Andy Burnham has won the race to be Labour’s Manchester Mayor candidate.
The shadow home secretary and MP for Leigh beat Ivan Lewis, the former shadow Northern Ireland secretary and Bury South MP, and Tony Lloyd, the interim mayor, in a turnout of 7,564.
The mayoral election will take place in 2017 at the same time as scheduled local elections in May.
Mr Burnham said he was prepared to leave the House of Commons should he emerge victorious in the overall contest next year.
In his victory speech he said: “I will now seek to carry that flame forward as Labour’s candidate.
“I want to send a very direct message to the Prime Minister.
“You and your party have made promises to people in the north of England and I will not let you walk away from them.”
The new Manchester Mayor will control a vast area including Manchester, Rochdale, Salford, Oldham, Wigan and Stockport.
New powers include a £300m housing fund and the ability to unite transport links in a similar way to the Mayor of London.