Few people were discussing the salary when Andy Burnham took office as Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017. They were discussing politics: a former Cabinet minister who is now a regional leader, staking his career on a position that didn’t even exist a few years ago. Nine years later, the debate over the Mayor of Manchester’s salary has become more pertinent, in part due to the job’s increased complexity.
The annual salary for a mayor is currently £114,000, but it was £118,267 when Burnham was in office. With good reason, that amount is significantly higher than the average MP’s salary of £98,599. The mayor of Greater Manchester is more than just a symbol at ribbon-cutting ceremonies. The role carries direct responsibility for policing, fire and rescue services, transport strategy, housing investment, adult education, waste management, and a £6 billion health and social care budget. It’s a job that, on paper at least, rivals the scope of several Cabinet positions combined.
There’s a sense, walking through the questions people ask about this role, that the salary surprises them. It’s not because it’s ostentatious, but rather because few people outside of the North West were aware of the position’s true authority. That changed slowly, through the years of Burnham’s public visibility during the pandemic and his very public disputes with Westminster over local restrictions. By the time most people started paying attention, Greater Manchester’s mayor had already become one of the most consequential regional offices in the country.
Burnham himself made one particular financial decision that became part of his public identity. For all nine years in office, he donated 15% of his mayoral salary to causes tackling homelessness in Greater Manchester. It wasn’t a one-time act. It wasn’t something he declared at a press conference every year, but rather something he just kept doing. It was quiet, steady, and almost methodical. He carried that same promise into Parliament, this time allocating the 15% to local community causes in his constituency. He is currently an MP for Makerfield and is widely anticipated to become Labour leader.
Above all, the salary of the mayor of Manchester reflects a purposeful political philosophy regarding devolution. In addition to attracting serious candidates who might otherwise stay in Westminster, the compensation was designed to demonstrate that regional governance should have the same level of leadership as national government. It’s still unclear if the public has fully embraced that argument. Given the responsibilities, some consider the figure to be reasonable. Others wonder why regional offices command six-figure salaries at all, especially in hard times.
As mandated by the regulations governing the deputy position, Paul Dennett has assumed the role of acting mayor since Burnham is now in Parliament. On July 30, 2026, there will be a by-election for the Greater Manchester mayoralty. In addition to the salary, the winner will take over a genuinely demanding position that manages the biggest waste disposal authority in the UK, controls a transportation system that serves millions of people, and has police and crime commissioner authority over one of the most populous areas of England.
It’s difficult to ignore the fact that being mayor of Manchester has subtly evolved into one of the more important positions in British public life. Although the salary associated with it isn’t particularly noteworthy, it serves as a gauge of how far devolution has advanced since 2016, when the concept was still in its infancy. Regardless of who sits in Downing Street, the next mayor will receive that amount, whatever version the independent remuneration panel recommends, and will have to answer the same question Burnham did from the beginning: can a regional leader create something that endures?
