Bev Craig
Council leader of Manchester since 2021
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beverley Anne Craig OBE is a Labour politician serving as the leader of Manchester City Council, and the councillor for Burnage.[1] As leader she is also a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and is the combined authority's portfolio lead for Economy, Business and Inclusive Growth.[2] She was also a founding signatory of Open Labour, an activist group for the soft left of the Labour Party.
.jpg)
Bev Craig | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2021 | |
| Leader of Manchester City Council | |
| Assumed office 1 December 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Leese |
| Member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority | |
| Assumed office December 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Leese |
| Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council | |
| In office 19 May 2021 – 1 December 2021 | |
| Member of Manchester City Council for Burnage | |
| Assumed office 5 May 2011 Serving with Azra Ali and Murtaza Iqbal | |
| Preceded by | John Cameron |
| Majority | 2,615 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester |
Craig was elected Leader of Manchester City Council by the ruling Labour group of councillors in October 2021, and officially succeeded Richard Leese at a full meeting of the council on his retirement on 1 December 2021.[3]
Biography
Craig is originally from Belfast and is the city council’s first female and LGBT leader. She grew up on a council estate just outside Belfast and moved to Manchester from Northern Ireland in 2003. She told the BBC, "I grew up in social housing and my family still rely on it. I know the value of [what] the safety net of a good quality home can give you when times are tough", and that she wanted "to reach a point where me being a woman and being gay is entirely uninteresting and unremarkable".[4]
She graduated from Manchester University in 2007 with a degree in politics and modern history and later gaining a postgraduate in Local Government Management from Warwick Business School and a MA in public policy and governance from UoM, both whilst working full time. She has held a range of jobs across local government, higher education and working for the trade union UNISON.
Before she was appointed as deputy leader of the council in May 2021, she spent four years as executive member for adult services, health, wellbeing and inclusion. She was also deputy chair of Manchester Health and Care Commissioning and co-chair of the Manchester Local Care Organisation.[5][6]
Craig is the Leader of the Labour Group and Vice-Chair of the Local Government Association, which supports councillors across England and Wales. She is the Vice-Chair of Greater Manchester Combined Authority and leads on the Economy, Business, and International Portfolio. Previously, she was Chair of Core Cities UK, a network representing the largest cities in the UK outside of London.[7][8]