Michaela Howard
North of England senior producer, at the count

Image source, PA Media

There were whoops and cheers in the arena as Labour's Bev Craig was announced as the new mayor for Greater Manchester - a post made vacant by Andy Burnham when he took up his Parliamentary seat of Makerfield in June.

It had taken 25 hours since the polls closed for the result to be announced just before 23:00 BST. Supporters were tired as they waited until the end but they were jubilant. The mood all day from them had been of quiet confidence.

Craig had not won the required 50% of the votes to avoid a second round count. This was between the top two candidates - Bev Craig and Reform UK's Sian Astley. But she came out top with two thirds of the vote.

Image source, Getty Images

The Greater Manchester mayoral election comes as the city gets to grips with its position as a new centre of power for the government.

Since becoming prime minister, Andy Burnham has opened a northern branch of No 10 Downing Street, located in Heron House, central Manchester.

The prime minister will work there at least once a week, as will several senior Cabinet members, including Housing Secretary Angela Rayner and Education Secretary Lucy Powell.

No 10 North will regularly welcome regional mayors - including the new mayor of Greater Manchester - to take part in meetings of the National Economic Council, a cabinet committee first launched in 2008 to respond to economic challenges around the UK.

Craig goes on to say life is hard for the people of Manchester and she will try to make sure every decision she makes is aimed at putting "more money in your pocket".

"Everyone deserves a quality home in a good neighbourhood," she says, adding that people should be able to plan for their future and for their childrens' future.

What makes Manchester so special, she says, is the people who do such incredible things, "rejecting the politics of hate" and looking out for each.

She wraps up by promising to work for everyone, whether they voted for her or not.

"We have to move away from divisive politics, and we’ll do it together," she says.

"I am honoured, I am humbled, and I stand ready to serve the three million people that live across this fantastic city region," says Labour's Bev Craig as she addresses the count centre after being declared the new mayor of Greater Manchester.

"I never believed as a girl growing up on a council estate that one day I would have a chance to stand for the place that I love," she says.

Labour's Bev Craig wins the Greater Manchester mayoral election with a combined total of 309,525 votes, once first and second preferences are taken into account.

Reform UK's Sian Astley comes in second with a combined total of 157,178.

Labour's Bev Craig has been elected as the next Mayor of Greater Manchester, succeeding Andy Burnham.

Image source, PA Media

The result is about to be announced at the count centre in Manchester, with a group gathered in front of the stage.

It follows two counts of votes through Friday.

Stick with us, and you can watch live at the top of the page.

Image source, Pool

Reform UK candidate Sian Astley is also at the Manchester count.

She walked past the camera waving at someone a short while ago, as the two remaining candidates - Astley and Labour's Bev Craig who was spotted earlier - wait for the result of the second count to be announced.

Cameras have been at the count at the Co-Op live Arena all day as votes have been counted in the mayoral election.

After a first count earlier, it was announced that no candidate had received more than 50% of the vote.

As we've been reporting, a second count will now determine whether Labour's Bev Craig or Reform UK's Sian Astley is the winner.

Ian Shoesmith
North West

Andy Burnham secured three terms as Greater Manchester's mayor. In both the inaugural election of 2017 and in 2024 he secured 63% of the vote. In 2021 he did even better, with 67%.

The Supplementary Vote system used this year was also in operation in 2017 and 2021, with the more familiar First Past The Post system used in 2024.

The fact we're now counting second-preference votes means no candidate earned a majority of first-preference votes.

Therefore, whatever happens this evening, neither of the top-two candidates has matched Burnham's vote.

Rowan Bridge
North of England reporter at Manchester's Co-op Live arena

There's no word on when the next Mayor of Greater Manchester will be declared.

I'm told we're here until the bitter end, whenever that is.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

In short, because no candidate secured more than 50% of the vote first time around - and because a system known as "supplementary voting" is being used in this by-election.

Under the supplementary voting system, voters get a first and second choice on their ballot paper.

You vote once for your first choice, and once for your second choice.

If nobody secures more than 50% of the vote - as happened today - the two candidates with the highest number of votes remain in the running, with other candidates eliminated.

The second preferences of voters who voted for eliminated candidates are then counted.

This system was used in Greater Manchester's mayoral contests in 2017 and 2021, but not in 2024.

Image source, PA Media

The Green Party candidate for Greater Manchester Mayor, Geraldine Coggins, says she's "really pleased to have had our best results ever" in the contest, despite being knocked out in the first round tonight.

Speaking to broadcasters at the Co-op Live Arena, Coggins says the results - which haven't yet been published - were a "record result" for her party, adding the fact the contest had gone to a second round was "actually quite devastating news for Labour".

Votes are currently being counted in a run-off between Labour's Bev Craig and Reform UK's Sian Astley.

"What we're seeing is not a ringing endorsement of this candidate [Craig] or this Labour government... even though we've been fighting this in the honeymoon period of a new prime minister," Coggins says.

Asked whether recent focus on Zack Polanski's social media use had "took the shine off" the Green Party leader, Coggins says her party had been "really clear we stand against all forms of antisemitism and prejudice".

"I've been championing and supporting all of our communities in this campaign, celebrating the amazing diversity in our city region," she adds.

Image source, PA Media

Labour's candidate for Greater Manchester mayor has arrived at the Co-op Live Arena to find out if she will succeed her former boss, Andy Burnham.

Craig is currently the leader of Manchester City Council and deputy mayor for economy, business and inclusive growth on the region's combined authority.

Rowan Bridge
North of England reporter at Manchester's Co-op Live arena

The question everyone wants to know, but nobody knows the answer to, is when we will have a final result tonight.

In the Manchester count, it looks like the counting of second preferences has happened, and they’re now adjudicating on some of the ballots - to decide if and who they should be counted for.

That same counting and checking will be taking place in all ten boroughs. Only when they are all done will we have a final result.

While we know no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in first preferences, we don't know how many votes - or what percentage - any of them received.

We reported earlier that there were 538,659 verified ballots cast across Greater Manchester, meaning the top candidates - Sian Astley and Bev Craig - received less than half that figure each.

Five candidates have now been eliminated from the contest: Geraldine Coggins (Green Party), Phil Eckersley (Conservative Party), Marcus Farmer (Independent), Richard Kilpatrick (Liberal Democrats) and Marlon West (Restore Britain).

The second round of counting has now started.

Either Bev Craig of Labour or Reform UK's Sian Astley will be the next mayor of Greater Manchester.

Rowan Bridge
North of England reporter at Manchester's Co-op Live arena

So, Sian Astley of Reform UK and Bev Craig for the Labour Party are in a runoff to see who the mayor of Greater Manchester through the rest of this term will be.

The way that it's going to work is that for anybody who didn't vote for Sian Astley or Bev Craig as their first choice, counters will now start looking at who they put as their second choice and those votes will be reallocated.

It means that both candidates may pick up some more votes as second preferences.

These will be counted up and we will then find out the final totals as to what the vote counts are for Bev Craig and Sian Astley.

Now, you would expect that Sian Astley was more likely to pick up votes from, say Conservative votes or Restore Britain voters.

Bev Craig maybe more likely to pick up voters who previously voted first for, say, the Greens or the Lib Dems.

But none of this is guaranteed.

Michaela Howard
North of England senior producer, at the count

From a virtually silent hall, there is now chatter in corners and a buzz from counting assistants getting prepared for the second round of counting the ballots.

Food and refreshments have been brought in for those counters as they enjoy a short break ahead of the second round of counting the votes.

They will now be counting the second votes for Labour's Bev Craig and Sian Astley from Reform UK.

It’s not known how long this next process will take and when the final vote will be declared.