As-it-happened: Labour takes both city region mayoral seats

Coverage of the results as they come in from mayoral and local elections across the North West and North Wales.

  • Steve Rotheram elected mayor of Liverpool City Region with 59% of vote; Conservative Tony Caldeira was runner-up with 20%
  • Andy Burnham wins Greater Manchester mayoralty with 63%; Conservative Sean Anstee came second with 23%
  • Conservatives take control of Lancashire from Labour
  • Polling day: as it happened

 


6.10pm: On the Liverpool result, Greg Dickson, director at Barton Willmore said: “This is a historic appointment for the region and represents a further opportunity to maximise the economic growth that stems from Liverpool2 as well as driving investment in rail infrastructure, housing delivery, and regeneration across the entire combined authority area. With £900m made available to this position over the next 30 years, Steve Rotheram now needs to ensure development and growth spreads out beyond the city of Liverpool to secure benefits for the city region as a whole.

“Key to his success will be building a strong relationship with the region’s other key decision-makers, most notably Joe Anderson, and we would expect a natural synergy between these two Labour Mayors. But by also working closely alongside Andy Burnham in Manchester, there is a real opportunity for Rotheram to push the North West to the forefront of the wider Northern Powerhouse agenda, and promote the Liverpool City Region as a great place to live, work and invest.”


5.30pm: John Keyes, head of Cushman & Wakefield’s regional office, said: “We welcome the progress of devolution in the North West and the election of Metro Mayors for our major conurbations. Our city regions need a strategic approach and greater autonomy from Whitehall. National policies and funding formulas rarely serve the best interests of our towns and cities.

“The Metro Mayors will have a critical role to play in championing their city regions with government.

“In Greater Manchester, in particular, devolution and the mayor is a logical development based on many years of collaborative working across local authority boundaries.

“Andy Burnham has said he is positive about development but that it needs to be of good quality and in the right place. The industry will be watching carefully to see how he takes forward the Greater Manchester Spatial Strategy, given his stated reservations during the campaign. We want him to make this a priority and to avoid undue delays that can so often blight development.

“We hope the new Mayors will find ways to engage with the property industry and listen to our views. The industry has been at the heart of the region’s success over the last 20 years and we want to work with the Metro Mayors to continue the success story.”


5.15pm: More reactions are coming in from the North West property community, with Burnham’s plans for the draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework a key point of interest.

Dan Mitchell, partner at Barton Willmore, based in Manchester, said: “Congratulations to Andy Burnham on his decisive victory in Greater Manchester’s mayoral election. The powers and funding vested in these new positions across the country should bring many benefits to more effective housing delivery and planning, yet here many in the development industry will now be waiting with baited breath to see what Burnham does with the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework. Going back to the drawing board on this framework at this stage, if Burnham sticks to his manifesto pledge, could create delays and a period of prolonged uncertainty – which is not a recipe for encouraging development. So, all eyes will be on how Burnham works with council leaders on this spatial plan, and how he will support the required housing delivery in the meantime.”


5pm: Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn is in Liverpool at Rotheram’s victory party. He is expected to appear shortly to speak to supporters and media.

 


4.55pm: In response to Burnham’s win in Greater Manchester, Chris Fletcher, director of marketing and policy at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: “Greater Manchester Chamber congratulates Andy Burnham on being elected as the first ever Greater Manchester Mayor. We look forward to working with him over the next three years to help develop and deliver what our members have told us they expect to see from the Mayor.

“This is a significant event for local government and the course of devolution in Greater Manchester and the rest of the UK. With five other Combined Authority mayoral elections and with the London Mayor into a second decade, there is the greatest ever opportunity now to start to work together to make sure that devolution works for everyone and where more powers are still needed to be delivered by Westminster we can work on making that happen.

“We hope that with the general election still to take place that this does not hinder or hold back the important early days of the new administration.”


4.40pm: The dedicated Twitter account for Mayor of Greater Manchester has been in stasis for a number of months. Whoever’s in charge has been quick to populate the account with suitably cheery photos of newly-elected Burnham. So don’t forget:

 


4.25pm: From one Labour Mayor to another: Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, has congratulated both Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram on their victories, saying that Burnham will make a “brilliant” Mayor of Manchester. To Rotheram he tweeted: “Great to have a Labour Mayor for Liverpool City Region.”


4.20pm: Burnham enjoys his moment of glory, posing for photos with Labour supporters on the steps of Manchester Central , where the votes were counted.


4.17pm: Conservative candidate Sean Anstee takes second place on the chin, and following the result announcement quickly responds with the following video, praising the democratic process: “Greater Manchester has spoken.”


