UK News

Andy Burnham wins 2021 Greater Manchester mayoral election

The Labour candidate won 67.3% of the vote and will serve a second term as leader of the GM region.

The Manc The Manc - 8th May 2021

Andy Burnham will continue his reign as regional mayor after being voted in for a second term by the people of Greater Manchester.

Residents went to the polls on Thursday (May 6) and the results were confirmed two days later on Saturday (May 8) – with Burnham winning 473,024 votes – 67.3% overall. 

The Labour mayor fought off competition from eight other candidates to triumph – including The Conservative Party’s Laura Evans; The Liberal Democrat Party’s Simon Lepori; and The Green Party’s Melanie Horrocks.

Burnham will now hold his position as leader until 2024.

The former cabinet minister and Leigh MP became the first directly-elected Mayor of Greater Manchester back in 2017 – taking over from interim leader Tony Lloyd. 

ADVERTISEMENT

During his four years in the hot seat, Burnham has focused on reducing the number of rough sleepers in the city-region, introducing schemes such as ‘A Bed Every Night’ and the ‘GM Homes Partnership’ – which has become one of the UK’s most successful homelessness projects after giving hundreds of people a roof over their heads.

But the mayor’s most iconic moment arrived as recently as October 2020 – when he was captured roaring a message of defiance from the steps of Bridgewater Hall as the government attempted to impose tougher sanctions on Greater Manchester during the pandemic.

ADVERTISEMENT

But Burnham has also come under scrutiny in recent months due to failures of the region’s police force – which entered special measures and had its Chief Constable replaced after failing to record more than 80,000 crimes in the space of a year. 

During his re-election campaign for 2021, Burnham said his ‘big ticket item’ was a plan to revolutionise Greater Manchester with an integrated London-style transport system – offering a single pass for buses and trams. 

In March, the mayor confirmed that a decision had been made to bring the city’s buses under regional control.

ADVERTISEMENT

Earlier in the afternoon, The Labour Party’s Paul Dennett was re-elected as Salford mayor with a comfortable victory – winning 59% of the vote.

“It’s emotional this,” he declared in his victory speech.

“We smashed it.”

Dennett also urged Labour leader Keir Starmer and the national party to look to Salford and Greater Manchester for inspiration moving ahead.

UK News

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has increased his stake in Manchester United

Danny Jones Danny Jones Sir Jim Ratcliffe increases Manchester United shares

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has increased his investment in Manchester United Football Club, taking his current stake from 27.7% to 28.94%.

The Failsworth-born billionaire officially became a minority shareholder in Man United earlier this year, bringing in the Sports arm of his INEOS petrochemical company and plenty of new personnel with him following an initial £1.25 billion acquisition which saw him buy over a quarter of the club.

While his tenure at Old Trafford has been a somewhat turbulent affair so far – having pleased most fans by taking at least some control away from the family but making a number of less-than-popular decisions of late – he is, at the very least, putting lots of money where his mouth is.

First reported by sports journalist Mike Keegan, Jim Ratcliffe has now made another big cash injection into the club to increase his overall ownership to nearly 30% of the club.

As per multiple outlets, the 72-year-old has pumped a further of approximately £79.3m into Man United to increase his overall stake just before the end of the year.

This latest figure payment was actually promised as part of his initial partial takeover which was completed back in February, with a filing listed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirming the final payment this week, with Ratcliffe receiving additional shares in return.

It also detailed that the ownership of the shares has transferred from Ratcliffe personally to the INEOS Group as a whole, who also have stakes in French football club OGC Nice, the INEOS Grenaiders cycling team (formerly Team Sky), as well as Formula 1, sailing, rugby and more.

Although supporters will be pleased to hear that Ratcliffe is committed to investing in the club, Keegan’s article details that the money itself won’t be strictly put towards any potential signings in the upcoming transfer window.

Similarly, Press Associates (PA) understand that the funds will be put towards infrastructure rather than player recruitment, as it is also expected that some squad members could be offloaded this January.

Is Marcus Rashford really gearing up to leave Manchester United in January?
Could Man United’s homegrown number 10 really be on his way out after nearly two decades in red?

News of Ratcliffe increasing his United stake won’t do much for many of his early detractors, however, as the Greater Manchester local has been accused of ‘forgetting his roots’ and ‘betraying the working class’ with some recent internal steps.

In addition, making around 250 staff members redundant as part of widespread cost-cutting measures as he continues to streamline the club, he has been criticised for neglecting the women’s team and making them train in temporary facilities whilst Carrington is redeveloped.

Most recently, Sir Jim and his newly rebuilt executive board received immense backlash for increasing ticket prices for remaining games this season to a whopping £66 across the board, with no concessions made for young, old or disabled fans.

With sporting director Dan Ashworth having been dismissed after just five months – a man who spent just as much time on gardening leave at his former club as he did in his actual role at United – it’s fair to say Ratcliffe and co. could have been more economical.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Bloomberg Television (screenshot via YouTube)/The Manc Group

UK News

Manchester locals appealing for more information over a month after from finding family member’s body

Danny Jones Danny Jones GMP appeal after body of Chorlton man found dead in bedroom

A Greater Manchester family are still calling for more information now over a month on from the discovery of a man’s body at his Chorlton home.

William Riddell, 49, was found dead in the bedroom of a property on Astbury Avenue at approximately 11:35pm on Sunday, 10 November after being found by his stepdaughter, Sarah Hayden.

Details surrounding his passing are still scarce but a 47-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder but has since been released on bail “pending further enquiries”, leaving Sarah and the rest of her family still none the wiser as to the exact nature of his death.

Preparing to spend their first Christmas without him, they have issued a desperate appeal for more information, urging anyone who might have information to come forward.

Riddell, more commonly known as Billy by those close to him, was described as a “good, caring man with a big heart” and a popular figure in the local area.

Speaking via Greater Manchester Police, Sarah, said: “I want to be Billy’s voice and get answers for him. Billy was a nice and lovely man and all the community knew who he was. He was well-liked and we gave him a good send-off at his funeral.

“I would just ask anyone who knew him or has any information to come forward and tell police. Even if you think it’s a little or small thing – please come forward. We just want to get to the bottom of what has happened.”

Detective Inspector Alex Wilkinson, who serves on GMP‘s Major Incident Team, added in an official statement: “The family of Billy deserve answers following his death and we are working hard to ensure they get exactly that.

“We have closely supported Sarah and the wider family over the last month, and we will continue to provide assistance wherever we can as they face their first Christmas without him.

“While a suspect has been bailed, we are still working flat-out to understand more about Billy’s life, the people he was close to, and events leading up to his death just over a month ago.”

Read more:

With that in mind, both GMP and Riddell’s family are asking anyone who might know anything or have information regarding people associated with Billy to come forward, reiterating that “even if you consider something to be small – your help could greatly benefit our investigation.”

You can contact police via 101 or by using the live chat function HERE, quoting log 3227 of 10/11/24.

Alternatively, you can contact the UK’s independent charity, Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Greater Manchester Police

More UK News

Keely Klassic race Keely Hodgkinson world record attempt race 2025

Sport

Keely Hodgkinson is setting up her own running event next year as she prepares for a world record attempt

4 Northern athletes nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024

News

Keely Hodgkinson, Sarah Storey, Luke Littler and more shortlisted for BBC Sports Personality of the Year

Missing Lidl Liam Gallagher plaque reward

Audio

Lidl are offering a reward for their Liam Gallagher plaque to be safely returned

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches