Britain’s newest Green Party MP has made a major promise to Muslim communities in her victory speech after Friday morning’s by-election victory.
Hannah Spencer, who won the seat of Gorton and Denton by-election by more than 4,000 votes, vented politicians for “scapegoating” the Muslim community as she addressed the crowd.
The by-election sweeper said she could not accept the victory without “calling out the politicians and divisive figures who constantly scapegoat and blame our communities for all the problems in society”.
She also told Muslim voters that they had more in common with white working-class communities than believed.
Ms Spencer said both “know how it feels to be looked down on”.
“Maybe because we didn’t do well at school, maybe because we do dirty manual jobs, because we are shut out of places we should be in,” said Ms Spencer.
She added: “One vote on one night is not something I will take for granted or assume will happen again. I will earn your trust.
“And to those who did not vote for me, I will always work hard for you and I will always be honest.
She then promised to “always be decent to our Muslim communities, who this week suffered an attempted attack during Ramadan”.
She was referencing an incident at the Manchester Central Mosque this week, which police clarified on Wednesday saw “no suggestion of verbal threats or confrontation”.
“Last night, a concerning incident took place here at Manchester Central Mosque,” a statement said.
“A man with a bag containing an axe was acting suspiciously, during a congregation involving hundreds of worshippers.”
Second-placed Reform UK candidate Matt Goodwin blamed his loss on sectarian politics.
However, he said the outcome was positive for Reform UK, which earned 10,578 votes, and added that the Green Party was unlikely to be able to replicate their results across the country.