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]
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]
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