2021 Greater Manchester mayoral election

Not to be confused with 2021 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election.

2021 Greater Manchester mayoral election

←  2017 6 May 2021 2024  →
Turnout	34.7%
First party Second party   Con Candidate Andy Burnham Laura Evans Party Labour Co-op Conservative Popular vote 473,024 137,753 Percentage 67.3% 19.6% Swing 3.9 pp 3.1pp
Results of the 2021 Greater Manchester mayoral election by borough
Mayor before election Andy Burnham Labour Co-op Elected Mayor Andy Burnham Labour Co-op

The 2021 Greater Manchester mayoral election was held on 6 May 2021 to elect the mayor of Greater Manchester. This election, alongside other local and mayoral elections across England and Wales, was originally scheduled to take place on 7 May 2020, but was delayed by the UK Government on 13 March 2020, due to the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic. ^{[1] [2]} The election took place on the same day as council elections within the city-region, including the election for the mayor of Salford, as well as elections across England and Wales. It was the second election to the position of mayor. It used the supplementary vote as its electoral system.

Background

The mayor of Greater Manchester serves as the directly elected leader of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. The mayor has power over investment directly to the combined authority from the government of £30 million a year for 30 years from 2017. The mayor also incorporates the Police and Crime Commissioner role of the Greater Manchester Police into the post. In addition to these, the mayor has authority over strategic housing planning, transport, adult education and skills, social care and others. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

The first election for the role was held in 2017, Labour candidate Andy Burnham won with 63% of the vote in the first round. ^[6]

As a result of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the United Kingdom the government announced on the 13 March 2020 that it would postpone the mayoral election, along with all other scheduled local government elections across the UK, for one year. ^{[7] [8]} The Coronavirus Act 2020 received royal assent 12 days later on the 25 March 2020 giving legal effect to the government's announcement. This was the first such postponement of elections since the foot-and-mouth outbreak caused a one-month delay of the 2001 local elections. ^[9]

Events prior to the election

In August, Burnham and the Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotherham pushed the government to pay workers asked to self-isolate by the contact tracing system during the COVID-19 pandemic, ^[10] Burnham had also used the Mayors and Combined Authority resources to run a local contact tracing system where the national system had deficits. ^[11] As the pandemic entered a period of increase in the Autumn the British government created a three tiered system for what local social and economic restrictions would be implemented. Greater Manchester was initially placed at tier 2 restrictions, however the government went into talks with the Mayor and the council leaders to put Greater Manchester into tier 3 restrictions. Burnham cited inadequate financial support for businesses and workers in the city-region as he wanted 80% furlough support of employee wages, the same as the first wave response. ^[12] He had also stated he preferred a short, nation-wide lockdown known as a "circuit breaker". ^{[13] [14]} Following these negotiations, Burnham was angered by the government's implementation of stronger financial support in London for their tier 2 restrictions. ^[15] Burnham's role in the negotiations led to him being described by various media sources as "King of the North", due to him using his position to not just fight for Greater Manchester but the wider North of England. ^{[16] [17] [18] [19] [20]} Polling company YouGov asked people in Britain why they believed Burnham was negotiating- similar levels believed it was "party politics" and "the interests of Manchester", though the latter was more popular nationally and more significant in the North. ^[21]

The Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) is a cooperative agreement between the mayor and the leaders of the ten councils on the use of land in Greater Manchester, such as housing development and use of the Green belt. The final draft was prepared for late 2020; however, there were fears that the borough of Stockport may reject the GMSF, prompting the mayor and other council leaders to warn politicians in opposition parties that rejecting the plan could lead to a greater loss of Green belt. ^[22] The draft was published in October 2020 and signed by council leaders at the end of the month, ^[23] anticipating a public consultation starting in December. ^[24] However, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council councillors voted against signing the GMSF, leading to the other nine boroughs and the Greater Manchester Mayor to create the "Places for Everyone" plan, essentially the spatial framework plan for their boroughs. ^[25]

