Labour's Craig on Course to Win Manchester Mayoralty
Labour’s Bev Craig, the leader of Manchester City Council and Andy Burnham’s chosen successor, was on course to win the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election as counting concluded on Friday, though a formal declaration was still awaited. Ms Craig, widely tipped to win comfortably, faced challengers from Reform UK and the Greens. The contest was the first electoral test of Mr Burnham’s new government.
A clear win for Ms Craig would keep the mayoralty in Labour hands and hand the Prime Minister an early boost, suggesting his personal popularity in the region has, for now, carried over to his party and chosen heir. The office, which Mr Burnham used for eight years as a national platform, wields power over transport, housing and policing across the two-million-strong city region. Attention will turn to the margin and the turnout, expected to be low in a summer by-election, as gauges of the political mood. A strong Reform showing, even in defeat, would still unsettle Labour. Watch the final result and the scale of any Labour majority.