LONDON (AP) — Voters in the English city of Manchester are electing a new mayor Thursday to replace Andy Burnham, who quit the job to become Britain’s prime minister. It’s also chance for some 2 million voters to pass judgment on the governing Labour Party, whose sagging popularity Burnham hopes to revive. The Greater Manchester region has a population of about 3 million and includes the city of Manchester and surrounding towns. Burnham won three straight mayoral elections, in 2017, 2021 and 2024, and Labour candidate Bev Craig, the current leader of Manchester City Council, is hoping to retain the mayoralty for the party. Craig faces six other candidates, including Sian Astley from the anti-immigration party Reform UK, which won big in many areas of Greater Manchester in local elections in May .