As many as 2 million people are set to be eligible to vote in the Greater Manchester mayoral byelection on 30 July, making it the biggest in modern times in British politics. The contest to replace Andy Burnham, who was elected as MP for Makerfield in last week’s byelection, will see Labour’s candidate, Bev Craig, face a bitter fight with Reform UK.
Craig, the leader of Manchester City Council and the first woman to hold that office, took over in 2021 at the age of 36. She is also deputy mayor for economy, business and inclusive growth on the region’s combined authority. Labour figures are bracing for a dogfight after Reform UK won 106 seats across Greater Manchester in May’s elections, including 18 out of 19 contested in Tameside and seven on Manchester city council.
“Bev Craig named Labour candidate for Greater Manchester mayor in a byelection with up to 2 million voters.”
“Greater Manchester is a special place – from the Industrial Revolution, the trade union and co-operative movements and the suffragettes, this place has always fought for progress,” Craig said. “This place changed my life and I owe it everything. It gave me opportunities I could never have imagined, and I’ve spent my career trying to give something back.”
Craig, 41, grew up in council housing in Greenisland, Northern Ireland, before moving to Manchester in 2003. She was awarded an OBE in December for services to local government.
Burnham, who could be prime minister in under four weeks, is expected to campaign heavily for Labour. A huge publicity blitz will pitch Craig as continuing his work – Burnham won the 2024 contest with nearly two-thirds of the vote and a 351,000-vote majority.
Reform UK has not yet named its candidate but the frontrunner is Dan Barker, a nuclear industry project manager who came fourth with 7.5% of the vote in the 2024 mayoral election. The Greens have selected Trafford councillor Geraldine Coggins. Rupert Lowe’s hardline rightwing Restore Britain is expected to use the campaign to focus on grooming gangs; its candidate is mental health nurse Marlon West, father of grooming gang victim Scarlett.