Andy Burnham has been elected as MP for Makerfield after a massive victory over Reform UK. In one of the most significant by-election results in British political history, he crushed local plumber and councillor Rob Kenyon, getting more than 54 per cent of the vote.
Burnham is expected to speak to Keir Starmer over the next few days to try to persuade him to stand down as Prime Minister.
As he heads to Westminster one question on the mind of many people around Greater Manchester - is Andy Burnham still mayor now he has become an MP? The answer requires looking back to when the job of mayor was first set up.
When Andy Burnham was first elected as the region's mayor in 2017, the job took on the responsibilities of the former role of Police and Crime Commissioner.
The law states that a mayor with Police and Crime Commissioner functions is disqualified from being a Police and Crime Commissioner upon being elected as an MP. That is set out in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.
That means being an MP automatically disqualifies someone from being mayor of Greater Manchester, according to guidance issued by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
So the moment Andy Burnham was elected as MP for Makerfield in the early hours of Friday morning (June 19), he stopped being the mayor of Greater Manchester, ending a nearly ten-year stint in the region's top political job.
There's no requirement for Burnham to formally step down from the role as he stopped being mayor automatically after his election as an MP.
The GMCA is required to issue an update stating that there is a vacancy for the job of mayor, and begin preparing for an election to take place within 35 days. This is expected to happen in the hours after Burnham's election as Makerfield MP.
A date of July 30 has already been confirmed for when the Greater Manchester mayor by-election will take place. Vote counting is expected to take place the next day, July 31, when the result will be announced.
The GMCA's returning officer, Caroline Simpson, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service earlier in June: “If the Makerfield by-election result triggers a mayoral by-election, Greater Manchester will be legally required to hold a by-election within 25-35 working days.
“To ensure we are ready, we have identified July 30 as the date which will allow the maximum number of people to vote, whether in person, by post or by proxy. This will avoid holding an election during the peak holiday period in August and will mean that postal votes will arrive just before, or only a day or two into, the school holidays.
“While Greater Manchester's returning officers are very experienced at running elections, the lead time for a mayoral by-election would be shorter than for a scheduled poll.
“So, following legal advice, and with support from government and the Electoral Commission, we have begun essential preparation work such as booking polling stations. We are doing this in advance of, not in anticipation of, the Makerfield by-election outcome on June 19.”
Andy Burnham had served as mayor of Greater Manchester for nearly a decade before becoming an MP once again.
He was first elected as mayor in 2017, and won re-elections in both 2021 and 2024 before deciding to stand in the Makerfield by-election to become an MP.
Burnham won more than 60 per cent of total votes each time he was elected as Greater Manchester mayor. But there are signs that the new by-election for the job could be much closer than in previous years.
Labour struggled in the local elections in May, losing seats around the region to other parties including Reform UK and the Greens.
If the party hopes to keep hold of the top political job in Greater Manchester, it will have a huge fight on its hands, with a plan needed to win back former Labour voters around the region.
