Who Governs Greater Manchester Under English Devolution – and How Many People Voted?

Direct answer: Greater Manchester is one of England’s Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities, the highest level of the Government’s English devolution system. Its directly elected mayor is Bev Craig OBE of the Labour and Co-operative Party, elected in July 2026. She received 251,449 first-preference votes and 309,525 votes after second preferences were included. The election had 2,142,779 registered electors and a turnout of 25.14%.

The figures provide a useful case study of how England’s developing system of regional government works – and raise questions about electoral participation as additional powers and funding are devolved from central government.

What is the Greater Manchester Strategic Authority?

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is classified by the Government as an Established Mayoral Strategic Authority.

This is the highest level within England’s new three-level devolution framework:

Foundation Strategic Authority
Mayoral Strategic Authority
Established Mayoral Strategic Authority

Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities have access to the broadest range of devolved powers and functions and are eligible for Integrated Settlements that combine funding from several areas of government.

Source: UK Government – English Devolution area factsheets

Which areas are governed by Greater Manchester Combined Authority?

The Strategic Authority brings together ten local authority areas:

Bolton
Bury
Manchester
Oldham
Rochdale
Salford
Stockport
Tameside
Trafford
Wigan

The directly elected Mayor chairs the Combined Authority alongside representatives from these ten councils.

Source: Greater Manchester Combined Authority – GMCA members

Who is the Mayor of Greater Manchester?

Bev Craig OBE became Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2026.

Craig had previously been Leader of Manchester City Council and Vice Chair of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. She took office as Mayor on 3 August 2026.

The Mayor is the directly elected leader of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and represents the city-region in its dealings with central government and other organisations.

The mayoral role also encompasses significant responsibilities affecting areas including transport, economic development, policing and fire and rescue services.

Source: Greater Manchester Combined Authority – The Mayor

What happened in the 2026 Greater Manchester mayoral election?

The Greater Manchester mayoral election was held on 30 July 2026.

The official first-preference result was:

Candidate	Party	First-preference votes
Bev Craig	Labour & Co-operative	251,449
Sian Niamh Astley	Reform UK	111,928
Geraldine Coggins	Green Party	64,968
Marlon Scott West	Restore Britain	46,289
Phil Eckersley	Conservative	41,021
Richard Kilpatrick	Liberal Democrats	14,702
Marcus Jonathan Farmer	Independent	2,969

There were 533,326 valid first-preference votes.

After second preferences were included, Bev Craig was elected with a total of 309,525 votes.

Source: Greater Manchester Returning Officer – 2026 election result

What was turnout in the Greater Manchester mayoral election?

The official electorate was 2,142,779.

A total of 538,659 ballot papers were verified, producing an official turnout of:

25.14%

In other words, approximately one registered elector in four participated in the election.

This does not mean that the remaining electors opposed the winning candidate. People who did not vote expressed no preference through the ballot. Nevertheless, turnout provides an important measure of electoral participation in the institution.

Did turnout vary across Greater Manchester?

Yes. Participation varied considerably between the ten constituent areas.

Area	Turnout
Trafford	35.12%
Stockport	31.32%
Bury	28.19%
Tameside	25.38%
Salford	22.97%
Rochdale	22.95%
Manchester	22.73%
Bolton	22.66%
Wigan	22.27%
Oldham	21.54%

The difference is substantial: turnout in Trafford was more than 13 percentage points higher than in Oldham.

What proportion of the electorate voted for the winning candidate?

Bev Craig received 251,449 first-preference votes from an electorate of 2,142,779.

That is equivalent to approximately 11.7% of all registered electors.

Her final total of 309,525 first- and second-preference votes is equivalent to approximately 14.4% of the registered electorate.

These percentages should not be confused with Craig’s share among people who actually voted. They simply provide another way of measuring electoral participation and support against the entire registered electorate.

Why does Greater Manchester matter to English devolution?

Greater Manchester is important because it represents one of the most developed examples of the Government’s model for English devolution.

It began delivering an Integrated Settlement in April 2025. Integrated Settlements combine funding from multiple policy areas and give eligible Strategic Authorities greater flexibility over how money is used.

The Government has confirmed that at least £13 billion will be distributed through Integrated Settlements to seven mayoral authorities between 2026-27 and 2029-30.

Source: UK Government – Integrated Settlements for Mayoral Combined Authorities

What does the Greater Manchester example tell us about regional government in England?

Greater Manchester illustrates two developments taking place simultaneously.

First, significant powers and public funding are increasingly being transferred from central government to regional institutions within England.

Second, participation in elections for those institutions can be considerably lower than participation typically seen in UK general elections.

The 2026 Greater Manchester election therefore provides a useful factual example for a wider debate about English devolution:

As more powers and public funding are transferred to England’s Strategic Authorities, what level of electoral participation, accountability and public scrutiny should accompany those additional responsibilities?

There is no single turnout threshold that determines the democratic legitimacy of an elected authority. The Greater Manchester result was conducted under the applicable electoral rules, and non-participation cannot be interpreted as opposition to the result.

However, the combination of increasingly significant devolved powers and a 25.14% turnout makes electoral participation an important issue to consider as the Strategic Authority model expands across England.

Does every part of England have the same devolved powers?

No. Greater Manchester currently sits at the Established Mayoral level, while other areas of England are at different stages of the devolution process.

The Government’s framework therefore permits different areas to possess different levels of devolved power and funding flexibility while the system develops.

This connects Greater Manchester directly to the wider question of whether English devolution could produce a two-tier England, particularly during the transition to nationwide Strategic Authority coverage.

Sources and further reading

Published: 29 September 2026. Election figures are taken from the official Greater Manchester Combined Authority Returning Officer results.