Labour wins decisive victory in Greater Manchester as Bev Craig defeats Reform UK

Labour held onto one of England's most powerful elected offices, while Reform UK suffered a setback amid mounting investigations into the party's finances and leader Nigel Farage.MANCHESTER, England (CN) — Labour retained control of Greater Manchester’s powerful mayoralty on Friday after former Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig defeated far-right Reform UK candidate Sian Astley, handing Prime Minister Andy Burnham an early electoral boost in his first major test since taking office.Craig won 309,525 votes after second-preference ballots were counted, defeating Astley, who finished with 157,178.Labour took 47% of first-preference votes, ahead of Reform UK’s 21%, with the Green Party finishing third at 12%.No candidate won more than half of first-preference votes, triggering the supplementary voting system.Under the system, only the top two candidates remain while second-preference votes cast for eliminated candidates are redistributed. After those votes were counted, Craig’s share rose to 66%, while Reform UK’s increased to 33%.“I am honored, I am humbled, and I stand ready to serve the three million people that live across this fantastic city region,” Craig said after the result was declared.“I never believed as a girl growing up on a council estate that one day I would have a chance to stand for the place that I love,” she said.The victory extends Labour’s control of a region that has become an early measure of Burnham’s leadership after he left the mayoralty to return to Parliament, where he was elected Labour leader and later became prime minister.It also suggests Labour has regained support in one of its traditional strongholds after Reform made major gains in recent local elections.National opinion polls have shown Labour reclaiming the lead under Burnham after trailing Reform for more than a year.Greater Manchester’s mayor is one of England’s most powerful elected officials outside the national government.The office oversees transport, policing, housing, strategic planning, waste management and parts of the region’s healthcare system for about 3 million residents across 10 local authorities.The result followed lengthy delays in counting ballots cast Thursday. Almost 540,000 people voted, producing a turnout of about 25% — the lowest since Greater Manchester first elected a mayor in 2017.The election was triggered after Burnham resigned as mayor following his victory in a parliamentary special election that returned him to the House of Commons.Burnham became Greater Manchester’s inaugural mayor in 2017 and was reelected in 2021 and 2024 before stepping down.His return to Parliament ultimately led to former Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s resignation after Labour lawmakers withdrew their support for his leadership, paving the way for Burnham to become the party’s leader and later form a government.Greater Manchester has been a Labour stronghold for more than a century, reflecting its industrial heritage and high levels of trade union membership.But the party’s support has weakened in recent years as Reform expanded across northern England. Reform won 31% of the vote in the region’s recent local council elections, while eight of Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs voted to leave the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum.Labour’s victory also comes as Reform faces mounting scrutiny over its finances.London’s Metropolitan Police are investigating whether 500,000 pounds in donations made before recent elections breached Britain’s political finance laws by concealing their original source.Separately, the Parliament standards watchdog is investigating whether Reform leader Nigel Farage, a member of Parliament, failed to declare a 5 million pound benefit from cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne.The watchdog paused active hearings after Farage resigned his Clacton seat to trigger an Aug. 13 special election, but the investigation remains open.Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads