Andy Burnham has urged his successor as Greater Manchester mayor, Bev Craig, to “go further and do more”, dubbing her the “queen of the north” after her by-election win.
Labour candidate Ms Craig secured the largest by-election victory in British history, succeeding Mr Burnham in the role after he quit to become prime minister.
The result was announced late on Friday night, over 24 hours after polling stations closed, confirming a comfortable win despite a low turnout.
Speaking at a Manchester victory event, Mr Burnham also touted his plans to further devolve power out of Westminster.
“So, here’s my challenge to you today. On the back of that, I’m afraid you’re just going to have to go further and do more,” he said.
He challenged Ms Craig to build on growth in the region achieved during his time as mayor, build more affordable homes and boost technical education for young people, including by building on initiatives such as the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc).
“You are the right person to lead this great city region forward into its best decade ever, because that is what the next decade is going to be,” said Mr Burnham.
“So, ladies and gentlemen, without any further ado, can you give it up for the queen of the north, the new mayor of Greater Manchester, Bev Craig.”
Ms Craig said people have been “crying out” for a commitment from “people in power that get it”.
“[People] that want to put more money in their pockets. That want to make life easier, that are on their side, and I’m excited to get stuck in,” she said.
She added: “I’ll also say one final thing, and that’s about what people have voted for in this election.
“They voted for Greater Manchester to build on the legacy that we’ve created together, but they voted to reject the division and the dividing lines that people put in our communities.”
Ms Craig won 47.15 per cent of votes in the first round, just short of the 50 per cent needed to win outright in the supplementary vote (SV) system, meaning there was a second round against Reform UK candidate Sian Astley, on 20.99 per cent.
Labour gained 58,076 more votes when the second preferences of the five eliminated candidates were distributed, with Reform getting 45,250, leaving Ms Craig on 309,525 and Ms Astley on 157,178.
More than two million people were eligible to vote in the contest, triggered by Mr Burnham’s election to parliament last month, but the turnout was just under 25 per cent.
Mr Burnham, who swiftly became prime minister after winning the Makerfield by-election in June, won 63 per cent of the vote in the 2024 mayoral election under the “first past the post” system, in which the candidate with the most votes is declared the winner.
Mr Burnham was blocked from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election in February in part because Labour’s ruling national executive committee did not want to put the party’s control of Greater Manchester at risk.
The May elections which triggered the departure of Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister saw some big losses in Greater Manchester, including in Tameside, where Labour lost its council majority after an uninterrupted run of 47 years in charge.
Analysis of the full votes showed that Ms Craig topped the poll in the first round of voting in all the 10 local authority areas that make up Greater Manchester.
Ms Astley came second in eight of the 10 areas while Green candidate Geraldine Coggins came second in Manchester, and the Conservative candidate Phil Eckersley was second in Trafford.
