Prime Minister Andy Burnham has urged voters in Greater Manchester to back Labour’s Bev Craig, who he said will make sure “every town, every borough” shares in the region’s success.
The by-election, which will be the biggest in UK history with more than two million people eligible to vote, was triggered after Mr Burnham resigned from the post earlier this year as part of his plan to become Prime Minister.
He was elected as the Labour MP for Makerfield in June before taking over from Sir Keir Starmer this month.
Seven candidates are standing to succeed Mr Burnham, including Ms Craig for Labour, Phil Eckersley for the Conservatives, Geraldine Coggins for the Green Party and Sian Astley for Reform UK.
Liberal Democrat Richard Kilpatrick is also standing, alongside Restore Britain’s Marlon West and independent candidate Marcus Farmer.
Residents of Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan will be able to have their say on Thursday.
Mr Burnham came first in all 10 areas in 2017, 2021 and 2024.
Speaking ahead of polling day, he said serving as mayor for nearly a decade was an “immense privilege”.
He added: “After years working alongside Bev Craig, I have no doubt that she will work every single day to build on the progress we’ve all made together.
“Bev will focus on putting more money in your pocket, giving families more breathing space on the cost of living and making sure young people across every borough have the opportunities they need to thrive. Bev will do this by working in lockstep with every community across our city region so we can shape our future together.
“She is the only candidate who will make sure every town, every borough and every person shares in Greater Manchester’s success.
“Together, for our future, vote Bev Craig today to be our next mayor of Greater Manchester.”
Labour’s Ms Craig is the leader of Manchester City Council. Reform’s Ms Astley and Lib Dem Mr Kilpatrick also sit on the council.
Both Conservative Mr Eckersley and the Greens’ Ms Coggins are Trafford councillors.
Ms Coggins argued Greater Manchester needs “full-fat devolution, not semi-skimmed”, adding: “Labour in Greater Manchester has been a developers’ paradise, handing over large sums of money to developers to build unaffordable flats.
“I will be demanding powers to take them back and to impose tough financial penalties for land banking.”
Mr Eckersley has previously said “as a business owner, father and local councillor, I understand the challenges facing families, businesses and communities across our city-region”.
Restore’s Mr West works as a mental health nurse but he was given an 18-month suspension earlier this month by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) following comments he made on social media about sexual grooming by Pakistani men.
Mr West has co-written a book, In Plain Sight, with his daughter, Scarlett, about rape and sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Asian men.
Restore Britain’s leader, Rupert Lowe, said Mr West “is the best qualified candidate for any mayoral race for a very long time”, adding: “He has lost so much in his fight, including just being struck off nursing because he spoke out about his daughter’s rape. It’s scandalous.”
Mr Farmer, an independent candidate, previously stood against Mr Burnham in 2021, receiving just under 1% of the vote. He also stood in 2017.
Polls will open at 7am and close at 10pm on Thursday.
Votes will not be counted until Friday, with the result likely to be announced in the afternoon.
It is the first time a by-election has been necessary to fill a vacancy for one of England’s combined authority mayors.
The cost of the contest is expected run into the millions, with the 2024 mayoral election costing the taxpayer £4.7 million.
In 2024, Mr Burnham won by 63%, with 420,749 of the 663,631 valid votes cast in his favour across the 10 authorities.
The Conservatives followed in second place with 10%, an independent candidate was third on 50,304 (8%), Reform UK fourth on 49,532 (7%), the Greens fifth on 45,905 (7%) and the Liberal Democrats sixth on 28,195 (4%).
Mr Burnham was elected in a first-past-the-post (FPP) system in 2024, the same method of voting used in UK general elections, where the candidate with the most votes is declared the winner.
This week’s by-election is using the supplementary vote (SV) method, which was used in both 2017 and 2021.
Labour passed legislation earlier this year to return to the SV system. Under this, voters mark their ballot papers with a first and second choice.
If any candidate wins more than 50% of the first-choice votes, they are declared the winner.
But if no candidate has more than 50% of first-choice votes, all but the top two candidates are eliminated and the count moves to a second round.
The ballot papers of the eliminated candidates are counted again and if there are any second-choice votes for the two remaining candidates, these are added to their first-choice totals.
The candidate with the highest overall total of first and second-choice votes is declared the winner.
Voters do not have to mark a second choice on their ballot papers, but they must mark a first choice or else their vote will not be counted.
