Labour's Bev Craig is elected Greater Manchester mayor to succeed Andy Burnham

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Labour Party candidate Bev Craig was elected mayor of Greater Manchester on Friday, after a vote triggered by the departure of Andy Burnham to become Britain’s prime minister.Craig won 66.3% of the votes in a runoff with Sian Astley from the anti-immigration party Reform UK.“To those that voted for me, thank you,” Craig said after the result was declared. “And for those of you that didn’t vote for me, I will still be your mayor. I will defend this city region with every bone in my body and I will fight for a better life for all of us.”Turnout in voting held Thursday was only 25%, the lowest in any of the four elections since the northwest England city got a directly elected mayor in 2017.Voters were able to mark a first and second choice on their ballots. Since no candidate reached 50% of the votes in the first round, the top two competed in a runoff in which the second-preference choices of five eliminated candidates were added.Craig is the outgoing leader o