On July 30th the Manchester Mayoral By-Election to replace Andy Burnham was held. It was held under the supplementary vote system where each voter gets a first preference and second preference vote. If a candidate gets a majority of first preference votes, then they are elected. Failing that, second preference votes are used to decide between the two candidates with the highest first preference vote tallies. Manchester Mayoral By-Election Facts
- Turnout – 25.1%, lowest ever
- Labour’s Bev Craig Elected
- First time Labour have failed to win 50% in first round
- Worst Conservative performance ever
- Best Reform and Green performance ever
Manchester Mayoral By-Election Results
The Winners
Labour – A loss would have been a terrible start for Andy Burnham’s premiership and this is obvious great news for Bev Craig, Manchester’s new Mayor.
Restore Britain – The fringe far right party beat both Conservative and LibDem totals. This is higher than Reform’s best result in Manchester excepting this election.
The Losers
Reform UK – They will have wanted a much closer result here, if not an upset. Andy Burnham’s confident start combined with Nigel Farage’s continued financial issues and less-than-epic showdown with Count Binface seem to have shown voters a new side to the Party.
The Conservatives – Kemi Badenoch seems pretty smug at the moment. Enduring less bad press than Reform UK and less turmoil than Labour. This result may point to the reason… nobody cares about the Conservatives right now.
The Policies
As mayor, Bev Craig has promised to:
- Freeze Metrolink and bus fares on the Bee Network and extend free bus travel to 11 to 18-year-olds
- Deliver 50,000 more homes over the next 15 years
- Spend £20m on revitalising high streets in Manchester
She has also pledged to “rise to the challenge” of new powers being devolved to Mayors, including a share of income tax being directed their way that Andy Burnham announced last week.
Final Thought
Labour may feel relieved at this result but it reinforces the trend that shows UK politics turning into a multi-party system with traditional parties struggling to compete. Britain now has two parties competing to the Conservatives’ right that are changing politics and culture more than any announcement from Number 10. Any Labour Government than fails to halt this slide will be seen by history as a failure.
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