# Mayor of Salford

The Mayor of Salford is a directly elected politician responsible for the executive functions of Salford City Council, created in 2012 for the City of Salford in Greater Manchester. The position is different from the long-existing and largely ceremonial, annually appointed ceremonial mayor of Salford.

## Greater Manchester Combined Authority

The GMCA is made up of 11 constituent members: the elected Mayor of Greater Manchester and the 10 leaders, nominated by each of Greater Manchester's constituent authorities. The Mayor of Salford is the only directly elected council leader in Greater Manchester.

## Referendum

A petition of 10,500 Salford residents, started by the English Democrats, on a referendum on the creation of a directly elected mayor triggered the process of establishing a directly elected mayor for Salford. The poll was held on 26 January 2012.
Mayor of Salford referendum 26 January 2012 :
| Choice | Votes | % |
| Elected Mayor | 17,344 | 55.92 |
| Cabinet System | 13,653 | 44.08 |
| Valid votes | 30,997 | 99.70 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 94 | 0.30 |
| Total votes | 31,091 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 171,790 | 18.09 |
| Source: Salford City Council |||

## Elections
### 2012

In the first election for a directly elected mayor in May 2012, Ian Stewart, a Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eccles from 1997 until 2010, was elected. During the campaign controversy surrounded Independent candidate Paul Massey who stated that he is not a criminal, after he was arrested in connection with allegations of money laundering.
Salford Mayoral Election 3 May 2012 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | 1st round | 1st round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| | Labour | Ian Stewart | 20,663 | 46.0% | 2,796 | 23,459 | 70.0% | ​​ |
| | Conservative | Karen Garrido | 8,055 | 18.0% | 2,016 | 10,071 | 30.0% | ​​ |
| | UKIP | Bernard Gill | 3,368 | 7.5% | | | | ​​ |
| | Independent | Pat Ward | 2,665 | 5.9% | | | | ​​ |
| | Liberal Democrats | Norman Owen | 2,148 | 4.8% | | | | ​​ |
| | BNP | Edward O'Sullivan | 2,026 | 4.5% | | | | ​​ |
| | Independent | Paul Massey | 1,995 | 4.5% | | | | ​​ |
| | English Democrat | Michael Felse | 1,616 | 3.6% | | | | ​​ |
| | Green | Joseph O'Neill | 1,273 | 2.8% | | | | ​​ |
| | Community Action | Michael Moulding | 1,065 | 2.4% | | | | ​​ |
| | Labour win | Labour win | Labour win | Labour win | Labour win | Labour win | Labour win | Labour win |

### 2016

Salford Mayoral Election 5 May 2016 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | 1st round | 1st round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| | Labour | Paul Dennett | 24,209 | 49.6% | 4,123 | 28,332 | 66.2% | ​​ |
| | Conservative | Robin Garrido | 11,810 | 24.2% | 2,674 | 14,484 | 33.8% | ​​ |
| | UKIP | Owen Hammond | 8,668 | 17.7% | | | | ​​ |
| | Green | Wendy Olsen | 4,158 | 8.5% | | | | ​​ |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

### 2021

The election was scheduled to take place in May 2020 but was delayed to 6 May 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic, it took place alongside other local and regional elections in the United Kingdom.
Salford Mayoral Election 6 May 2021 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | 1st round | 1st round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| | Labour | Paul Dennett | 30,892 | 59.0% | | | | ​​ |
| | Conservative | Arnie Saunders | 12,234 | 23.4% | | | | ​​ |
| | Green | Wendy Olsen | 4,585 | 8.8% | | | | ​​ |
| | Independent | Stephen Ord | 1,890 | 3.6% | | | | ​​ |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jake Overend | 1,716 | 3.3% | | | | ​​ |
| | Independent | Stuart Cremins | 1,036 | 2.0% | | | | ​​ |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,509 | 28.76% | | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

### 2024

The 2024 Salford mayoral election was held on 2 May 2024, alongside the 2024 Salford City Council elections, the 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral election and other local elections across England and Wales.
This election was the first to use first-past-the-post to elect the mayor as a result of changes made to electoral law by the Elections Act 2022. The candidates were announced on the same day that the candidates for the local elections were made known.
Salford Mayoral Election 2 May 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Paul Dennett | 30,753 | 61.5% | +2.5% |
| | Conservative | Jillian Collinson | 10,930 | 21.9% | −1.5% |
| | Green | David Jones | 5,623 | 11.2% | +2.4% |
| | TUSC | Sally Griffiths | 2,681 | 5.4% | N/A |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 690 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,823 | 39.6% | +4.0% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,987 | 25.9% | −2.9% |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 193,084 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.0% | |

## List of mayors

| Political party | Political party | Name | Entered office | Left office |
| | Labour | Ian Stewart | May 2012 | May 2016 |
| | Labour | Paul Dennett | May 2016 | Incumbent |