4.15pm: More industry reaction, this from Ian Anderson, executive director of Iceni Projects, said: “The ball is now very much in Steve Rotheram’s court when it comes to housing delivery in the Liverpool City Region. The devolution deal is hazy on detail and the onus is on Rotherham to draw up a Strategic Plan for growth by 2020. This would eventually afford him real clout on planning matters, including the power to call in planning applications.

“Rotheram has promised to hit the ground running with a host of eye-catching policies in his first 100 days. His flagship Housing Summit initiative, which would bring together a variety of public and private stakeholders, could yield much needed strategic leadership for regional housing growth.

“The reality is we are likely to see a slow trickle down of planning powers up to 2020. Rotheram will be the master of his own destiny in carving out the best deal for the region. For now he will also need to rely on the support of regional council leaders to advance his policy agenda. However, this could change over time as Westminster cedes more powers to the Metro Mayors.”


4pm: The prize for instant reaction with pre-prepared commentary goes to RICS policy manager Geoff White, who sends us this: “Mayor Burnham’s exciting and ambitious election manifesto recognises the central role that the business sector has played and will continue to play in the growth of Greater Manchester.

“He will find RICS professionals in the city region eager to work with him to support his plans for new housing, for investment in transport and digital infrastructure, revitalised town centres and safe communities, and a word-leading Digital City and Green City, where businesses are supported to succeed and jobs are decently-paid and secure.

“Mayor Burnham has pledged a decent and affordable home for everyone to rent or to own, with nobody forced to sleep rough on our streets and we hope this will link in with the RICS anti-homelessness campaign – known as ‘A Home for Cathy’ – which aims to unite the wider property sectors and encourage them to collaborate better to deliver more affordable homes and end rising homelessness.

“His manifesto pledges on education and skills are also very welcome. RICS professionals have warned for over a year that a shortage of skilled labour in the construction sector will scupper the country’s growth plans if action is not taken. This is a major opportunity for Greater Manchester to train people for well-paid careers and jobs in the future.”


3.55pm: The full results for the Greater Manchester vote are as follows:

Voting area: Electorate: Votes cast: Percentage turnout:
Bolton 198,239 58,165 29.34%
Bury 141,141 45,387 32.16%
Manchester 358,879 101,909 28.40%
Oldham 160,199 41,302 25.78%
Rochdale 159,607 40,281 25.24%
Salford 173,042 43,444 25.11%
Stockport 220,120 70,866 32.19%
Tameside 168,270 43,748 26%
Trafford 167,432 64,202 38.35%
Wigan 235,414 64,239 27.29%
Greater Manchester Combined Authotity area 1,982,343 573,543 28.93%

First count results:

Candidate’s surname: Other names: Description (if any): Number of first preference
votes given for each candidate:
Percentage (%) of
first preference votes:
ANSTEE Sean Brian The Conservative Party Candidate 128,752 22.72%
ASLAM Mohammad Independent 5,815 1.03%
BROPHY Jane Elisabeth Liberal Democrats 34,334 6.06%
BURNHAM Andy Labour and Co-operative Party 359,352 63.41%
FARMER Marcus Jonathan Independent 3,360 0.59%
MORRIS Stephen English Democrats – “Putting England First!” 11,115 1.96%
ODZE Shneur Zalman UK Independence Party (UKIP) 10,583 1.87%
PATTERSON Will The Green Party 13,424 2.37%
Total number of first preference votes: 566,735

 

Rejected first count ballots:

Reason: Count:
a) want of an official mark 16
b) voting for more than one candidate as to the first preference vote 4,735
c) writing or mark by which voter could be identified 114
e) unmarked or void for uncertainty as to the first preference vote 1,943
Total number of ballots rejected at the first count: 6,808

3.50pm: Andy Burnham has been declared Mayor of Greater Manchester. The Labour candidate won convincingly, taking top spot in all 10 boroughs, including Trafford where Cllr Sean Anstee, the Conservative candidate, is leader of the council. Burnham will not contest his Leigh parliamentary seat on 8 June. The turnout was 28.9%.


2pm: The Conservative party has won 46 seats at Lancashire County Council, taking overall control. Labour secured 30 seats, while Liberal Democrats, Green, Independent, and UKIP’s win of its first seat in the borough, made up the final eight. The council was previously under no overall control, although Labour held the most seats of any party.


1.40pm: Labour candidate, Steve Rotheram has been declared Mayor for Liverpool City Region, winning 59% of the vote. His closest rival, Conservative Tony Caldeira, came second with 20%. Rotheram, formerly MP for Liverpool Walton, received 171,300 votes in the election, which had a turnout of 26% of the population of the city region.

