Bev Craig will succeed Andy Burnham after Labour won the Greater Manchester mayoral race

Labour’s Bev Craig has been elected as the new Greater Manchester mayor, holding one of the party’s most important regional posts after Andy Burnham’s move back to Westminster.

Craig defeated Reform UK’s Sian Astley after second-preference votes were added, winning by 309,525 votes to 157,178. The contest went beyond the first round because no candidate secured more than half of the vote outright.

The by-election was called after Burnham left the mayoralty following his election as MP for Makerfield in June. That move cleared the path for him to become prime minister last month, leaving Greater Manchester to choose a new leader.

Craig now takes over one of the most high-profile mayoral jobs in England. She has led Manchester City Council since 2021 and has also served as Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s deputy mayor for economy, business and inclusive growth.

Speaking after her victory, Craig said she felt honoured and humbled to have been elected. She promised that every decision she takes as mayor would be judged by whether it makes life better for people across the region.

She also thanked those who backed her directly and voters who gave her their second preference. Craig said she was ready to serve the three million people who live across Greater Manchester.

Her background gives her a strong starting point. Having led Manchester City Council and worked inside the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Craig already knows the political machinery she is about to lead. That may help her move quickly from campaign promises to practical decisions.

But the job will also test whether she can speak for the whole city region, not just Manchester itself. Greater Manchester includes very different communities, from large urban centres to towns with their own priorities and frustrations. Craig’s challenge will be to prove that her mayoralty can deliver for all 10 boroughs.

The Greater Manchester mayor race showed Labour still has a strong grip on the city region, but it also highlighted Reform UK’s ability to take second place in a major contest.

In the first round, Craig won 47% of the vote, while Astley secured 21%. Because Craig fell short of the 50% threshold, ballot papers from voters who had backed other candidates were checked for second preferences. Those votes were then added to the totals for Labour and Reform.

Craig extended her lead once those second preferences were counted.

More than two million people across Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs were eligible to vote, but turnout was just under 25%. That low figure means Craig begins her term with a clear victory, but also with the challenge of engaging many voters who stayed away.

The breakdown showed Craig came first in all 10 local authority areas that make up Greater Manchester. Astley came second in eight of them. The Green candidate, Geraldine Coggins, came second in Manchester, while Conservative candidate Phil Eckersley finished second in Trafford.

Craig used her victory speech to focus on the pressures facing ordinary households. She said too many people across the region found life too hard and argued that the old belief that hard work would automatically lead to a better future no longer felt true for many.

She said everyone deserved a good-quality home in a decent neighbourhood and should be able to plan for their own future and their children’s future.

Craig also called for politics to move away from division, saying the region would have to face its challenges together. She pointed to Greater Manchester’s history, including its links to the Suffragettes, and said the city region had changed the world before and could do so again.

Her win drew congratulations from senior Labour figures, including deputy leader Lucy Powell, the MP for Manchester Central, who praised Craig and thanked party activists for helping deliver the result.

For Labour, the victory prevents a damaging symbolic loss soon after Burnham’s departure. For Craig, it marks the start of a major political test: following one of the country’s best-known mayors while trying to prove she can shape Greater Manchester in her own way.