Bev Craig won the largest by-election in British history on Friday night, beating Reform’s Sian Astley in a run-off and handing the party another electoral defeat.
Burnham passes the baton
At a victory rally in Manchester, Andy Burnham said: “You are the right person to lead this great city region forward into its best decade ever, because that is what the next decade is going to be.” He then added: “So, ladies and gentlemen, without any further ado, can you give it up for the queen of the north, the new Mayor of Greater Manchester, Bev Craig.”
Record vote
More than 500,000 ballots were cast, with turnout just over 25% – lower than in the previous mayoral election. After second preferences were redistributed, Ms Craig finished with 309,525 votes.
She told supporters that the public had been “crying out” for commitment from “people in power that get it”, adding: “(People) that want to put more money in their pockets. That want to make life easier, that are on their side, and I’m excited to get stuck i.”
Rejecting division
“I’ll also say one final thing, and that’s about what people have voted for in this election,” Ms Craig said. “They voted for Greater Manchester to build on the legacy that we’ve created together, but they voted to reject the division and the dividing lines that people put in our communities.”
Regional picture
Analysis of the full vote showed Ms Craig topped the first round in all 10 local authority areas making up Greater Manchester. Ms Astley came second in eight of those areas, while the Green Party’s Geraldine Coggins was second in Manchester and the Conservative candidate Phil Eckersley finished second in Trafford.
