LONDON, England: Labour candidate, Bev Craig, has won the largest by-election in British history as she was elected Greater Manchester mayor in a vote triggered by Andy Burnham’s departure to become British prime minister, PA Media/dpa reported.
The result was announced late on Friday night, more than 24 hours after polling stations closed, in a comfortable win, although with a low turnout.
Craig secured 47.15 per cent of the vote in the first round, falling just short of the 50 per cent threshold required for an outright victory under the Supplementary Vote (SV) system.
A second round was therefore held between Craig and Reform UK candidate, Sian Astley, who received 20.99 per cent of the vote.
Labour gained 58,076 votes after the second preferences of the five eliminated candidates were redistributed, while Reform gained 45,250. This left Craig with 309,525 votes and Astley with 157,178.
More than 2 million people were eligible to vote in the contest, triggered by Burnham’s election to parliament last month, but the turnout was just under 25 per cent.
In her victory speech at Manchester’s Co-Op Arena Live, Craig said: “To have trust placed in you is an honour.
“I’m honoured, I’m humbled and I stand ready to serve the three million people that live across this fantastic city region. I will serve every single one of them, every single day.”
“I never believed as a girl growing up on a council estate that one day I would have the chance to stand for the place that I love, the place in this world that I’m proud to call home and to offer my service to make our city region better.” – BERNAMA-PA MEDIA/dpa
