Bev Craig will succeed Andy Burnham as mayor of Greater Manchester, securing a comfortable Labour victory over Reform on a historically low turnout, reports BritPanorama.
Only one in four of the more than two million eligible voters across Greater Manchester cast ballots as Ms. Craig defeated Reform UK’s Sian Astley in the second round, marking the first electoral test of Mr. Burnham’s premiership.
Ms. Craig won 47.15 per cent of votes in the first round, just short of the 50 per cent needed to win outright in the Supplementary Vote (SV) system, with Ms. Astley polling at 20.99 per cent.
In the first instance that a Greater Manchester mayoral election has progressed to a second round, Ms. Craig amassed 309,525 votes compared to Ms. Astley’s 157,178, allowing her to claim one of the country’s most significant political positions outside Westminster.
“I will defend this city region with every bone in my body and I will fight for a better life for all of us,” she expressed during her victory speech at the Co-op Live arena.
When Mr. Burnham, who won three mayoral elections with over 60 per cent of the vote, first announced his intention to return to Westminster, concerns regarding Labour losing control of Greater Manchester were cited by allies of Sir Keir Starmer as a reason to retain him in his position.
However, Ms. Craig’s victory coincides with a “Burnham bounce” in national polls, buoyed by Mr. Burnham’s ascent to prime minister, which has sparked a turnaround in Labour’s standing.
Greater Manchester mayoral election results
Sian Astley (Reform): 157,178 [first and second preference votes]
Geraldine Coggins (Green): 64,968
Bev Craig (Labour): 309,525 [first and second preference votes]
Phil Eckersley (Conservative): 41,021
Marcus Farmer (Independent): 2,969
Richard Kilpatrick (Liberal Democrats): 14,702
Marlon West (Restore Britain): 46,289
Described as Mr. Burnham’s “protege,” the Belfast-born incoming mayor has led Manchester City Council since 2021 and has closely collaborated with the prime minister as a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority for the economy.
“I never believed as a girl growing up on a council estate that one day I would have a chance to stand for the place that I love,” she stated.
The turnout marked a historic low for a mayoral election in this region, falling below the inaugural race in 2017 when 28.9 per cent of the electorate participated.
Nevertheless, it took over 13 hours from the beginning of verification to declare the result.
This extended timeline could be attributed to election fatigue, with Greater Manchester having been a focal point of British politics throughout the year.
This marks the third occasion in 2026 that voters in the parliamentary constituencies of Gorton and Denton and Makerfield have gone to the polls this year, following previous by-elections and the local contests in May.
Both the Green Party and Reform will likely feel disappointed with their respective performances, particularly as the Greens did not qualify for the runoff.
The Greens had previously won in Gorton and Denton in February, and their campaigning indicated a belief that it was a two-horse race between themselves and Reform, after making significant strides in Manchester during May’s local elections.
For Reform, this represents a third setback in Greater Manchester this year, coming after failures to win in Gorton, Denton, and Makerfield.
Initially, Nigel Farage’s party was viewed as favourites by bookmakers when this by-election was first proposed, having performed impressively in local elections, securing 24 of the 25 available seats in Wigan in May.
However, polls indicated that Ms. Craig would achieve a significant victory, aided by Mr. Burnham’s assumption of leadership from Sir Keir Starmer, a prediction that ultimately proved accurate.
Mr. Burnham’s success in Makerfield demonstrated that his name on the Labour ballot could successfully combat Reform, resulting in yet another meaningful win for his party in his own backyard, albeit amid its weakest performance in the history of this contest.
The Greater Manchester results were announced on the same day Prime Minister Burnham unveiled plans allowing English mayors to retain a share of the taxes collected in their areas, pledging to “take power out of Westminster and carry it into every postcode in the country.”
This initiative will afford Ms. Craig more authority than Mr. Burnham had during his nine-year tenure as mayor.
Following her victory, she remarked to The Independent, “I’ve long argued, as did Andy before he became prime minister, that Greater Manchester should have more power and more control. So it’s absolutely fantastic that in two weeks since becoming prime minister, he’s coming good on his long-standing beliefs around power and control. And I want to be able to put that to good use. Things like skills and support for our young people from 16—it’s going to make an incredible difference here in Greater Manchester, and I can’t wait to get to work.”
