Bev Craig Wins Greater Manchester Mayor Race After Labour Rally
MANCHESTER — Bev Craig has been elected Greater Manchester mayor, handing Labour a clear win in one of the UK’s most closely watched local contests.
MANCHESTER — Bev Craig has been elected Greater Manchester mayor, handing Labour a clear win in one of the UK’s most closely watched local contests. She will succeed Andy Burnham after a byelection triggered by his move to Westminster in June.
The result keeps control of the powerful regional office in Labour hands and offers an early boost for the party after a bruising spell of competition from Reform UK and the Greens in parts of Greater Manchester. The vote was also watched as a test of whether Labour could recover ground in areas where its support had slipped.
Second preferences decide the race
No candidate crossed the 50% mark in the first round, forcing the contest into second-preference counting under the supplementary vote system. Craig then defeated Reform UK’s Sian Astley by 309,525 votes to 157,178 after those preferences were added.
The Guardian reported that Labour took 47% of first-preference votes, with Reform UK on 21% and the Greens in third place on 12%. When second choices were counted and other candidates fell away, Labour’s share rose to 66.3%, while Reform UK finished on 33.7%.
That margin matters. Craig now takes over one of the most influential political jobs outside Westminster, with responsibility across the Greater Manchester city region and its combined authority.
Craig pledges to defend the city region
Craig has led Manchester City Council since 2021 and has also served as deputy mayor for economy, business and inclusive growth at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Speaking after her win, she said she would “set myself a simple task... That every single decision I take, as your Mayor of Greater Manchester, will pass the test of making your life better.”
She also said the city region that had given the world the Suffragettes had “changed the world” and would do so again. At Co-op Live in Manchester, she urged voters to move away from politics that “try to pit neighbour against neighbour.”
“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 said.
Low turnout, high stakes
The race came after Burnham stepped aside following his election as MP for Makerfield in Greater Manchester in June. The contest was the first mayoral election in Greater Manchester to go to a second round, and it was fought on a historically low turnout.
According to one report, only about one in four of the more than 2 million eligible voters across Greater Manchester cast ballots. That makes Craig’s win politically useful for Labour, but it also leaves a blunt reminder about public engagement. The size of the mandate is clear. The turnout, less so.
Even so, the final count was decisive: 309,525 to 157,178.