In late-2020 it was revealed that Greater Manchester Police (GMP) had failed to record 80,000 crimes in a year and was placed "advanced phase" of monitoring by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. Mayor Burnham, who also has the role of police and crime commissioner, faced political pressure on this subject. ^[26] Burnham responded by initiating a new "named officer" scheme to improve police accountability in the city . ^{[27] [28]} In later-January Burnham had stated that GMP had deliberately withheld information from his office, though he had not specified what information at the time. ^[29]

Electoral system

The election used a supplementary vote system, in which voters expressed a first and a second preference for candidates. ^[6]

• If a candidate receives more than 50% of the first preference vote, that candidate wins.
• If no candidate receives more than 50% of first preference votes, the top two candidates proceed to a second round and all other candidates are eliminated.
• The first preference votes for the remaining two candidates stand in the final count.
• Voters' ballots whose first and second preference candidates are eliminated are discarded.
• Voters whose first preference candidates have been eliminated and whose second preference candidate is one of the top two have their second preference votes added to that candidate's count.

This means that the winning candidate has the support of a majority of voters who expressed a preference among the top two. ^[30]

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Greater Manchester aged 18 or over on 6 May 2021 were entitled to vote in the mayoral election. Those who were temporarily away from Greater Manchester (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) were also entitled to vote. The deadline to register to vote in the election was announced nearer the election.

Candidates

Conservative Party

Laura Evans, a former Trafford councillor and parliamentary candidate, was selected as the Conservative candidate in February 2020. ^[31]

Green Party

Melanie Horrocks was selected as the Green Party candidate in 2019; she was the party's Manchester Central candidate in the 2019 General Election. ^[32]

Labour Party

Andy Burnham, the incumbent mayor and former shadow home secretary, announced his intention to seek re-election as mayor of Greater Manchester for the Labour Party in January 2020. ^[33]

Liberal Democrats

Simon Lepori is a former healthcare worker ^[34] who has previously stood in council elections in Trafford in 2016, 2018 and 2019, and was the party's candidate in the 2019 general election for the Wythenshawe & Sale East constituency. He was announced as the Liberal Democrats candidate on 19 January 2021.

Reform UK

Nick Buckley was announced as the Reform UK candidate on 12 March 2021. ^[35]

Other candidates

• Stephen Morris stood as candidate for the English Democrats. ^{[36] [37] [38]} He has previously stood in local council, European Parliament and UK Parliament elections for the party.
• Marcus Farmer. ^[38] Previously stood in the 2017 mayoral election, as well as the 2010 and 2015 general elections in the Manchester Withington constituency.
• Alec Marvel. ^[38]
• David Sutcliffe. ^[38]

Individuals not standing

Andy Kelly, councillor and leader of the Liberal Democrats group in Rochdale, was confirmed as the Liberal Democrats' candidate in August 2019 following a vote by members in Greater Manchester. ^[33] However, on 11 August 2020 Kelly stood down, stating that the delay in the election for a year has impacted his employment. ^[39]

Michael Elston intended to run as an independent candidate, but ultimately could not do so because he filed defective paperwork. ^[40] He intended to run on a platform centred on reforming civil penalties and justice in the courts. ^[41] He had previously stood for election in Manchester City Council's Chorlton ward in 2018 and 2019.

Campaign

The incumbent mayor Andy Burnham pledged to take the bus services of Greater Manchester into public control, establish an integrated ticket system for all buses and Metrolink trams, make the city-region carbon neutral by 2038 and build 30,000 social homes over the next decade. ^[33] The BBC has noted that should the metro mayor take the buses back into public control it would be the first place outside of London to do so. ^[42] In a February interview, Burnham discussed having a "Good Landlord Charter", in which landlords who sign up will have properties of good health and safety standard and they do not utilise 'no fault evictions'. ^[28]

Laura Evans is critical of Burnham's plans to build on sparser parts of the city-region and the implementation of a Clean Air Zone. ^[43]

Simon Lepori, the Liberal Democrat candidate, sees his primary policies as integrating public transport across the city, the integration of health and social care and reducing the cost of housing. ^[44]

Results and follow up statistics

Overall result

The incumbent mayor Andy Burnham retained his position within the first round, increasing his majority from the 2017 election by 10.2 percentage points with a swing from the Conservatives to Labour of 3.5 percentage points.

