Manchester election results LIVE: Andy Burnham's successor as mayor to be announced in biggest ever by-election

Manchester election results LIVE: Andy Burnham's successor as mayor to be announced in biggest ever by-election Labour's Bev Craig is favourite to be named Mayor of Greater Manchester, succeeding Andy Burnham, following Britain's biggest ever by-election as Nigel Farage's Reform stumbles Labour's Bev Craig is expected to be named Mayor of Greater Manchester after Britain's biggest ever by-election. Ms Craig is the favourite to succeed Andy Burnham, who vacated the post when he became MP for Makerfield last month. The new Prime Minister has since set up a No10 in the North in the heart of Manchester. Reform UK were initially tipped to be a strong challenger for the coveted post, which is set to become more powerful as Mr Burnham devolves power from Westminster. But activists were reportedly diverted to Clacton, where Nigel Farage is facing a humilating showdown with Count Binface after triggering a by-election. Earlier this week two major national polls showed Labour overtaking Mr Farage's party for the first time in more than a year as Reform's problems stack up. Labour's Bev Craig is currently favourite to emerge from the vote as the next Greater Manchester mayor - but Reform and the Green Party have been keen to talk up their chances. The candidates are: - Sian Astley - Reform UK - Geraldine Coggins - Green Party - Bev Craig - Labour and Co-operative Party - Phil Eckersley - Conservative and Unionist Party - Marcus Farmer - Independent - Richard Kilpatrick - Liberal Democrats - Marlon West - Restore Britain Today, we'll find out who will become Greater Manchester's next mayor in Labour's first electoral test since Andy Burnham vacated the role for Number 10. Over two million people from the area - which includes Manchester and surrounding towns such as Rochdale, Bury, Stockport, Wigan and Bolton - were eligible to vote in the poll. The count is expected to begin at the Co Op Arena at 9am, with results officially expected later in the day, likely in the early afternoon. However, the first indications of how the region has voted will start to emerge much earlier than that - so stay with this blog for all the latest updates. A café owner who served up free meals to hungry children after food vouchers were removed has been told he will be reported to police by a Reform council leader. Barry Ashley, who runs the Grumpy Cook in Hastings, stepped up after East Sussex County Council decided not to issue school holiday meal vouchers to struggling families over the summer. He has criticised the move, which he branded “shameless”, accusing the council of turning its back of children in poverty. He has since been told by Andy Woolley, who heads the authority, that he will be reported to police along with Labour MP Helena Dollimore. Mr Woolley claims to have been personally attacked online and accused the pair of inciting hate and potential violence by naming him in their criticism. The dispute follows the council's decision not to continue offering the vouchers, which are a lifeline to families. An appalled Mr Ashley responded by announcing he would offer free meals to children who need feeding at his not-for-profit cafe. A number of local businesses have donated to help, and Mr Ashley told The Mirror he has been providing more than 70 free meals a day. Ms Dollimore has launched a petition calling for the vouchers to be reinstated, branding the council's actions "totally unacceptable" and accusing it of putting children at risk. Mr Ashley said: "Hastings is one of the poorest towns in the country. And it is by every measure it's a deprived town. One in three of the children are living in poverty. "And the vouchers, just to take those away without considering what they should be putting in place, without doing any risk assessment, without doing any impact assessment, it's beyond bizarre."