Andy Burnham has vowed to “make big things happen” after he won a third successive term as the mayor of Greater Manchester with more votes than all his opponents combined.
The Labour candidate won by a landslide with 63.4 per cent of the vote – miles ahead of runner-up Conservative candidate Laura Evans with 10.39 per cent.
Reform gained 7.46 per cent of the vote, ahead of the Greens with 6.92 per cent and Lib Dems with 4.25 per cent.
“I’m overwhelmed and humbled that so many people have again given me their support,” he said upon his victory.
“I’m always conscious that people who perhaps will usually vote for other parties at a general election have lent me their support.”
The result is the latest in a string of Labour mayoral and council wins nationwide as the Conservatives suffer historic blows.
Labour’s Sadiq Khan has secured a third term as Mayor of London beating Conservative Susan Hall on Saturday.
Mr Khan secured just over 1,088,000 votes to be re-elected London Mayor, a majority of some 275,000 over Conservative rival Susan Hall, who took just under 813,000 votes.
Labour also claimed victory in the West Midlands mayoral election beating Conservative candidate Andy Street in a tight race.
The newly elected mayor, Richard Parker, claimed a majority against his opponent who has served two terms and held office since 2017.
Rishi Sunak suffered terrible losses in council elections as the Conservatives lost more than 400 councillors and control of ten councils
Many victorious candidates – including Mr Burnham – took the opportunity to call for a general election as the government faced a drubbing.
Asked what his election meant for the party, Mr Burnam said: “That it’s on course for government but I don’t think anyone is taking anything for granted.
“I feel the country needs a change of government. We need a fresh start as a country.
“I have kind of worked hard to keep Greater Manchester moving forward, even though it’s felt at times that the country has been going backwards – the trains not working as they should, the NHS in a mess.
“It’s been hard to keep that sense of forward momentum. I think we have managed it here but to have a government at our back, well God that would be a brilliant thing. But I think we are now set up for success.”
He added: “The support of people here means everything to me. I have loved everything about this job.
“To have the chance now to make much bigger changes happen as part of a third term, I will forever be grateful to people for giving me that opportunity.”
Mr Burnham said he would continue to take a “place-first approach” as opposed to a “party-first approach” and that he would be turning his attention to housing and education after local bus services were brought under public control last year with the launch of the Bee Network.
He wants to tackle the region’s “housing crisis” and provide young people from the age of 14 with the opportunity to pursue a work-related route to achieve high-quality technical qualifications.
“We are going into a really exciting moment for Greater Manchester. We have got so many things happening in the city region and with this mandate now I can make big things happen, and I fully intend to,” he said.