Greater Manchester Mayoral Election 2021 [45]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Labour Co-op	Andy Burnham	473,024	67.31%				​​
	Conservative	Laura Evans	137,753	19.60%				​​
	Green	Melanie Horrocks	30,699	4.37%				​​
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Lepori	22,373	3.18%				​​
	Reform UK	Nick Buckley	18,910	2.69%				​​
	English Democrat	Stephen Morris	9,488	1.35%				​​
	Independent	Marcus Farmer	6,448	0.92%				​​
	Independent	David Sutcliffe	2,182	0.31%				​​
	Independent	Alec Marvel	1,907	0.27%				​​
Majority						335,271	50.4%
Turnout			714,745	34.74%	Rejected ballots: 11,743
Registered electors			2,057,643

Rejected Ballots

There were 11,743 rejected ballots within the first round: ^[45]

Breakdown of Rejected Ballots

Reason	Count
Want of an official mark	0
Voting for more than one candidate as to the first preference vote	5,177
Writing or mark by which voter could be identified	100
Unmarked or void for uncertainty as to the first preference vote	6,466

1st Preference Results by Borough

Local authority	Labour		Conservative		Green		Liberal Democrats		Reform		English Democrats		Independents
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Bolton	47,052	64.24	18,646	25.46	2,070	2.83	1,503	2.05	1,974	2.70	1,263	1.72	733	1.01
Bury	35,351	60.76	16,208	27.86	1,974	3.39	1,519	2.61	1,390	2.39	1,152	1.98	590	1.01
Manchester	86,736	77.31	9,211	8.21	7,617	6.79	4,282	3.82	2,464	2.20	864	0.77	1,022	0.9
Oldham	38,087	62.71	12,275	20.21	2,069	3.41	2,119	3.49	2,077	3.42	1,064	1.75	3,043	5.02
Rochdale	36,314	66.22	11,187	20.40	1,891	3.45	2,220	4.05	1,553	2.83	920	1.68	757	1.37
Salford	35,908	68.38	9,559	18.20	2,786	5.31	1,244	2.37	1,485	2.83	806	1.53	728	1.39
Stockport	57,971	65.74	17,146	19.44	3,823	4.34	5,206	5.90	2,289	2.60	893	1.01	862	0.97
Tameside	34,865	64.21	12,410	22.85	2,601	4.79	908	1.67	1,835	3.38	843	1.55	837	1.54
Trafford	50,417	65.72	17,446	22.74	3,863	5.04	2,212	2.88	1,534	2.00	509	0.66	733	0.95
Wigan	50,323	70.02	13,665	19.01	2,005	2.79	1,160	1.61	2,309	3.21	1,174	1.63	1,237	1.73
Totals	473,024	67.31	137,753	19.60	30,699	4.37	22,373	3.18	18,910	2.69	9,448	1.35	10,577	1.50
Source: Greater Manchester Elects

Bolton

Greater Manchester Mayoral Election 2021 (Bolton) [45]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Labour Co-op	Andy Burnham	47,052	64.24%				​​
	Conservative	Laura Evans	18,646	25.46%				​​
	Green	Melanie Horrocks	2,070	2.83%				​​
	Reform UK	Nick Buckley	1,974	2.70%				​​
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Lepori	1,503	2.05%				​​
	English Democrat	Stephen Morris	1,263	1.72%				​​
	Independent	Marcus Farmer	532	0.73%				​​
	Independent	David Sutcliffe	144	0.20%				​​
	Independent	Alec Marvel	57	0.08%				​​
Majority						28,406	38.78%
Turnout			74,556	36.30%
Registered electors			205,388

Bury

Greater Manchester Mayoral Election 2021 (Bury) [45]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Labour Co-op	Andy Burnham	35,351	60.76%				​​
	Conservative	Laura Evans	16,208	27.86%				​​
	Green	Melanie Horrocks	1,974	3.39%				​​
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Lepori	1,519	2.61%				​​
	Reform UK	Nick Buckley	1,390	2.39%				​​
	English Democrat	Stephen Morris	1,152	1.98%				​​
	Independent	Marcus Farmer	362	0.62%				​​
	Independent	David Sutcliffe	177	0.30%				​​
	Independent	Alec Marvel	51	0.09%				​​
Majority						19,143	32.81%
Turnout			58,184	40.07%
Registered electors			145,190

