Garry Bridges has been formally appointed as the new leader of Manchester City Council, vowing to bring major improvements to the city.
The appointment was confirmed on Thursday night, September 3, after Councillor Bridges narrowly won a vote among Labour councillors on Tuesday. Councillors from across Manchester gathered to watch him take up the role of running the city.
Top Priority: Tackling Poverty and Housing
Councillor Bridges said he would 'give it everything' as leader to change people's lives for the better. He said: "Too many people grow up in our city not able to feed their kids, not able to afford the rent, and that's something we've got to put right and will be my top priority."
He went on to say that housing would be a key part of his reign as council leader, adding: "Social housing will be at the heart of everything that I will be doing, it is the biggest programme we've had in decades but we know we can do more, and we must do more, and we want to press that on the government at every available opportunity."
Reform UK Absence Sparks Criticism
There was a touch of drama on the night Garry Bridges was appointed council leader with Manchester's Reform UK group of councillors not attending the meeting, while the Greens and Lib Dems turned up.
One Labour member accused Reform UK of being 'slightly disrespectful' to the new council leader, and some speculated whether the Reform councillors may have been in Birmingham for the party's conference.
Speaking on Reform's absence from the meeting, Councillor Bridges said it 'was a shame that not all groups are represented here tonight' and that it 'suggests they don't all necessarily want to work in a collaborative way'.
Manchester has got a new council leader after former boss Bev Craig was elected as Greater Manchester mayor in July.
