I’ll give it my all – newly-elected Greater Manchester mayor Burnham

Former Cabinet minister Andy Burnham has been elected Greater Manchester’s first metropolitan mayor with control over a £900m budget with responsibility for police, fire, housing and transport, with a sweeping 63% win.

Only 28.93% of people eligible to vote – low turnouts are common in local elections – in the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs of Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside Trafford, and Wigan.

Burnham, 47, who was MP for Leigh from 2001 until he stepped down to contest the mayoral election, pledged to put young people at the heart of his manifesto in the build up to the election.

He beat Conservative rival Sean Anstee, the leader of  Trafford Council since 2014, into second place.

Burnham said: “This is an historic day for Greater Manchester. I want to thank the other main party candidates for making this a friendly and positive campaign which has set the right tone for a new era of politics in Greater Manchester.

“Most of all I want to thank the people of Greater Manchester. You have given me a big job to do and a big mandate with which to do it, and I will give it my all. I won’t let you down. All I can say is wow, 63%!”

Meanwhile, Walton Labour MP Steve Rotheram, 55, won the Liverpool City Region mayoral election in a 26.1% turnout poll across its six boroughs of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral. Similar to Greater Manchester he will also control a £900m budget.

He beat Conservative candidate Tony Caldeira into second place.

Rotheram said: “Today, 1.5 million people in our area in our area have spoken loud and clear. They have voted in favour of a bold manifesto, a Labour vision and a fresh start.

“This mayoral election campaign has been like no other. Politics is in a state of flux. In this country, too many policy ideas have progressed through the prism of what London and the South East needs and the policies of Whitehall all too often reflect the needs of the South whiles ignoring the needs of areas like ours in a one-size-fits-all approach.

“No wonder people in areas like Liverpool City Region feel so distance from what happens in Westminster.”