Manchester

Greater Manchester Mayoral Election 2021 (Manchester) [45]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Labour Co-op	Andy Burnham	86,736	77.31%				​​
	Conservative	Laura Evans	9,211	8.21%				​​
	Green	Melanie Horrocks	7,617	6.79%				​​
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Lepori	4,282	3.82%				​​
	Reform UK	Nick Buckley	2,464	2.20%				​​
	English Democrat	Stephen Morris	864	0.77%				​​
	Independent	Marcus Farmer	789	0.70%				​​
	Independent	David Sutcliffe	151	0.13%				​​
	Independent	Alec Marvel	82	0.07%				​​
Majority						79,525	69.10%
Turnout			112,196	29.40%
Registered electors			381,563

Oldham

Greater Manchester Mayoral Election 2021 (Oldham) [45]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Labour Co-op	Andy Burnham	38,087	62.71%				​​
	Conservative	Laura Evans	12,275	20.21%				​​
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Lepori	2,119	3.49%				​​
	Reform UK	Nick Buckley	2,077	3.42%				​​
	Green	Melanie Horrocks	2,069	3.41%				​​
	Independent	Marcus Farmer	1,408	2.32%				​​
	Independent	Alec Marvel	1,158	1.91%				​​
	English Democrat	Stephen Morris	1,064	1.75%				​​
	Independent	David Sutcliffe	477	0.79%				​​
Majority						25,812	42.50%
Turnout			60,734	36.68%
Registered electors			165,556

Rochdale

Greater Manchester Mayoral Election 2021 (Rochdale) [45]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Labour Co-op	Andy Burnham	36,314	66.22%				​​
	Conservative	Laura Evans	11,187	20.40%				​​
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Lepori	2,220	4.05%				​​
	Green	Melanie Horrocks	1,891	3.45%				​​
	Reform UK	Nick Buckley	1,553	2.83%				​​
	English Democrat	Stephen Morris	920	1.68%				​​
	Independent	Marcus Farmer	490	0.89%				​​
	Independent	Alec Marvel	178	0.32%				​​
	Independent	David Sutcliffe	89	0.16%				​​
Majority						25,127	45.82%
Turnout			54,842	33.28%
Registered electors			164,783

Salford

Greater Manchester Mayoral Election 2021 (Salford) [45]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Labour Co-op	Andy Burnham	35,908	68.38%				​​
	Conservative	Laura Evans	9,559	18.20%				​​
	Green	Melanie Horrocks	2,786	5.31%				​​
	Reform UK	Nick Buckley	1,485	2.83%				​​
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Lepori	1,244	2.37%				​​
	English Democrat	Stephen Morris	806	1.53%				​​
	Independent	Marcus Farmer	523	1.00%				​​
	Independent	David Sutcliffe	164	0.31%				​​
	Independent	Alec Marvel	41	0.08%				​​
Majority						26,349	50.18%
Turnout			52,516	28.23%
Registered electors			186,058

Stockport

Greater Manchester Mayoral Election 2021 (Stockport) [45]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Labour Co-op	Andy Burnham	57,971	65.74%				​​
	Conservative	Laura Evans	17,146	19.44%				​​
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Lepori	5,206	5.90%				​​
	Green	Melanie Horrocks	3,823	4.34%				​​
	Reform UK	Nick Buckley	2,289	2.60%				​​
	English Democrat	Stephen Morris	893	1.01%				​​
	Independent	Marcus Farmer	542	0.61%				​​
	Independent	David Sutcliffe	263	0.30%				​​
	Independent	Alec Marvel	52	0.06%				​​
Majority						40,825	46.30
Turnout			88,185	39.48%
Registered electors			223,387

