More than two million voters can have their say on who will replace Andy Burnham as Greater Manchester mayor as polls open.
The Prime Minister called on the public to back Labour’s Bev Craig at the by-election, saying she will make sure “every town, every borough” shares in the region’s success.
The biggest by-election in UK history was triggered when Mr Burnham resigned from the post earlier this year, as part of his plan to become Prime Minister.
He was elected as the Labour MP for Makerfield in June, before taking over from Sir Keir Starmer this month.
Seven candidates are standing to succeed Mr Burnham: Ms Craig (Labour), Phil Eckersley (Conservatives), Geraldine Coggins (Green Party), Sian Astley (Reform UK), Richard Kilpatrick (Liberal Democrats), Marlon West (Restore Britain) and Marcus Farmer (Independent).
Residents of Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan will be able to have their say on Thursday.
Mr Burnham came first in all 10 areas in 2017, 2021 and 2024.
Before polling day, he said serving as mayor for nearly a decade was an “immense privilege”.
Mr Burnham added: “After years working alongside Bev Craig, I have no doubt that she will work every single day to build on the progress we’ve all made together.
“Bev will focus on putting more money in your pocket, giving families more breathing space on the cost of living, and making sure young people across every borough have the opportunities they need to thrive. Bev will do this by working in lockstep with every community across our city region so we can shape our future together.
“She is the only candidate who will make sure every town, every borough and every person shares in Greater Manchester’s success.
“Together, for our future, vote Bev Craig today to be our next mayor of Greater Manchester.”
Ms Craig is the leader of Manchester City Council, and Ms Astley and Mr Kilpatrick also sit on the authority.
Mr Eckersley and Ms Coggins are Trafford councillors.
Ms Coggins said Greater Manchester needs “full fat devolution, not semi skimmed”, adding: “Labour in Greater Manchester has been a developers’ paradise, handing over large sums of money to developers to build unaffordable flats.
“I will be demanding powers to take them back and to impose tough financial penalties for land banking.”
Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader, said his party could “pull off a shock” and top the poll.
He said: “Reform have barely turned up and Labour have acted like they have it in the bag.
“We can win this today and pull off a shock – if you want a fairer Greater Manchester not run for big money but for the people, you need to turn out and vote Green as your first preference.”
Mr Eckersley previously said “as a business owner, father and local councillor, I understand the challenges facing families, businesses and communities across our city region”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, backing Ms Astley, said: “Greater Manchester needs a fixer.
“It needs someone with real-life experience of building successful businesses from scratch, not yet another career politician who will keep enriching the city centre while leaving behind towns and communities like Bolton and Wigan.”
Mr Farage said Ms Astley would “bring life back to high streets, stop illegal migrants being dumped on towns and open the books so ordinary people can finally see how their tax money has been spent”.
Mr West works as a mental health nurse, although he was given an 18-month suspension earlier this month by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) after comments he made on social media about sexual grooming by Pakistani men.
Restore Britain’s leader Rupert Lowe said Mr West “is the best qualified candidate for any mayoral race for a very long time”, adding: “He has lost so much in his fight, including just being struck off nursing because he spoke out about his daughter’s rape. It’s scandalous.”
Mr West has co-written a book, In Plain Sight, with his daughter Scarlett, about rape and sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Asian men.
Mr Farmer stood against Mr Burnham in 2021, receiving just under 1% of the vote. He also stood in 2017.
Polls will open at 7am and close at 10pm on Thursday.
Votes won’t be counted until Friday, with the result likely to be announced in the afternoon.
It is the first time a by-election has been necessary to fill a vacancy for one of England’s combined authority mayors.
The cost of the contest is expected run into the millions, with the 2024 mayoral election costing the taxpayer £4.7 million.
In 2024, Mr Burnham won 420,749 of the 663,631 (63%) valid votes cast across the 10 authorities.
The Conservatives followed in second place with 10%, an independent candidate was third on 50,304 (8%), Reform UK was fourth on 49,532 (7%), the Greens fifth on 45,905 (7%) and the Liberal Democrats sixth on 28,195 (4%).
Mr Burnham was elected in a first-past-the-post (FPP) system in 2024, the same method of voting used in UK general elections, where the candidate with the most votes is declared the winner.
This week’s by-election is using the supplementary vote (SV) method, which was used in 2017 and 2021.
Labour passed legislation earlier this year to return to the SV system, under which voters select a first and second choice.
If any candidate wins more than 50% of the first-choice votes, they are declared the winner.
If no candidate has more than 50% of first-choice votes, all but the top two candidates are eliminated and the count moves to a second round.
The ballot papers of the eliminated candidates are counted again and if there are any second-choice votes for the two remaining candidates, these are added to their first-choice totals.
The candidate with the highest overall total of first and second-choice votes is declared the winner.
Voters do not have to mark a second choice on their ballot papers, but they must mark a first choice or their vote will not be counted.
