Voters head to the polls to choose Andy Burnham's replacement as Greater Manchester mayor after he triggered ballot costing taxpayers £5m so he could oust Keir Starmer as PM

Voters are heading to the polls in Greater Manchester to choose who will replace Andy Burnham as their new regional mayor.The biggest by-election in UK history - of more than two million voters - was triggered when Mr Burnham resigned from the mayoralty earlier this year so that he could oust Keir Starmer as prime minister.The cost of the contest is expected to run into the millions of pounds, with the 2024 mayoral election in Greater Manchester - won by Mr Burnham - costing the taxpayer £4.7million.Meanwhile the cost of last month's Makerfield by-election, which allowed Mr Burnham to return to the House of Commons and become PM, has been estimated at around £225,000.Mr Burnham is urging voters in Greater Manchester to back Labour's Bev Craig, who is the bookmakers' heavy favourite, as his replacement as mayor.But Nigel Farage is calling for residents to opt for his Reform UK candidate Sian Astley, while Green leader Zack Polanski reckons his party could 'pull off a shock' with their hopeful Geraldine Coggins.Residents of Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan will be able to have their say on Thursday, with Mr Burnham coming first in all 10 areas in 2017, 2021 and 2024.He won 420,749 of the 663,631 (63 per cent) valid votes cast across the 10 authorities in 2024. Labour candidate Bev Craig arrives to vote at a polling station in Didsbury in the contest to replace Andy Burnham as Greater Manchester mayor The biggest by-election in UK history was triggered when Mr Burnham resigned from the mayoralty earlier this year so that he could oust Keir Starmer as prime minister Nigel Farage is calling for residents in Greater Manchester to opt for his Reform UK candidate Sian AstleyMs Craig is the leader of Manchester City Council, and Ms Astley and Liberal Democrat candidate Richard Kilpatrick also sit on the authority. Tory candidate Phil Eckersley and Ms Coggins are Trafford councillors.As he urged voters to back Ms Astley, Mr Farage 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 Polanski insisted his Green Party could top the poll, despite Labour appearing on course for victory.'Reform have barely turned up and Labour have acted like they have it in the bag,' he said.'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 Burnham said: '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.Restore Britain candidate Marlon West works as a mental health nurse but was given an 18-month suspension earlier this month by the Nursing and Midwifery Council after comments he made on social media about sexual grooming by Pakistani men.Party leader Rupert Lowe said Mr West 'is the best qualified candidate for any mayoral race for a very long time'.'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,' he added.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.Independent candidate Marcus Farmer is standing again having previously stood against Mr Burnham in 2021, receiving just under 1 per cent of the vote. He also stood in 2017.Polls opened 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.Mr Burnham was elected in a first-past-the-post system in 2024, the same method of voting used in UK general elections, where the candidate with the most votes is declared the winner.But Thursday'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 per cent of the first-choice votes, they are declared the winner.If no candidate has more than 50 per cent 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.