Details of the appointment process for Greater Manchester’s interim mayor have been confirmed.

The two candidates, Wigan’s Lord Peter Smith and current Police Commisioner Tony Lloyd will take part in four councillor engagement sessions to give councillors from across Greater Manchester the chance to hear directly from the candidates and put questions to them.

They will be held in Manchester, on Monday 11 May; in Salford on Wednesday 13 May; Bury on Friday 15 May and Trafford on Monday 18 May. Although only elected councillors will be able to attend these events, the Manchester session will be live streamed so the public can follow proceedings and councillors’ feedback will be passed to the selection panel to take into consideration.

A stakeholder panel session, giving invited representatives of private and public sector partners, the opportunity to meet and question the candidates will be held on Wednesday 20 May.

The panel choosing the interim mayor will consist of representatives of the 10 Greater Manchester authorities – the leaders of Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford, the Mayor of Salford and the deputy leader of Wigan.

The two candidates will be interviewed on Friday 29 May, with the interim mayor chosen by a simple majority vote.

As Lord Peter Smith, the current chair of the GMCA and leader of Wigan is standing he does not get a vote and ,contrary to some reports,  the chair of the GMCA does not have a casting vote in the event of a tie.

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