The full results for the Liverpool City Region Mayoral election are as follows:

Candidate Party Number of votes
BANNISTER Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 7,881 (2.73%)
BREEN Get the Coppers Off The Jury 729 (0.25%)
CALDEIRA The Conservative Party Candidate 58,805 (20.37%)
CASHMAN Liberal Democrats 19,751 (6.84%)
CRONE Green Party 14,094 (4.88%)
MORTON Women’s Equality Party 4,287 (1.49%)
ROTHERAM Labour Party 171,167 (59.30%)
WALTERS UK Independence Party 11,946 (4.14%)


Rejected Ballot Papers

Reason Number
Want of official mark 5
Voting for more than one candidate as to the first preference 1,871
Writing or mark by which voter could be identified 36
Unmarked as to the first preference vote 370
Void for uncertainty 507
Total rejected 2,789

 


1.35pm: Results are now coming in by the borough for the Liverpool City Region. According to Liam Thorp, reporting for the Liverpool Echo at the count in Liverpool, Steve Rotheram has secured 69.5% of the vote for the city of Liverpool borough.


12.57pm: The ward results are starting to coming in for closely contested Lancashire County Council. The lead is changing frequently as Conservatives and Labour stay neck and neck. To win a majority and gain overall control the winning party requires 43 seats or more. Follow the progress here: http://www3.lancashire.gov.uk/elections/results/2017/howitstands.asp


12.05pm: In the Claughton by-election, Labour held its seat, with Gillian Wood securing a 52% share of the votes. The by-election was triggered following the death of Cllr Denise Roberts.

In Wavertree, the seat has been won by Labour candidate Clare McIntyre. The seat was previously held by Labour Cllr Beatrice Fraenkel who stepped down earlier this year.


12.01pm: The turnout for the Liverpool City Region Mayoral election has been confirmed as 26.1%. The city of Liverpool had the highest turnout of the six boroughs, at 28.6%.


12pm: Cheshire East has announced the result of the Knutsford by-election with Conservative candidate Jon Wells-Bradshaw elected. Wells-Bradshaw won with 532 votes, 227 more than his Labour rival David Michael Stephenson. The turnout was 29.6%.


11.52pm: The result of the Rusholme by-election has been announced, with Jill Lovecy, the Labour candidate, winning with 2,188 votes. Amaan Hashmi for the Liberal Democrats came second, with 576 votes, followed by Anna Loveday Tucker, Green Party, with 458 votes. The turnout was 34.9%.


10.40am: Outside the North West, one dramatic victory came down to blind luck. In Northumberland, the Liberal Democrats beat the Conservatives to a majority, as the winner of the crucial seat was decided by a straw draw after the candidates received exactly the same number of votes each.


10.33am: The Mirror is reporting rumours that the turnout in the Liverpool City Region Mayoral election was just over 25% and Andy Gill from the BBC quoted similar figures, estimating a turnout of 26%. Meanwhile Oliver Clay, from Runcorn & Widnes Weekly News who is at the Halton count heard that the turnout in the borough was 18%.


10am: In Wrexham, Independents won eight additional seats, holding 27 out of 52, but the council remains under no overall control. Labour came second in the county with 11 seats, losing 12. Conservatives saw a gain of four seats, up to nine.


9.50am: In Cumbria, Conservatives secured 37 out of 84 seats. The council remains under no overall control. The results represent a gain of 12 seats for the Conservatives. Labour came second in the county, winning 26 seats, a loss of 10.


9.30am: In Flintshire, Labour secured 34 out of 70 seats, failing to get a majority. The council remains under no overall control. Independents came second, securing 23 seats. Thirteen seats of the county council’s 70 were uncontested.


9am: The turnout in the Greater Manchester Mayoral election was 28.9%, significantly higher than many people had been predicting.

The breakdown of turnout by borough was:

  • Bolton 29.3%
  • Bury 32.2%
  • Manchester 28.4%
  • Oldham 25.8%
  • Rochdale 25.2%
  • Salford 25.1%
  • Stockport 32.2%
  • Tameside 26%
  • Trafford 38.4%
  • Wigan 27.3%

Your Comments

Read our comments policy

Dire turnout..Something to be ashamed of since working people died for the right to VOTE!

By Schwyz

All the investment will head to Birmingham now. Starting with the Commonwealth games and Channel 4.

By Elephant

Schwyz-the turn out for the French Presidential elections (twice) highlighted how shameful our turn out is.

By Time lag

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