Counting is under way in the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election
Voters in all 10 boroughs of the ceremonial county took to the polls on Thursday to decide who will replace now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who stood down from the role following his election as an MP last month
It represents the first electoral test for Labour under Burnham, our reporter at the count writes
Seven candidates are standing in the contest - whoever wins will become the second person ever elected to the role, one of the most powerful in English politics
They will be responsible for some key services we use every day, including public transport and local policing
We’ve just got the figures through for the number of people who turned out to vote in the election.
There were 538,659 verified ballots cast across Greater Manchester, that's out of 2,142,779 eligible to take part.
That works out at just over one in four people voting - 25.14%.
The last mayoral election in 2024 had a turnout of almost one in three - 32.05%. So the numbers are down about 7%.
Image source, getAndy Burnham speaks after winning the Greater Manchester mayoral election in 2017
Whoever is elected today will only be the second person to have been voted in as the mayor of Greater Manchester.
Andy Burnham was voted in as mayor in 2017, and then again in 2021 and 2024.
The role was announced in 2014 as part of the then Conservative-Liberal Democrats coalition government, which said it would help to "create a Northern Powerhouse to maximise the economic potential of the north".
Before Burnham was elected, the role was held by ex-Labour MP Tony Lloyd, who was appointed to the job on an interim basis after it was first created in 2015.
Residents across Greater Manchester were eligible to vote in the election for the new mayor of the city region.
This includes people living in all 10 boroughs - Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.
Individuals had to be registered to vote as a local government elector in one of the 10 areas and be 18 or over on the day of the election.
Image source, Reform UKSian Astley, Reform UK: Astley represents the Baguley ward on the Manchester City Council and said she had been a Labour voter in the past, adding that "the vice-like grip the party has held over Manchester has been evident for decades".
Image source, Green PartyGeraldine Coggins, Green Party: Coggins, a councillor for Trafford since 2018, is a published academic with a background in leadership, public finance and strategic decision-making. She has pledged to improve transport, housing and choose "people and planet over profits".
Image source, Labour PartyBev Craig, Labour: As well as leading Manchester City Council, Craig is the deputy mayor for economy, business and inclusive growth on the region's combined authority. She said Greater Manchester changed her life, adding "I've spent my career trying to give something back".
Image source, Trafford ConservativesPhil Eckersley, Conservative: Eckersley currently represents Bowdon ward on Trafford Council, where he is his party's deputy leader and shadow executive member for health and care.
Marcus Farmer, Independent: Farmer is standing in his third Greater Manchester mayoral election. The businessman came sixth out of nine candidates in 2021, receiving just under 1% of the vote with 6,448 votes.
Image source, Liberal DemocratsRichard Kilpatrick, Liberal Democrats: Kilpatrick, a former teacher who has been a councillor in the Didsbury area since 2018, has pledged to "tackle the cost of living crisis, improve public services and deliver desperately needed housing for the region".
Image source, Restore BritainMarlon West, Restore Britain: A former mental health nurse, West became a prominent activist on the issue of child grooming gangs after his daughter, Scarlett, was targeted and raped, and the pair published a book on their experiences.
Image source, ReutersAndy Burnham at the result of the Makerfield by-election in June
The Greater Manchester mayoral election was triggered by the resignation of Andy Burnham after his victory in the Makerfield by-election last month.
The victory gave him a seat in the House of Commons, which he used to become prime minister following Keir Starmer's resignation.
By law, an MP cannot sit in the Commons and hold a metropolitan mayor role that has powers over local policing.
This means Burnham had to stand down after being elected in Makerfield in June.
Burnham became the city region's first directly elected mayor in 2017 and went on to secure two further terms in office.
Michaela Howard
North of England senior producer
Verification has finished here for Manchester City council’s count but they are waiting for the other boroughs to finish theirs.
Those here to count the votes, are prepared for the long haul as the result isn’t expected until this afternoon. The counters appear to be experience at this – they are prepared for the down time.
Some knitting has been out, the fresh pages of a book have been turned and e-readers are being used to pass the time.
One table has a selection of bags of sweets across the front, some packets already opened and tucked into.
Rowan Bridge
North of England reporter at Manchester's Co-op Live arena
Counters at the ready at the Co-op Live arena
The last act to take to the stage at Co-op Live was Def Leppard. I suspect they had a slightly more raucous welcome than the hubbub of activity currently taking place on the arena floor.
Though the result today will have far greater impact and significance to people’s lives in Greater Manchester than Joe Elliot’s vocals. Scores of counters are due to start counting thousands of ballots cast in Manchester and allocating the first preference votes to the candidates standing.
The same process is taking place in the nine other boroughs which make up Greater Manchester. Once they’ve all finished counting we’ll know if anyone has won outright or if it’ll go to a run off between the top two candidates.
Milling around on the floor are representatives of some of the parties standing. At the moment Labour seem to have more smiles on their faces than the Greens. Make of that what you will.
