This morning, I cried while hearing these words:
“To my customers: I am sorry, but I think I might have to cancel the work that you had booked in. Because I’m heading for Parliament”
They are the words Hannah Spencer shared as she became the first ever Green Party MP in the North of England.
A huge shift in the political landscape.
She’s also the first ever Green candidate to win a parliamentary by-election. And won a staggering 40.7% of votes, as much as 12 points ahead of second placed Reform.
But how?
(Read Hannah's full speech here.)
What can we learn?
I think there are three things we can learn from the landslide Green Party victory in Manchester.
- People crave proximity and familiarity
- Community identity wins
- Status matters
Let’s look at each in turn, then explore how you can apply them to your movement.
1. Proximity and familiarity
One of my favourite Seth Godin quotes is: “People like us do things like this.”
Back in the 80s, Robert Cialdini ran an experiment in a hotel where he was trying to encourage guests to reuse their towels. When they used the message, “Help us save the environment, please reuse your towels”, only 35% complied. However, when they used the message, “Most guests reuse their towels, please reuse yours”, that jumped to 44%.
Similarly, in the UK, David Halpern, who started the world’s first behavioural insights unit, did work to encourage people to pay their income tax on time and found their most successful message was when they wrote “most people in [your local area] pay their tax on time”.
People like us do things like this.
This type of language has really shone through in the Green Party's comms since Zack Polanski started leading the party. The Green Party is made up of “people like us” – and Hannah is possibly the most unremarkable of all: a plumber (more on this later).
So when career politicians have destroyed all trust in politics, it's exactly this sort of familiarity that gets attention.
2. Community identity
And this leads me on to my second reflection: community.
Manchester is a melting pot of people from all walks of life. According to the 2021 census, 43% of people living in Manchester are non-White.
Reform UK specifically sought to divide and seed hatred towards that 43%. Labour didn’t do much better.
But the Greens embraced the 43%.
They produced videos in Urdu.
Hannah shared iftar with local Muslim women.
They organised local people to spread the word and speak to others.
People power works.
3. Status
In his book Impro, Keith Johnstone says that many of our behaviours are driven by our desire to achieve a particular level of status relative to those around us.
I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that career politicians have often placed themselves above the rest of us. Heck, there’s more than one politician I can think of right now who’s doing that.
But here’s the thing about status: it’s given, not taken.
Across cultures and tribes, we have always granted higher status to individuals because they offer something vital to the tribe. Food, protection, wisdom, peace, spiritual connection. We literally elect MPs.
Many modern politicians have forgotten this.
They’ve forgotten the reason the job exists: to serve the people they represent.
Hannah Spencer, a plumber, completely flipped the status game. She came in with no ego, no agenda, no status.
And so, the 14,980 people who voted for her gave her status.
So what does this mean for you?
If you’re building a movement or cause or brand, you can use these insights.
Here’s how.
#1 Where are you creating proximity?
- Do you speak like an organisation or a human?
- Do you write like a Westminster clerk, or like a real-human, with real opinions, and slightly too little time to be perfect?
- Are you telling stories or just saying words that sound good?
Your aim is to build a sense of closeness and understanding through your humanity. The word is hackneyed, but be authentic. Be you.
#2 What identity are you reinforcing?
Labour relied on history. Reform relied on anger.
The Greens built belonging.
In a world where so many people feel alone or isolated, building a place where they feel like they belong is powerful.
Find ways to create belonging in your communities.
#3 What status are you rewarding?
This is a tough one.
Ask yourself:
- Who do you platform?
On your socials, pamphlets, website, intranet…
- Who gets praised?
In meetings, through promotions, or the influencers you work with…
- What actions get attention?
No one wants to eat in a restaurant that smells of shit. Yet so often, the cleaner’s hard work goes unnoticed. They deserve it as much as the chef.
Where you direct your attention and energy matters. People notice and, in turn, do what gets them that attention.
I’m going into the weekend filled with hope.
I hope you are too.