‘This is the dream job’: Labour’s Bev Craig on the battle to be Greater Manchester mayor

Craig, who has been leader of Manchester city council since 2021, hopes to be crowned as Andy Burnham’s mayoral successor next week. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Bev Craig was mid-squat at the gym when she was recognised for the first time as the prospective heir to Andy Burnham’s throne. Until recently, the Manchester city council leader could happily have gone about her workout in peace.

But all that changed when Burnham, who DJ’ed at her 40th birthday party last year, won the Makerfield byelection and set up another big electoral contest on his way to becoming prime minister.