Image source, Christopher Furlong / Pool via AFPShortly after the polls closed last night, Andy Burnham announced he would be giving greater powers to mayors across England as part of his ambition to distribute power out of Whitehall.
The Prime Minister will give all mayors of city regions in England a share of income tax revenue for the first time, saying he would "make good" on his pledge to "bring power home" to "every postcode in the country".
He will also allow English strategic authorities to keep some cash from business rates collected in their areas, and gain greater control over services such as housing, transport, skills.
The government has not yet decided the exact portion of taxes mayors will get, with more details to be announced when Chancellor John Healey delivers his first budget in the autumn.
Opposition parties said the plans lacked detail and could lead to areas with weaker economies losing out on funding.
Kevin Fitzpatrick
Political reporter for Greater Manchester
Image source, EPAHousing, growing local economies and public transport have been among the big themes dominating this mayoral campaign, with a key question for candidates being whether to continue the schemes launched by Burnham.
Labour is promising to extend the free bus pass (available for 16 to 18-year-olds) to passengers aged 11 to 18, with the Greens and Liberal Democrats saying they’d make it free up to the age of 22. But the Conservatives intend to review free travel offers to ensure they’re affordable.
On housing, Labour’s candidate is committing to 50,000 new homes over 15 years while the Greens say it’d be 20,000 over 10. Reform UK’s candidate says the issue isn’t a housing shortage, it’s too much immigration.
One thing they all agree on though is a greater focus on the outer towns of the city region, with candidates proposing various schemes aimed at breathing life into struggling high streets
Rowan Bridge
North of England reporter at Manchester's Co-op Live arena
Image source, BBC/Rowan BridgeThe verification of ballot papers is under way. That’s to check things like the number of people who’ve voted and to weed out spoilt ballot papers.
It’s the stage before the votes themselves are counted to see who will fill Andy Burnham’s shoes - and office - now that he’s swapped the mayor’s Oxford Road address for Downing Street.
The final result will be announced here at Co-op Live, the cavernous concert area.
The election is significant for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it will decide who takes up the powers that come with the office, and who will be the public face and cheerleader for the city-region.
But it’s also the largest electoral test for Labour since their disastrous results in the May local elections which ultimately cost Keir Starmer his role as prime minister, and led to the last mayor taking his job.
During those local elections in Greater Manchester, Labour lost seats to the Greens and Reform. Andy Burnham may have been PM for less than two weeks, but this is the first electoral test for his leadership, and one that will be watched closely.
If Labour lose, it will be in Burnham’s back yard and will no doubt raise questions - however premature - about how far replacing the leader can win back disaffected voters.
If Labour beat Reform UK, it will be Nigel Farage who may face questions about if Reform’s surge in the polls can be maintained.
And where might the Greens finish? After winning the Gorton and Denton by-election can they maintain the momentum? We’ll know the answers to all these questions by the end of today.
Ian Shoesmith
North West
As we mentioned in our previous post, voters in the Greater Manchester mayoral election were asked to select both a first and second choice of candidate.
This is very different from most elections in England, which use the first past the post (FPTP) system, where the candidate with the highest number of votes is elected.
The supplementary vote (SV) system was used in the first two mayoral elections in Greater Manchester in 2017 and 2021, but was scrapped by the last Conservative government in favour of FPTP system ahead of the 2024 election in which Andy Burnham won a third term.
The current Labour government brought it back ahead of Thursday's election.
Prof Jonathan Tonge from the University of Liverpool thinks Labour's candidate Bev Craig could benefit from this change.
He says Labour could pick up second preference votes from the Greens and Lib Dems, while Reform UK could be less likely to see Restore voters put them as second preference due to "bad blood" between their leaders.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe voting system for this by-election is slightly different to what many of us are used to from elections past - it's called the supplementary vote (SV) system.
Under the SV system, voters get to have a first and second choice.
If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote after first preference votes are counted, the top two candidates will go into a run-off, in which second preference votes from the eliminated candidates are counted.
It was previously used in the Greater Manchester mayoral contests in 2017 and 2021, but was ditched by the previous Conservative government ahead of the vote in 2024, when first past the post was used instead.
Seven candidates were on the ballot to be the next mayor of Greater Manchester - here's a list (in alphabetical order, by surname):
Image source, PA MediaPrime Minister Andy Burnham - the former Greater Manchester mayor - cast his vote in the by-election yesterday
The vote count in Greater Manchester mayoral by-election has begun.
Later this afternoon, residents will find out who will replace now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham in the job.
He quit the role last month when he was elected as an MP and returned to Parliament.
Burnham was the first Greater Manchester mayor - he was elected to the mayoralty in 2017 before then being re-elected in 2021 and 2024.
Voters went to the polls yesterday to vote for which of the seven candidates they want to replace him, and now counting is under way.
We'll bring you all the news lines and analysis here in this page.
