New Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig visits Rochdale

Newly elected Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Craig is visiting Rochdale today, bringing the new city-region mayor to the borough during the opening days of her term.

Craig was elected at the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election on 30 July, succeeding Andy Burnham after his return to Westminster. She became the first woman to hold the Greater Manchester mayoralty.

The visit puts Rochdale among the places receiving early attention from the new mayor as she begins the job of representing all ten Greater Manchester boroughs.

At the time of publication, no detailed public itinerary or standalone press release about today's Rochdale visit had been published on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority news pages. Rochdale Daily has checked publicly available material from the mayoral and GMCA press operation and will update this article if further details, photographs or statements are released.

Craig arrives in Rochdale having campaigned on a platform that included expanding the Bee Network, freezing bus fares and extending free bus travel to young people aged 11 to 18. She has also placed housing, economic growth and reducing inequalities among the central issues facing Greater Manchester.

Those priorities are particularly relevant to Rochdale, where transport connectivity, town-centre investment, housing and access to opportunity remain major local issues.

Before becoming mayor, Craig led Manchester City Council from December 2021 and held Greater Manchester responsibilities for economy, business and inclusive growth. She was awarded an OBE in March 2026 for services to local government.

Her election followed the departure of Andy Burnham from the mayoralty. Craig won the contest after the count proceeded to a second round, defeating Reform UK's Sian Astley.

Today's Rochdale visit will therefore be watched for signs of how the new mayor intends to translate her city-region promises into action for individual boroughs outside Manchester city centre.

Rochdale Daily will add any confirmed detail released by the mayor's press team about the purpose of the visit, people she met or commitments made while in the borough.