Reform's candidate to replace Andy Burnham said those worried about immigration are not 'nasty people or rampant racists' – and added that Manchester was built on 'fantastic immigration'.

Seven candidates are running to replace Andy Burnham as the Mayor of Greater Manchester in three weeks' time. Voters will go to the polls across each of the ten Greater Manchester boroughs for the by-election on July 30, selecting both their favourite and second favourite candidates.

During a mayoral election hustings hosted by the Manchester Evening News on July 8, Reform UK's candidate Sian Astley, denied her party had an 'agenda of hatred and division'.

Following a question on immigration, Ms Astley said: "Uncontrolled immigration came up on the doorstep over and over and over again and it didn't come up from people who were nasty people or rampant racists."

She said people were concerned about immigration's impact on housing, education, and health services and while Manchester was 'built on fantastic immigration', current levels are putting pressure on the city's 20,000 household waiting list. She said the issue was 'the elephant in the room' and politicians have to be honest about it.

Despite their political differences, Green Party candidate Geraldine Coggins said she agreed there was pressure on public services but that was 'not down to migration'.

Ms Coggins added: "That is down to 15 years of Tory austerity cutting all our services and then we all had so much hope in 2024 this new Labour government would turn this back and instead they doubled down."

She said she would always "champion all our diverse communities', adding: "We are living with the legacy of the communities that have come before us and this city region is so much better for that."

Similarly, Labour's Bev Craig said she was proud of a Greater Manchester that was built by people that came here.

The Labour candidate said: "As Mayor you are not in charge of migration, you are in charge of keeping this place together, not pitted or divided against one another.

"We can find ways to have honest discussions about difficult things but we don't do that by fighting amongst each other. We don't do that by pitting one group against another."

For Trafford Conservatives, immigration has been a big issue as they have long campaigned for the government to stop housing asylum seekers in two Trafford hotels. Trafford's Tories have argued their use has created 'safety concerns' in the communities.

Asylum seekers have since been moved out of one and the campaign is ongoing.

Tory candidate Phil Eckersley said people were mainly concerned about illegal immigration and there were 'nuances' to the issue pointing to schemes welcoming Hong Kong, Afghan, and Ukrainian refugees.

He added: "What I would say is that people who come to Greater Manchester legally should be given the opportunity to be able to have comfortable and affordable housing."

Echoing his national party's policy, Liberal Democrat's Richard Kilpatrick said the government needed to allow asylum seekers the ability to work as 'they would work incredibly hard and they're desperate'. He said politicians needed to show leadership.

He told those in the audience: "The best thing about the city region is its diversity. If we could bottle up the diversity of this region and give it to the rest of the country, maybe we might be a little less divided and get on with each other more."

A few boos erupted however when it was Restore Britain's Marlon West's turn as he pointed to his party's platform of mass deportation and their inquiry into grooming gangs. His daughter Scarlett was a victim of grooming gangs and has previously waived her right to anonymity.

Her case featured in the Baird Inquiry, which examined the experiences of women and girls arrested and taken into police custody in Greater Manchester. The inquiry found Scarlett 'went missing and was raped' in 2019 by a man referred to as Adult 4. It also found another man, known as Adult 5, groomed her, with Scarlett describing being driven to hotels to take drugs and have sex.

Referencing the experiences of his daughter, he said: "What I'd say is live my life for four years while your daughter is being raped. Go to Piccadilly Gardens because I have gone to Piccadilly Gardens at 12 at night. It's terrifying."

He said the country had seen so many illegal immigrants as well as HMOs where 'businessmen are making massive profits', adding: "This needs to stop and for the safety of women and children, it has to stop now."

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