2026 Greater Manchester mayoral by-election

The Mayor of Greater Manchester serves as the directly elected leader of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. The Mayor has power over an investment directly to the combined authority from the government of £30 million a year for 30 years from 2017. The Mayor also incorporates the police and crime commissioner role of the Greater Manchester Police into their post. In addition to these, the mayor has authority over strategic housing planning, transport, adult education and skills, social care and other issues.^[2]

The first election was held in 2017. The Labour candidate Andy Burnham was elected as the inaugural mayor, and he was re-elected in 2021 and 2024. In 2026, Burnham applied to be the Labour Party candidate in the 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election but his candidacy was blocked by the party's National Executive Committee. During the 2026 Labour Party leadership crisis surrounding Keir Starmer, Burnham was selected as the Labour Party candidate in the Makerfield by-election, which he won comfortably.^[3][4] Burnham subsequently became Prime Minister, succeeding Starmer whom he had previously supported during the 2020 leadership election.^[5][6][7]

Mayors of combined authorities that hold police and crime commissioner powers are disqualified if they become a member of Parliament, triggering a mayoral by-election.^[8] 30 July 2026 was identified before the Makerfield by-election as the likely date for the by-election, and was confirmed by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority the morning the Makerfield result was announced.^[9][10] The normal cycle for Greater Manchester mayoral elections is once every four years and the 2028 Greater Manchester mayoral election is still scheduled to take place:^[11] the candidate elected in 2026 will serve until the 2028 election.

With an electorate of over two million people, it was the by-election with the largest electorate ever held in the United Kingdom.^[b][13] It was the first strategic authority mayor by-election^[13] and the cost of holding it was expected to be £4.7 million.^[14]

While the 2024 election was conducted using the first-past-the-post system to elect the mayor, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 re-introduced the Supplementary Vote system which had been used for all prior Greater Manchester mayoral elections. Voters were able to vote for two candidates, expressing a first and second preference. If a candidate receives more than 50% of first preference votes, they are elected mayor. If no candidate breaks the 50% threshold, all but the top two candidates are eliminated and the votes for the eliminated candidates are re-allocated to their second preference if cast for either of the two remaining candidates. After all second preference votes are counted and added to the first preference tallies, the candidate among the remaining two who has the most votes is declared the winner and elected.^[14][15] In the election, the candidates in the second round were Bev Craig and Sian Astley.^[16]

All electors registered to vote in Greater Manchester aged 18 or over were entitled to vote in the mayoral by-election, including those who were temporarily away from Greater Manchester (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital). The deadline to register to vote in the election was 14 July 2026, and 15 July 2026 for postal votes.^[17] Nominations for mayoral candidates closed on 3 July 2026.^[18]

Bev Craig, the Labour Party candidate, has promised to extend the cheap fares on the Bee Network, for example by expanding the £2 bus fare cap and making buses free for 11–18 year olds and disabled people.^[19][20] She also promised to use the tax income from growth in the city centre to fund investment in other towns in the county, in order to create jobs and distribute wealth and opportunity.^[19] Her main housing policy is building 50,000 new council homes and affordable homes, in order to reduce reliance on temporary accommodation.^[19][20] She has said these affordable homes will be capped at housing benefit rates by 2039.^[21] Professor Jon Tonge, political expert at the University of Liverpool, called affordable housing "a vulnerability for Labour".^[21] Craig has also promised to create a "Gen-Z commission" for the authority, and to ensure that every town has a youth centre available.^[22] When speaking at an LGBTQ+ hustings during the campaign, Craig said in her time in politics she has been "told maybe I should grow my hair or be less gay" as an experience of being "one of the most visible lesbians in politics".^[23] Craig has said that skyscrapers remain a major issue in Manchester, promising to use the Housing Investment Fund for affordable homes, which the Financial Times states Burnham did not do.^[21]

