Andy Burnham has been chosen by Labour members across Greater Manchester to be the Labour Party’s official candidate in next year’s Greater Manchester Mayoral elections.
The MP for Leigh, and shadow Home Secretary beat the Interim Mayor and Crime and Police Commisioner Tony Lloyd and Bury MP Ivan Lewis to the race.
Burnham has been an MP since 2001 and served as Health Secretary under Gordon Brown in the last Labour Government.He has recently been praised over his support for the Hillsborough victims but has also been criticised for remaining within Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet in the wake of numerous resignations.
He told a recent hustings that the outer boroughs of Greater Manchester had been “neglected” and money should be spent fairly across them all.
The Manchester mayor will have wide powers over housing, transport, skills and healthcare. The job includes integrating the £6bn annual health and social care budget, running the police and possibly fire service, and the local transport system.
