Andy Burnham endorses Labour mayoral hopeful Bev Craig in Manchester

Labour’s Andy Burnham, the incumbent Greater Manchester mayor, appeared at the launch of Labour candidate Bev Craig’s campaign for Manchester mayor, calling her an “incredible” candidate and urging voters to back her. Burnham highlighted the region’s recent successes and said the next decade will be a period of growth. Craig announced that, if elected, she would introduce free bus travel for 11‑ to 18‑year‑olds across Greater Manchester and expand night‑bus services.

Former Manchester city‑council leader Sir Richard Leese reflected on his two‑decade partnership with Burnham, crediting the mayor with major devolution reforms, transport initiatives such as the Bee bus network, homelessness programmes and the Independent Prosperity Review. Leese praised Burnham’s shift toward co‑design of policies and the collaborative public‑private‑voluntary sector approach that has shaped the city‑region’s recent economic growth.