Labour has today announced Bev Craig as its candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Bev is the current leader of Manchester City Council and Deputy Mayor for Economy, Business and Inclusive Growth for GM and has promised to set out a bold vision to build on the progress made over the last decade and deliver the next chapter for the region.
A former council estate kid whose family endured unemployment, ill health and financial hardship, Bev said Greater Manchester transformed her life after she moved to the city-region at 18.
Now, after 15 years of delivering for local communities, leading Manchester City Council, and fighting for Greater Manchester she says she wants to ensure every person, every community, and every borough shares in Greater Manchester’s success.
Bev has vowed to build a Greater Manchester that works for everyone – with cheaper travel, more council and affordable homes, safer neighbourhoods, thriving high streets supported by a new High Streets fund and world-class opportunities for people in every borough.
Bev Craig said:
“Greater Manchester is a special place – from the industrial revolution, the trade union and cooperative movements and the suffragettes – this place has always fought for progress. This place changed my life and I owe it everything it gave me opportunities I could never have imagined, and I’ve spent my career trying to give something back.
“While Westminster left places like ours behind, Greater Manchester has taken control of our own future and we’ve started building our own success.
“Working alongside former Mayor Andy Burnham, we have achieved so much over the – bringing buses back under public control, creating jobs, attracting investment, and pushing Greater Manchester forward as a real powerhouse of the North West.
“But for too many people, who work hard and do the right thing, life still feels too hard and unaffordable. As Mayor I will apply a simple test: will it make life better?
“I will work every day for us to make sure everyone shares in the success Greater Manchester is building – making sure there’s more money in people’s pockets, pride in every town centre with a New High Streets Fund, a new generation of council and affordable homes and an expanded Bee Network that freezes fares and that works for all of us.
“That’s why I’m standing to be Mayor – to build a Greater Manchester that works for everyone.”
