Burnham wins race to becomeLabour's candidate

ANDY BURNHAM

ANDY BURNHAM has won the battle to be Labour candidate for the mayor of Greater Manchester.

The shadow home secretary said it was a "great honour" and told the government he would ensure it follows through on its promise of a "Northern Powerhouse" if he wins the 2017 election.

The shadow home secretary's victory was announced at a press conference in Media City, Salford, yesterday.

The MP for Leigh beat Bury South MP Ivan Lewis as well as interim mayor and Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd, despite the fact he had the backing from many council leaders and most trade unions.

Mr Burnham received 3,792 votes. Mr Lloyd came in second place with 2,163 votes, while Mr Lewis received 1,472 votes.

He said he would stand down as MP "at the earliest opportunity" should he win the race to be mayor, but said for the time being he would remain shadow home secretary.

The ballot closed at noon on August 5, with 11,591 Labour party members in Greater Manchester eligible to vote ­- the turnout was 65.3 per cent.

Mr Burnham set out his vision for the North-West, which would include solving the housing crisis, creating more opportunities for young people and ensuring that the "northern powerhouse" would not be Manchester-centric but inclusive of all the towns in the region.

He said post-industrial towns like Oldham had been abandoned by Westminster and he was "not prepared to put up with it any longer".

If elected mayor next year, he said he would leave Westminster.

He said: "To be selected as Labour's candidate for the first elected mayor of Greater Manchester is a great honour and I thank our members for the faith they have shown in me.

"I will repay it by devoting my energy to uniting the Labour family, working to win back the voters we have lost and building a policy programme with broad appeal.

"I will bring forward real answers to our housing crisis and give new hope to our young people.

"Today, I have a clear message for the prime minister: you and your party were elected on a series of promises to the north of England and I will not let you walk away from them.

"You promised us a powerhouse and now you must give us the tools and investment to build it.

"Only yesterday, the IPPR revealed that our country spends six times more per person on transport in London than it does on the North.

"The unfairness is outrageous and cannot continue. The longer it does, the more unequal our country becomes.

"Investing in modern, high-speed rail across the North of England is the country's single highest transport priority and I will relentlessly press the government for explicit recognition of that undeniable fact.

"Just over a month ago, when people voted in the referendum, they told us loud and clear that they want change in our politics. They are fed up with an out-of-touch Westminster which has created an unequal country, a housing crisis, sold our young people short and our industry down the river.

"But since the vote, Westminster has reverted to business-as-usual, showering honours on the political elite.

"I want to assure people that I have heard and understood their call for change in politics and am standing in this election to bring it about.

"I want to open up politics here and involve people from all walks of life in the work of the mayor.

"I will be a grassroots mayor for all of Greater Manchester; for each and every one of its proud towns as well as the city. I will give Labour a stronger northern identity, working every day to close the North-South divide.

"But I won't be able to do any of it alone.

"Together, we will make Greater Manchester even greater than it is today."