Labour Wins Landslide Victory in Greater Manchester Mayoral Byelection

Bev Craig succeeds Andy Burnham in decisive win that signals voter return to Labour

Labour has secured a commanding victory in the Greater Manchester mayoral byelection, winning 47% of first-preference votes and ultimately 66% after second preferences were counted. Reform UK finished a distant second with 21%, while the Greens secured third place with 12% of the vote.

The result represents a significant boost for the new Prime Minister. It also raises troubling questions for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which has surrendered its year-long lead in national polls amid deepening funding controversies.

Labour sources confirmed the party won in every ward across multiple boroughs, including Bury and Tameside, and took 17 of 20 wards in Oldham—where Reform had recently gained 13 councillors and ended Labour’s 15-year grip. The party also won every ward in Gorton and Denton, the constituency won by the Greens in February.

The byelection, triggered by Andy Burnham’s election to Parliament on 18 June, saw turnout at just 25%—the third lowest of any mayoral byelection—due to low voter awareness and summer holiday timing.

Green candidate Geraldine Coggins claimed the result was “not a ringing endorsement” of Craig, noting that Burnham never won less than 60% in his three victories since 2017. “To have lost this much support in the honeymoon period of a new prime minister is not a positive sign,” she said.

However, a senior Labour source attributed the victory to Burnham’s prime ministership signalling “you can vote Labour again” and voter confidence in Craig.