Tameside

Greater Manchester Mayoral Election 2021 (Tameside) [45]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Labour Co-op	Andy Burnham	34,865	64.21%				​​
	Conservative	Laura Evans	12,410	22.85%				​​
	Green	Melanie Horrocks	2,601	4.79%				​​
	Reform UK	Nick Buckley	1,835	3.38%				​​
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Lepori	908	1.67%				​​
	English Democrat	Stephen Morris	843	1.55%				​​
	Independent	Marcus Farmer	430	0.79%				​​
	Independent	Alec Marvel	222	0.41%				​​
	Independent	David Sutcliffe	185	0.34%				​​
Majority						22,455	41.36%
Turnout			54,299	31.89%
Registered electors			170,293

Trafford

Greater Manchester Mayoral Election 2021 (Trafford) [45]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Labour Co-op	Andy Burnham	50,417	65.72%				​​
	Conservative	Laura Evans	17,446	22.74%				​​
	Green	Melanie Horrocks	3,863	5.04%				​​
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Lepori	2,212	2.88%				​​
	Reform UK	Nick Buckley	1,534	2.00%				​​
	English Democrat	Stephen Morris	509	0.66%				​​
	Independent	Marcus Farmer	367	0.48%				​​
	Independent	David Sutcliffe	348	0.45%				​​
	Independent	Alec Marvel	18	0.02%				​​
Majority						32,971	42.98%
Turnout			76,714	44.44%
Registered electors			172,639

Wigan

Greater Manchester Mayoral Election 2021 (Wigan) [45]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Labour Co-op	Andy Burnham	50,323	70.02%				​​
	Conservative	Laura Evans	13,665	19.01%				​​
	Reform UK	Nick Buckley	2,309	3.21%				​​
	Green	Melanie Horrocks	2,005	2.79%				​​
	English Democrat	Stephen Morris	1,174	1.63%				​​
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Lepori	1,160	1.61%				​​
	Independent	Marcus Farmer	1,005	1.40%				​​
	Independent	David Sutcliffe	184	0.26%				​​
	Independent	Alec Marvel	48	0.07%				​​
Majority						36,658	51.01%
Turnout			71,873	29.60
Registered electors			242,786

