Labour’s decisive victory in the Greater Manchester mayoral election is a bad result for Reform UK and the Green Party. No amount of political spin can disguise the truth that both parties came into this contest with high hopes – only to fail spectacularly. 

The numbers tell their own story. Labour’s Bev Craig won 47 per cent of first-preference votes, with Reform UK way behind on 21 per cent and the Greens in third on 12 per cent. The contest took place under the supplementary vote system, meaning that, as no candidate achieved more than 50 per cent, voters’ second preferences were counted. When this was done and other parties eliminated, Labour’s share rose to 66.3 per cent and Reform UK’s to 33.7 per cent. 

‘Ultimately they failed to convince voters in sufficient numbers that they are the answer to their problems.’

‘Ultimately they failed to convince voters in sufficient numbers that they are the answer to their problems.’

The scale of Labour’s triumph leaves the main opposition parties in this contest facing big questions. Reform’s 21 per cent showing on first-preference votes was a massive nine points down on its........

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