Bev Craig succeeds Andy Burnham and becomes Greater Manchester's new mayor
Bev Craig has been elected Greater Manchester mayor, retaining the post for Labour in a by-election and succeeding Andy Burnham.
After no candidate secured more than half of the vote in the first round of voting, Craig beat Reform UK's Sian Astley by 309,525 to 157,178 after second-preference votes were added. The turnout for the election was 25%.
Labour received 66.3% whilst Reform finished with 33.7% in the second vote.
The by-election for a new mayor was called after Andy Burnham was elected as MP for Makerfield, paving the way for him to become Prime Minister earlier this month.
Bev Craig has been the leader of Manchester City Council since December 2021, succeeding the long-serving Sir Richard Leese in the post.
The first round result in the Greater Manchester mayoral election was:
Bev Craig (Lab) 251,449 (47.15%)
Sian Astley (Reform) 111,928 (20.99%)
Geraldine Coggins (Green) 64,968 (12.18%)
Marlon West (Restore) 46,289 (8.68%)
Phil Eckersley (Con) 41,021 (7.69%)
Richard Kilpatrick (LD) 14,702 (2.76%)
Marcus Farmer (Ind) 2,969 (0.56%)
The second round result, after the distribution of the votes of the five eliminated candidates, was:
Bev Craig (Lab) 309,525
Sian Astley (Reform) 157,178