The election for the Mayor of Greater Manchester takes place on Thursday 30th July 2026, 07:00-22:00 across all 10 council areas of Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.
Role of the Mayor: The Mayor is a major figure in the political life of the city responsible for setting budgets and priorities for Greater Manchester’s public services including transport, housing, planning, fire and rescue services. They also serve as the Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester Police.
It is important that everybody who is eligible casts their vote. With rising Islamophobia, inequality, reduced funding of public services, increase in attacks on mosques and mainstreamed far right rhetoric, this is our chance to make a positive change for all Greater Manchester’s communities.
Photo ID: At polling stations, voters will need to show 1 accepted form of photo ID such as a passport, driving license, blue badge, local travel pass or digital ID.
Candidates:
- Geraldine Coggins – Green Party
- Bev Craig – Labour and Cooperative Party
- Phil Eckersley – Conservative Party
- Marcus Farmer – Independent
- Richard Kilpatrick – Liberal Democrats
- Sean Astley – Reform UK
- Marlon West – Restore Britain
Critical Social Issues: Many of you attended FMO’s Hustings. We asked the upcoming Mayor to:
- Tackle Islamophobia robustly and uphold transparent and ethical leadership and investments
- Protect the right to speak, protest and campaign and uplift youth
- Prioritise and partner on health and well-being, create safer communities and tackle the cost-of-living crisis
Read full requests list here.
A UK mosque is attacked every 5 days, with many attacks in Greater Manchester, this must be addressed through a clear and consistent approach to anti-Muslim hatred, protecting mosques and responding to hate crime.
Important information on changes to the voting process:
You should have registered to vote. Postal votes must be received by 10 pm Thursday 30th of July.
The Mayor is elected using the Supplementary Voting System (different from first past the post).
You can choose a 1st and 2nd choice candidate.
- If a candidate gets more than 50% of the first-choice votes, they will be elected as Mayor
- If no candidate receives more than 50% of the first-choice votes, there is a 2nd round between only the two candidates who received the most first-choice votes
- The ballot papers are counted again and second-choice votes for the two remaining candidates are added to the first-choice totals
- The candidate who has the highest overall total of first- and second-choice votes will be Mayor
Please think strategically about using your 2 votes. Voter turnout for Muslim communities is often low. This opportunity is as an Amanah/ a trust to make a positive change.
