Greater Manchester’s new mayor Bev Craig has said Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s move to give the regions more power could “change our lives”.

The Labour candidate claimed victory in Thursday’s by-election after securing 309,525 votes over Reform’s Sian Astley, who won 157,178.

The 41-year-old will succeed Burnham as mayor, after he stood down to run in the Makerfield by-election in June. The pair appeared together at a Labour rally in Manchester after Craig’s election win.

Craig said: “For a prime minister two weeks in, to start giving powers out of Whitehall and putting it in the places that can make a difference – that can change our lives.”

She added: “I will rise to his challenge about taking the power and control that he is offering mayors like me to make our regions better.

“Because that is what it is all about.”