising water supplies. [35] [37] Spencer also said that, if elected, she would campaign for a £15 minimum wage; rent controls; lower energy bills, partly through improved home insulation; and free prescriptions, dentistry and eye care. [38] [39] She criticised the Labour Party's handling of the Gaza war, describing the Green Party as having a "proud history" of standing with Palestinians. [40] [41] [42]
Spencer's campaign was the target of extensive misinformation on social media around her credentials and background. [7] [43] [44] One image of an expensive property in Hale falsely claimed that Spencer lived there. [45] Users also falsely claimed that Spencer was married to a multimillionaire chief executive at AstraZeneca, although Spencer is not married and the claim referred to a former partner, who was a scientist at AstraZeneca and not a chief executive. [7] [43] [44] [46] Following an incident of verbal abuse in which a man accused Spencer of being a "fake plumber" as a result of online misinformation, Spencer attended some campaign events accompanied by security. [44]
In Spencer's acceptance speech after her election was announced, she addressed those who had voted for her, those who had not, "our Muslim communities" and "our white working-class communities", along with a child she had met while campaigning, to whom she said "I promised you I would try and improve the world you are growing up in. I told you I am not perfect, but that I always try my best. I always try and do the right thing." [47] John Crace in The Guardian called her speech "endearingly down to earth" and "an object lesson in grace". [48]
Member of Parliament
Spencer took her seat in the House of Commons on 2 March, the week after the by-election. [49] She was succeeded as Green Party group leader on Trafford Council by Geraldine Coggins on 5 March, and will vacate her council seat before the May 2026 local election. [50] During her first week in parliament, Spencer announced that she was organising a cross-party group focusing on fuel poverty, and aiming to "accelerate the eradication of cold homes". On World Book Day, she discussed literacy in her constituency, highlighting the need for libraries and schools to help children have access to books. [51]
On 8 March, Spencer gave a speech at an anti-racism event in Piccadilly Gardens. After her speech, footage showed her being repeatedly questioned by a YouTuber, asking "Are trans women women?" Nearby, two men broke into a fight and started throwing punches, and others joined in. Police escorted Spencer to a nearby police car to avoid the conflict. [52] A Green Party spokesperson later commented, highlighting that the incident occurred on International Women's Day, and describing this as a "bitter irony". [53]