Sian Astley, the Reform UK candidate, promised to "go to war" with vape shops and barbers' shops which are "dodgy", as part of a wider strengthening of Greater Manchester Police to become "the toughest force in Britain".^[24] Reform UK say they want to "stop the region becoming a dumping ground for illegal migrants".^[24] She expanded on immigration by saying, "Personally I’d just ensure the Green voters, uni-party MPs (present or past) and Cllrs house the illegal criminals, rapists and economic chancers [...]".^[25] Reform UK also want to triple the use of police stop and search and launch a review into the Clean Air Zone plans.^[24] On 6 July 2026, speaking of Burnham's time as mayor Astley said, "I think there are over 20,000 households on the Manchester housing register, and they haven't built social housing for decades".^[26] The Independent analysed official government figures and concluded that thousands of social and affordable homes have been built across the region during Mr Burnham's tenure.^[26] Reform UK told The Independent that Astley had "mis-spoke".^[26] Astley promised to stop funding the creation of bike lanes and to use JCB pothole-filling machines to deal with the number of potholes in the Greater Manchester area.^[27][28] However, The New World pointed out that JCB had donated £200,000 to Reform UK prior to the party beginning to promote their machinery, and that road repairs do not fall under the mayor of Greater Manchester's responsibilities.^[28] On 9 July, Reform UK urged its party activists to shift their focus from the mayoral by-election to support party leader Nigel Farage in the 2026 Clacton by-election.^[29]

Green Party candidate, Geraldine Coggins, said her main priority as mayor would be to make everyday life across Greater Manchester more affordable for ordinary people.^[19] One of her pledges is to purchase 10,000 existing homes to be refurbished and made available to let quickly, while 10,000 new publicly-owned homes are being built, resulting in 20,000 affordable and publicly owned homes over a decade.^[19][30] Coggins manifesto also says she will demand Westminster brings in rent controls, saving renters £2,400 a year and saving the Treasury £2 billion a year in housing benefits.^[19] Coggins would introduce "Bee Orbit", high-frequency express orbital bus routes linking towns such as Rochdale, Oldham, Tameside, Stockport, Bolton, Bury and Wigan, make bus travel free for everyone under the age of 22, and prioritise walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure.^[19] Coggins supports extending Didsbury tramline into Stockport, saying she would push for the tram to go "as far as it can go", but that, "trams are an expensive and slow solution. Buses and active transport [walking, scooting, and cycling] can be done so much cheaper and have an enormous impact much quicker and much cheaper. Trams are part of the solution but not the whole solution".^[31] In regards to the high street, Coggins would, "revive high streets with a £10 million fund to help councils and community groups take over empty shops".^{[30][non-primary source needed]}

The Conservative Party announced on 28 June that Phil Eckersley, a Trafford councillor and deputy leader of Trafford Conservatives, would be its candidate.^[32] The Green Party of England and Wales announced Geraldine Coggins, the leader of the Green Party group on Trafford Council, as its candidate on 20 June.^[33] The Labour Party announced Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council since 2021, as its candidate on 23 June.^[34] The Liberal Democrats announced Richard Kilpatrick, a councillor for Didsbury West on Manchester City Council, as its candidate on 25 June.^[35]

Reform UK announced on 29 June that landlord and businesswoman Sian Astley would be its candidate. Astley owns 17 small flats across three properties in south Manchester.^[36] Astley is also a Manchester City councillor, representing the Baguley ward and is the group leader for Reform UK.^[37] Restore Britain announced Marlon West, a former nurse and campaigner against child sexual exploitation, whose daughter had been raped and tortured by a grooming gang, as its candidate on 22 June.^[38] West had been suspended and then quit his job as a nurse following a private discussion in a Facebook group chat where he described what happened to his daughter being deemed as "[not] treat[ing] people of all races and nationalities with dignity and respect" by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.^[39]

The official Statement of Persons Nominated was published by GMCA on 6 July. It included all the above candidates who had already announced their intention to stand, plus Marcus Farmer, an independent.^[40] George Galloway had announced his intention to stand for the Workers Party of Britain and that he would end his self-imposed exile in Russia to do so.^[41] However, he was not nominated as a candidate.^[42][40]

* Including total rejected ballots.

• 2026 Manchester City Council election
• 2026 Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner by-election
• 2026 UK Labour Party leadership election