Bev Craig has been elected mayor of Greater Manchester, succeeding Andy Burnham after a comfortable Labour victory over Reform UK’s Sian Astley in a by-election. Her win preserves Labour’s control of one of England’s most influential devolved mayoralties, although it came amid historically low turnout and followed a second round of voting for the first time in the region’s mayoral elections.

Craig received 47.15 per cent in the first round, then won the run-off with 309,525 first- and second-preference votes to Astley’s 157,178. Turnout was roughly one in four eligible voters, below the previous low of 28.9 per cent in 2017, with election fatigue cited as a possible factor; the Greens failed to reach the run-off despite recent local gains, while Reform suffered its third electoral setback in Greater Manchester this year.