Bev Craig wins Greater Manchester mayoral by-election with 66% of vote, succeeding PM Andy Burnham

The result

Bev Craig won the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election with 309,525 votes, giving her 66.3% after second-preference transfers. Her only opponent in the final round, Reform UK's Sian Astley, received 157,178 votes (33.7%). On first preferences, Craig took 47.15% to Astley's 20.99%, falling just short of the 50% needed to win outright under the supplementary vote system. Craig, 41, becomes the first openly gay elected mayor of the city.

“I never believed as a girl that grew up on a council estate that one day I would have the chance to stand for the place I love.”

Turnout and context

Turnout reached 25%, down from 32% in the 2024 mayoral election that returned Andy Burnham for a third term. More than 2 million people were eligible to vote in what was described as the biggest by-election in British history. Local council by-election turnouts below 20% are common, and opinion polls had suggested a comfortable Labour win, reducing the incentive to vote. Labour outperformed those polls, contradicting a trend of surveys overstating support for parties of the left.

Burnham's gamble

The by-election was triggered after Burnham stepped down on 18 June, having won the Makerfield by-election and become prime minister. He had previously promised to serve his full term as mayor. Keir Starmer, then Labour leader, warned that Greater Manchester voters would punish the party and elect a Reform mayor. Two months later, a weakened Starmer could not block Burnham's second attempt, and Burnham won the Makerfield seat. The Independent described the sequence as a gamble that "paid off handsomely".

Craig's background and pledges

Craig is the leader of Manchester City Council and served as Burnham's deputy for regeneration and growth. She worked closely with him during a decade in which Manchester became one of the UK's fastest-growing economies, a period dubbed "Manchesterism" that saw new powers over investment, business tax rates, housing and education. On the eve of polling, Craig told the New Statesman her election would be a "unique opportunity" because of her closeness to the new prime minister, while pledging to put Greater Manchester before "my relationships and my rosette".

“For a prime minister two weeks in, to start giving powers out of Whitehall and putting it in the places that can make a difference - that can change our lives.”

The government marked the result by announcing a new package of financial powers for devolved mayors, calling it the "biggest transfer of power from Westminster in a generation".

Reform and the right

Reform UK had been viewed as a potential challenger at the start of the campaign, but its effort was disrupted when Nigel Farage resigned as MP for Clacton, forcing another by-election. The party ordered the bulk of its campaign staff out of Manchester and down to the Essex coast. Astley's 21% first-preference share was further squeezed by Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain, which took 9% and split the right-of-Conservative vote. Labour scooped up a larger share of Green and Liberal Democrat second preferences than Reform did of Restore and Conservative transfers.

Bev Craig (Labour)66.3%

Sian Astley (Reform UK)33.7%

Bev Craig (Labour)

66.3 %

Sian Astley (Reform UK)

33.7 %

Data from the article text

What next

Craig takes office with a mandate to continue Burnham's devolution agenda. In her acceptance speech she said she was "honoured" and "humbled" and ready to serve the three million people of the city region. The result is a boost for Labour after losses in May's local and regional elections, though commentators cautioned against drawing national lessons from a partial election held in the summer with low turnout.