Voting has begun in the biggest byelection in British political history, with more than 2 million people eligible to choose Andy Burnham’s successor as Greater Manchester mayor. In normal times, such a large and politically significant byelection would have dominated the headlines for weeks, particularly as senior Labour figures only weeks ago feared losing the prize mayoralty to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. A poll by More in Common this week gave Craig, the leader of Manchester city council, a 20 percentage point lead over Reform UK’s Sian Astley. View image in fullscreen Sian Astley, the Reform UK candidate, cannot count on as broad support as Craig under the supplementary voting system. Reform UK, by contrast, cannot count on such broad support.