Andy Burnham has been re-elected as the mayor of Greater Manchester, picking up 63.4 per cent of the vote.
Conservative candidate Laura Evans won 10.4 per cent. The turnout was 32.05 per cent with 669,509 votes cast.
Burnham received more than 350,000 more votes than Evans, who came second with 68,946
PA
Burnham received more than 350,000 more votes than Evans, who came second with 68,946.
Independent candidate Nick Buckley followed closely behind with 50,304 votes.
Reform UK's Dan Barker got 49,532 votes, while the Green Party's Hannah Spencer received 45,905. The Liberal Democrats' Jake Austin came last with 28,195 votes.
The Labour politician will now serve a third term in post.
In his victory speech, he pledged to put “place first” not party first. He also called for devolution from central government to go further.
He said he looked forward "to getting on with the job again", adding: "I won't let you down."
The Greater Manchester mayor said Britain “desperately needs a new Government and a fresh start”, warning that the “Westminster one size fits all approach” has not worked.
He added: “And the truth is this. If you have an education system overly focused on the university route, you will leave some young people growing up without hope. If you have a benefit system overly focused on sanctions rather than support, you will end up with a growing mental health crisis.
Andy Burnham has been re-elected as the mayor of Greater Manchester, picking up 63.4 per cent of the vote
PA
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
“And if housing policy is exclusively focused on promoting homeownership, you will leave millions trapped in a housing crisis. Greater Manchester is ready to break out of this. Devolution in England is working and these elections show voters are buying into it, but it is time now to go much further.
“My new mission will be to give everyone growing up here an equal alternative to the university route. So all our young people have a path in life and hope in their heart. And my new plea to Westminster is to give us the powers to free ourselves from the grip of the housing crisis and let us build a benefit system that helps people move forward rather than holds them back.”
The Labour politician has held the role since 2017.
The comes after a bruising few days for the Tories, who suffered a wipeout at the local elections.
The party lost more 450 council seats across England.
The Labour Party has won contests in newly created mayoralties in York and North Yorkshire, the East Midlands and the North East.
It also gained nine police and crime commissioner posts from the Tories, including in Cumbria, Avon and Somerset, and Norfolk.
