BEV Craig has been named the new Mayor of Greater Manchester after what even she described as “a long day.”
The Labour candidate won the ballot to succeed now Prime Minister Andy Burnham with 66.3 per cent of the final vote, taking a whopping 309,525 to secure victory and defeating second-placed Reform UK’s Sian Astley by 152,347.
Astley won 157,178 first and second round votes. For the rest, only the first round votes were counted: the Green Party’s Geraldine Coggins received 64,968, Restore Britain’s Marlon Scott West 46,289, Conservative Phil Eckersley 41,021 and the Liberal Democrats’ Richard Kilpatrick 14,702.
With 2,969 votes, last place was scraped by independent candidate Marcus Farmer.
And The Correspondent understands Labour came out on top in every ward in Tameside.
Bev Craig’s victory will not raise eyebrows to many in Greater Manchester, where 25 of the region’s 27 constituencies are Labour seats.
The 533,326 ballots were just a drop in the water compared to the 2,142,779 eligible voters in Manchester – an exceptionally low turnout of 25.14 per cent, despite it being the biggest by-election in British history.
In spite of that, there was no-one keener than Craig to prove a Labour win would be no less significant for Manchester.
“A special thank you has to go to the residents of Greater Manchester,” she said.
“To have trust placed in you is an honour. I’m honoured. I’m humbled. And I stand ready to serve the 3 million people that live across this fantastic city region. And I will serve every single one of them, every single day.
“For too many people across our region, life is simply too hard. The generational belief that we had, that if you work hard and do the right thing, your life will be better, and the life of the community will be better, is something that many people just don’t feel at the minute.
“And that’s the challenge that we in politics have to face as well. And it’s why I set myself a simple task, and I make that commitment to you today. That every single decision I take, as your Mayor of Greater Manchester, will pass the test of making your life better.”
Who is Bev Craig?
MANCHESTER City Council leader, an OBE holder and “one of the most visible lesbians in politics”, her journey through the political stratosphere was by no means presented on a silver platter.
Born in Belfast in 1985, she grew up on a council estate and moved to Manchester in 2003, where she later became the first member of her family to attend university.
In 2007, she graduated with a degree in politics and modern history and later went on to gain two masters degrees in local government management and public policy.
She did both while working full-time.
She previously held senior roles at Manchester Health and Care Commissioning and the Manchester Local Care Organisation, as well as a wider range of jobs across trade union UNISON and in local government – including representing Burnage as a councillor.
From 2017, she spent four years as executive member for adult services, health, wellbeing and inclusion, before being appointed the leader of Manchester City Council in 2021.
Since then, she has also worked as a co-chair of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority alongside Andy Burnham, which she says has given her a good insight into the role with mayor, and a strong relationship with the now-prime minister.
In January 2026, she was awarded an OBE for services to local government.
The election
The contest was triggered after previous mayor Andy Burnham won the Makerfield by-election on June 18, which meant he had to step down as mayor to become an MP in a move which would clear the way for him to become Prime Minister.
Manchester’s leadership hole has since been filled by acting mayor Paul Dennett, while candidates set about campaigning for the permanent position.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester is the leader of the GMCA, which controls the region’s housing, transport, funding, economy, and emergency services.
Each of Greater Manchester’s council leaders – including for Oldham and Tameside – have their own seat on the GMCA and work together with the mayor to decide how the region is run.
It is safe to say that the next Mayor will have her work cut out for her and will have to confront the biggest concerns among voters, including the cost of living crisis, crime rate, and access to the NHS.
In her first mayoral hustings, Craig said she planned to go further than Mr Burnham in improving Manchester.
“I’m proud of what we’re building here in Greater Manchester,” she said.
“I’ve worked alongside Andy Burnham to try and turn this place around, and I want to continue that path, but I want to go further.
“Every single decision that I make is to make life better for ordinary people across our city region. And that means more money in families’ pockets, like with the free bus passes I’ve already announced for 11 to 18-year-olds; a home everyone can afford, with 50,000 new social council and affordable homes and restoring pride in our towns and high streets and making sure that the young person is left behind.”
She would also see £20 million invested into town centre and high street regeneration projects, as well as a commission on rent controls and tailored support for people experiencing homelessness.
“This is about the city region that we want to be,” she added.
“This is the Greater Manchester that we can be. And that’s the belief that we can build things to make our lives better.
“I never believed, as a girl growing up on a council estate, that one day I would have the chance to stand for the place that I love, the place in this world that I’m proud to call home and to offer my service to make our city region better. Because Greater Manchester is special.”
Equally elated following the result was former Oldham mayor Arooj Shah.
Having stepped down from her role in early May, the Labour councillor has since turned her gaze to supporting Craig through her mayoral campaign.
Speaking exclusively to the Tameside Correspondent, she said she was “hopeful” about Bev’s ambitions for the future of Manchester – and particularly for the future of Oldham.
“Oldham’s the kind of place where you feel like you’re always kneeling down with your cap in hand,” she said.
“But the reality is that we’ve had some great, great accomplishments through the Combined Authority. I think Bev will continue to build on that.”
And she said: “If you just compare the result to the local elections in May, which feels like a long time away because we’re all a bit election-ed out, we’ve done remarkably well.
“I think that we’ll just carry on building on what the Combined Authority did.
“It’s been an absolute honour to be the candidate aide in this election and support her through it.
“She’s going to bring her own edge to the Greater Manchester Mayoral role, just like she did to Manchester City Council.
“She’s incredibly intelligent, a critical thinker and I’ve got a huge, huge hope in what she will do for the people of Greater Manchester and the whole city region.”