Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig Praises PM's Devolution Plan

Greater Manchester's new Mayor Bev Craig has said the Prime Minister's move to give the regions more power could "change our lives".

The Labour candidate claimed victory in Thursday's by-election after securing 309,525 votes over Reform's Sian Astley, who won 157,178.

The 41-year-old will succeed Burnham as mayor, after he stood down to run in the Makerfield by-election in June. The pair appeared together at a Labour rally in Manchester after Craig's election win.

Craig said: "For a prime minister two weeks in, to start giving powers out of Whitehall and putting it in the places that can make a difference - that can change our lives."

She added: "I will rise to his challenge about taking the power and control that he is offering mayors like me to make our regions better.

"Because that is what it is all about."

Burnham has said he would give all mayors of city regions in England a share of income tax revenue for the first time, as part of his drive to transfer power from Westminster to local leaders.

Opposition parties said the plans lacked detail and could lead to areas with weaker economies losing out on funding.

Bur Craig said she was "excited" about the challenge and would not "stop at the levels of growth that we have achieved".

She said she wanted to make "every kid" in Greater Manchester "feel they can succeed".

The prime minister said Manchesterism was about "devolution" and "taking control of things that affect people's daily lives, such as housing, building more homes that people can truly afford and the buses".

"We want everyone in Greater Manchester facing the same way, pulling in the same way," he said.

"It is a different way of doing things."

Burnham told Craig "go further and do more" as he dubbed her the "queen of the north".

He added: "You are the right person to lead this great city region forward into its best decade ever, because that is what the next decade is going to be."