See also

• 2021 Manchester City Council election

References

1. Department for Communities and Local Government (1 February 2016). "Date proposed for Manchester mayoral elections". gov.uk. GOV.UK.
2. Combined Authority Returning Officer (CARO). "Greater Manchester elects: Next election". gmelects.org.uk. Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
3. "Directly elected mayors". www.local.gov.uk. Local Government Association . Retrieved 31 January 2020.
4. "Greater Manchester". Centre for Cities . Retrieved 31 January 2020.
5. Dudman, Jane (3 November 2014). "What powers will the new mayor of Greater Manchester have?". The Guardian . Retrieved 31 January 2020.
6. "Mayor of Greater Manchester". BBC News. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
7. "Local elections postponed for a year over coronavirus". BBC News. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
8. "May's local and mayoral elections postponed for a year due to coronavirus". ITV News . ITN. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
9. Busby, Mattha (1 March 2020). "Local elections could be delayed by coronavirus outbreak". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
10. Staff writers (10 August 2020). "Regional mayors demand pay for self-isolating workers". BBC News . Retrieved 15 October 2020.
11. Charara, Sophie (5 October 2020). "England's Covid-19 strategy is all about London. Sorry, northerners". Wired UK . Condé Nast Britain. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
12. "In full: Andy Burnham on his ten day Covid support battle with Boris Johnson". YouTube . ITV News. ITN. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham spoke to ITV News about why talks on coronavirus business support broke down after ten days of negotiations.
13. Walker, Peter; Pidd, Helen; Elliott, Larry; Stewart, Heather (15 October 2020). "Boris Johnson's Covid plan in turmoil after north-west leaders refuse tier 3". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 October 2020.
14. Pidd, Helen (15 October 2020). "Manchester united: ministers' tier 3 talks enrage both Labour and Tories". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 October 2020.
15. Stone, Jon (22 October 2020). "Andy Burnham 'open-mouthed' after government unveils tier 2 support 'to help London'" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
16. Rigby, Beth. "Coronavirus: Andy Burnham is the 'King of the North' - a crown the PM believed he'd won". Sky News. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
17. Forsey, Zoe (20 October 2020). "'King of the North' Andy Burnham fights against Tories - 'this is leadership'". Daily Mirror . Reach plc. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
18. Evans, Rhiannon. "'Discussing Andy Burnham's Eyelashes On The Group Chat' Why Everyone On The Internet Fancies The Mayor Of Manchester". Grazia UK. Bauer Media Group . Retrieved 3 November 2020.
19. Bland, Archie (23 October 2020). "Andy Burnham: former New Labour high flyer cast as 'king of the north'". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
20. Haddow, Alexandra (22 October 2020). "In praise of Andy Burnham, the new King of the North". NME . BandLab Technologies . Retrieved 3 November 2020.
21. "Daily Question | 21/10/2020 | YouGov". YouGov . Retrieved 3 November 2020. When it comes to Andy Burnham's approach to the negotiations for the coronavirus aid package for greater Manchester, do you think it is driven more by...
22. Statham, Nick (30 October 2020). "Andy Burnham hints region's 'spatial framework' masterplan could be redrawn". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
23. "Greater Manchester's Spatial Framework plan has been supported by region's leaders". Rochdale Online . 1 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
24. "Spatial framework published in Greater Manchester | The Planner". The Planner . 29 October 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
25. Griffiths, Niall (8 February 2021). "More details on successor to Greater Manchester Spatial Framework". www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
26. Staff writers (18 December 2020). "Greater Manchester Police failings: Andy Burnham 'should resign'". BBC News. Retrieved 15 February 2021– via BBC North West.
27. Scheerhout, John (18 January 2021). "Mayor Andy Burnham promises 'new era' for GMP but it will cost you". Manchester Evening News. Reach plc . Retrieved 15 February 2021.
28. Thompson, Ben (8 February 2021). "Andy Burnham speaks to MM about his re-election campaign". Mancunian Matters. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
29. Williams, Jennifer (29 January 2021). "GMP 'deliberately' withheld information from mayor's office, claims Burnham". Manchester Evening News. Reach plc . Retrieved 15 February 2021.
30. Elledge, Jonnk (2 May 2012). "London Elections: How The Voting System Works". The Londonist. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
31. "Laura Evans selected as the Conservative Greater Manchester Mayoral candidate". Manchester Gazette. 1 March 2020. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
32. Williams, Jennifer (25 February 2020). "Why is there still no Tory contender for the Greater Manchester mayoral race?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
33. "Metro Mayor of Manchester election: Andy Burnham hopes to be re-elected for Labour". www.rochdaleonline.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
34. Thompson, Ben (30 January 2021). "Manchester Mayoral Election: MM meets the Liberal Democrat candidate". Mancunian Matters. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
35. @reformparty_uk (12 March 2021). "We are proud to announce that charity..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
36. "Stephen Morris | Welfare of the people is the highest law" . Retrieved 10 February 2021.
37. "Stephen Morris for Greater Manchester in the Mayor of Greater Manchester". Who Can I Vote For? by Democracy Club. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
38. "Statement as to Persons Nominated - Combined Authority Mayoral Election for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority" (PDF). GM Elects. 9 April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 April 2021.
39. "Andy Kelly withdraws as Liberal Democrat candidate for mayor of GM". Rochdaleonline. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
40. Gee, Chris (14 April 2021). "'Bureaucratic error' spoils Bury man's Manchester mayor election bid". Manchester Evening News. Reach Plc. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
41. Gee, Chris; McDonnell, Seamus (30 September 2020). "Prestwich businessman to run against mayor Andy Burnham". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
42. Staff writers (3 January 2020). "Campaigners march for public control of buses". BBC News. Retrieved 31 January 2020– via BBC North West.
43. Baxter, Trevor (24 July 2020). "Clean air charge could kill businesses, claims councillor". Saddleworth Independent. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
44. Thompson, Ben (30 January 2021). "Manchester Mayoral Election: MM meets the Liberal Democrat candidate". Mancunian Matters. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
45. "2021 Mayor of Greater Manchester election results" . Retrieved 8 May 2021.