Lucy Powell is at the centre of Labour’s search for a candidate in the 30 July Greater Manchester mayoral election. Labour has still not selected who will try to replace Andy Burnham, after he became Makerfield MP.
The contest is for a post that has grown into one of the most influential in British politics outside Westminster. Labour wants to keep it, and the election will use supplementary vote: voters pick a first and second choice, with second choices counted for the top two if no one clears 50% at the first count.
Bev Craig and Labour
Bev Craig is widely believed to be Labour’s frontrunner. She has led Manchester city council since 2021, but Labour has not set out a public choice yet, leaving the party without a named standard-bearer as the campaign timetable is already fixed.
Paul Dennett became interim mayor of Greater Manchester after Burnham’s election as an MP, and he is not expected to stand in the contest. That leaves Labour facing a short runway before voters decide who takes over a role Burnham has vacated as he maps out the final steps on his path to Downing Street.
Geraldine Coggins and the Greens
The Greens have already started their campaign. Geraldine Coggins was selected as the Green candidate on Saturday, and more than 50,000 leaflets have been printed to promote her campaign.
A source close to the Greens said the party is treating the race as a real opening, saying it is “like Gorton and Denton” and that it is “throwing everything at this because we really think we can win it”. The same source said Coggins is being presented as “someone who clearly represents something different to the politics of normal, while at the same time being very credible”.
Greater Manchester’s supplementary vote
The Greens also see the voting system as part of their path. Under supplementary vote, first choices are counted first, then second choices for the top two if nobody passes 50% immediately. The system was used for mayoral elections until 2022, when the Conservative government replaced it with first past the post.
A source close to the Greens said Labour faces a different problem: “What we know is that the brand of Andy Burnham massively outstrips the brand of the Labour party at the moment. So when you just put another Labour party politician in on that Labour ballot, there’s no real reason to think that they’re going to get that Andy Burnham bounce.” That leaves Labour needing a candidate who can stand on more than Burnham’s name alone when the 30 July vote arrives.
