Bev Craig, the Manchester city council leader, has won a decisive victory in the Greater Manchester mayoral byelection, succeeding Andy Burnham and taking one of the most powerful political positions outside Westminster. Labour took 47% of first-preference votes, with Reform UK on 21% and the Greens on 12%.
As no candidate passed 50%, second preferences were counted under the supplementary vote system, lifting Labour's share to 66.3% and Reform UK's to 33.7%.
Victory speech at Co-op Live
Speaking at Co-op Live in Manchester, Craig urged society to "move away from divisive politics that try to pit neighbour against neighbour". She added that she had met "fantastic people doing incredible things against the odds every single day – rejecting the politics of hate but standing with their neighbours, looking out for each other".
The scale of the victory is a significant boost for the new prime minister, suggesting Labour can win back both left- and right-leaning voters who deserted the party under Keir Starmer. It also poses troubling questions for Nigel Farage, whose party has surrendered its year-long lead in national polls and is in a deepening crisis over questions about its funding.
Reform UK's setbacks
A poll last month had Labour and Reform UK virtually neck and neck. In the May elections, Reform UK won more than 100 seats across Greater Manchester, including all but one of the 25 up for grabs in Wigan and 18 out of 19 in Tameside. Farage announced he was standing down as an MP to fight a self-imposed byelection in Clacton after scrutiny over his funding.
Before the result was officially declared, Labour sources said the party had won every ward in boroughs including Bury and Tameside, and all but one in Trafford. In Oldham, where Reform UK gained 13 councillors and ended Labour's 15-year grip on power two months ago, Labour won 17 of the 20 wards. Sources said Labour won every ward in Gorton and Denton, the constituency won by the Green party's Hannah Spencer in February. One senior Labour source said Reform UK had "massively underperformed" and that the result was a combination of Burnham's prime ministership signalling "you can vote Labour again" and voters feeling confident they could vote for Craig.
Restore Britain and Green reaction
Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe's anti-immigration party, won 8.7% of the vote to beat the Conservatives into fourth place. Its support was strongest in Tameside, where it got 14% – almost 6,000 voters – and Rochdale and Oldham, where it won 12%. The party, launched only six months ago, focused its campaign on child sexual abuse gangs.
Geraldine Coggins, the Green party candidate, said she was pleased with its campaign and that there had been a "surge" of support under Zack Polanski's leadership. She claimed the result was "not a ringing endorsement" of Craig, comparing her 47% vote share with Burnham, who never won less than 60% in each of his three victories since 2017. "The fact this has even gone to the second round is devastating for them," Coggins said.
Context and turnout
The contest was triggered by Burnham winning the Makerfield byelection on 18 June, meaning he had to step down as mayor. It was the biggest contest of its kind in British political history, with more than 2 million eligible voters. Turnout was only 25% – the third lowest of any mayoral byelection to date – due to a combination of low voter awareness and the summer holidays.
