Turnout for the 2024 mayoral election has fallen in every borough in Greater Manchester

Turnout in this year’s Greater Manchester mayoral election has fallen in every borough.

Andy Burnham had a comfortable victory in the May 2 election, winning 63.4% of the vote with over 470,000 votes cast. His closest runner-up, Conservative candidate Laura Evans, won just under 69,000.

At the time, Mr Burnham said: “To be chosen to represent (Greater Manchester) for the third time means absolutely everything to me.

“I will take this result as an emphatic endorsement of the change we are bringing.”

Most polls predict a similar slide for Labor in the upcoming general election on July 4.

But despite Burnham’s success, voter turnout this year was down overall compared to the previous 2021 mayoral election.

The biggest drop was in Bolton, which saw an 11.6% drop in turnout.

The borough with the highest turnout was Trafford, with 44.9% of the electorate placing a cross in the box. The lowest was Salford with just 26.6%.

Turnout is the number of people who actually voted in an election compared to the number of people eligible to vote – otherwise known as the electorate.

The Local Government Information Unit called it “an important indicator of democratic participation” that can determine the so-called health of a democracy.

It is usually lower in local elections compared to national (general) elections, despite the fact that local council decisions and policies – public transport, roads, parking, planning, bins – probably have the biggest direct impact on people’s daily activities. – daily life.

In an April article, LGiU said: “There is an integral myth in society that local elections do not have as much of an impact on people’s lives as national elections, and therefore many feel that participating in them is not a priority.

“As we know, this could not be further from the truth. Local councils and councilors have authority over a range of critical services and facilities that communities rely on every day.”

The idea of ​​a directly elected “metro mayor” for the region was first floated by George Osborne in 2014. The first election was held in May 2017, with Burnham then winning 63.4% of the vote.

Mayors are elected every three years and sit in a cabinet with the council leader from each of the 10 boroughs, making up the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Due to the increased devolution of powers to England’s big cities since the mid-2010s, the remit of Burnham and his cabinet is considerable, covering public transport, housing, police and fire, skills and the NHS budget.

Average turnout in the inaugural mayoral election was 28.9% – rising since then to 32% in 2024.

Predicting general election results from local elections can be a difficult problem as political boundaries differ between district and constituency. But the surge in support for Labor could be an indication of how Greater Manchester will vote on July 4.

A YouGov poll on 1 June predicted that of the 27 constituencies in Greater Manchester, Labor would win 25 – the last 2 going to the Lib Dems.

Image credit: Mancunian Matters