Bev Craig has been elected Mayor of Greater Manchester, defeating Reform's Sian Astley by 66.3 per cent to 33.7 per cent after two rounds of voting. The result marks the biggest by-election in British electoral history and delivers Labour a commanding victory in the region.
Victory at Co-op Live
Craig took to the podium at Manchester's Co-op Live to make her victory speech at the moment the Makerfield gamble paid out in full. This morning she wakes up as the newly-crowned winner, succeeding Andy Burnham as the leader of the largest mayoral authority outside London, with a £3bn budget.
Just 11 weeks ago, pundits and even some Labour MPs claimed Burnham could not possibly win Makerfield, and that leaving his Greater Manchester role would hand Reform its first ever Metro Mayor. Then Josh Simons resigned his seat in a complex political chess move dubbed 'The Makerfield Gambit' - though 'gamble' might have been the better word.
A new political landscape
Burnham is now in charge of the country, while Craig commands the biggest mayoral authority outside London. She takes office at the unprecedented moment when her predecessor has launched 'No 10 in the North', just a few doors down from the Town Hall.
Labour voters clearly felt good about voting Labour again. Party sources say the wins came in the outer towns that voted Reform in the local elections, and that the party won every ward in Hannah the Plumber's Denton and Gorton.
A contrast with Clacton
Since Burnham's ascension, Manchester has regained the swagger of Liam Gallagher at the 1995 Brit Awards. In contrast, Reform leader Nigel Farage cuts a lonely figure on a windswept beach at Clacton - fighting not just a bin but a string of joke candidates.
The two summer by-elections, in Clacton and Manchester, could not be in starker contrast: the beginning of a shift in power versus an end-of-the-pier show where the novelty acts are starting to look tired.
A historic first
Craig's victory is all the sweeter as she becomes the first female and first LGBTQ+ Mayor of Greater Manchester, having already served as the first female and first LGBTQ+ leader of Manchester City Council.
Eleven weeks ago it seemed possible - even likely - that Reform, which has shut down Pride celebrations and cut money to support groups wherever it is in power, might take control of a city with a proud gay village at its heart. But May 12, when Burnham declared his intention to stand for Makerfield, turned out to be a sliding doors moment for British politics.
'True Faith', the New Order song Burnham played when he DJ'd at Craig's 40th birthday party last year, is now not just his campaign song but a symbol of a leap of political faith. As Farage faces down the bin and funding allegations swirl around him, could it be last orders for the pint-loving Reform leader? Perhaps one more by-election will tell.
