Voters across Greater Manchester will head to the polls on Thursday to elect a new mayor for the city region — a role that, after the prime minister and the mayor of London, holds more power than any other politician in English politics. The election was triggered when Andy Burnham, who had been the region's mayor since 2017, won the Makerfield by-election and became prime minister, automatically resigning as mayor. The result will not only shape the future of a region of nearly three million people, but also serve as a critical test of the political mood after Burnham's first weeks in Number 10.
The Greater Manchester mayor is the directly elected leader of a combined authority covering ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan. The mayor controls a budget of hundreds of millions of pounds and has powers over transport, housing, planning, policing, and skills training. Unlike a traditional council leader, the mayor can veto local plans and make strategic decisions that affect the entire city region. Burnham used this platform to become a national figure, famously clashing with the central government over Covid restrictions and launching policies like the £2 bus fare cap — a measure he later rolled out across England as prime minister.
“Why the Greater Manchester mayoral election matters: who's replacing Andy Burnham, what the mayor does, and the stakes for UK devolution.”
The contest to replace him is led by Labour's Bev Craig, the current leader of Manchester City Council, who has run the city since 2021. She faces a tougher task outside the Labour stronghold of Manchester, where the party once held 95 of 96 council seats. In the other nine boroughs, eight voted Leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum, a fact that may give hope to Reform UK, which has been leading national polls for much of the past year. In the May 2026 local elections, Reform, the Greens, and the Liberal Democrats all made gains across England, and the Lib Dems regained control of Stockport Council from the Conservatives. However, Reform's momentum in Greater Manchester has been checked by recent by-election results: Hannah Spencer won Gorton and Denton for the Greens, and Burnham romped to victory in Makerfield for Labour. Meanwhile, Reform's leader Nigel Farage has been embroiled in controversy over his finances and a parliamentary standards investigation into a £5 million gift from a crypto billionaire. Farage resigned as MP for Clacton and is fighting a by-election there, limiting his ability to campaign in Greater Manchester.
For UK readers, this election matters because it is a bellwether for how devolution works in practice. Metro mayors were created in 2017 as part of a push to shift power from Whitehall to the regions. Burnham's success demonstrated that a mayor with a strong mandate could drive policy on housing, transport, and even the cost of living. The outcome will influence whether other regions seek more devolved powers and could shape the Labour government's approach to regional inequality. It also tests whether Labour can hold its northern heartlands against insurgent parties on both left and right, just as the party has regained the national lead in the polls for the first time in 16 months.
Q: What does the Greater Manchester mayor actually do? The mayor oversees strategic decisions on transport, housing, planning, policing, and skills training for the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. They control a combined authority budget and have the power to veto local development plans, set the region's housing strategy, and manage the bus network.
Q: When is the election and who are the main candidates? The election takes place on Thursday. Labour's candidate is Bev Craig, the leader of Manchester City Council. The other main parties — Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Greens, and Reform UK — are also fielding candidates, though the full list had not been confirmed at the time of writing.
Q: Why did Andy Burnham have to resign as mayor? Under UK rules, an MP cannot also be a metro mayor. When Burnham won the Makerfield by-election and became an MP, he automatically triggered a vacancy for the Greater Manchester mayoralty. He has since been chosen as Labour leader and prime minister.
What happens next will depend on the result. If Labour wins comfortably, it will reinforce the party's claim to have rebuilt its northern base. If Reform or another party makes a strong showing, it could signal that the regional political landscape is fragmenting further. The new mayor will take office soon after the count, inheriting a region with significant power over housing, transport, and the cost of living — and a national spotlight fixed firmly on their every move.