Bev Craig says she’ll be “hitting the ground running” following election as the new Mayor of Greater Manchester

Bev Craig has said she’s looking forward to “hitting the ground running”, following her election as the new mayor of Greater Manchester last night.

This morning, she was joined by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, where the pair both thanked Labour supporters for all their efforts in this mayoral campaign.

Bev described the result as “incredible”, and mentioned that winning 47% of the first round votes was “incredibly humbling”, after initial polls suggested it could be much closer between her and the Reform UK Candidate, Sian Astley. 
 

The nature of this by-election means that Craig will have to face the electorate once again in 2028, giving her just under two years in office to prove herself. During her campaign, she promised a lot, including a pledge to put more money in voters’ pockets, making Greater Manchester’s streets safer, and having pride in all of the town centres across the region. Given the short timescale to act on these promises, we asked Bev if she felt under pressure to deliver.

She said: “I think anyone in this job should feel the pressure, because this is an honour and a privilege”. She pointed to her record as leader of Manchester City Council, saying that she committed to and delivered on council and social housing, with Manchester building more new homes last year than they had done in the previous 25.

Bev revealed her plans for Saturday afternoon- “I’ll be going into the office, getting ready for Monday, prepping for Monday, hitting the ground running.”

Bev Craig won the Greater Manchester Mayoral by-election following the second round of voting, winning 309,525 votes, compared to Reform UK, whose candidate, Sian Astley, won 157,178.