Paul Dennett is the new mayor of Salford after a second round victory in the City Mayor elections.
The Labour candidate was very close to pulling off a victory in the first round; having achieved 49.5% of first preference votes.
Speaking to SalfordOnline on his immediate reaction after becoming mayor, Dennett stated: “It feels quite frightening at the moment. However I understand the responsibility the role brings and I’m looking forward to working to make Salford the best city it can possibly be”.
Despite the success for the Labour party in Salford, the picture hasn’t been as clear nationwide for Dennett’s party. However, the newly elected Mayor still believes this result is a major success story for Labour on a local level: “I think Salford is one of the biggest success stories for Labour in this election, we’ve ran a fantastic campaign, and managed to fend off the Tories and UKIP in some wards and maintain a sizable majority which is excellent news for voters who are tired of austerity for political gain”.
His nearest rival, veteran Conservative Councillor Robin Garrido, was the only other candidate that could catch Dennett in the second round, however he fell convincingly short after the second round.
Garrido, noticeably emotional whilst thanking his wife, stated after losing the election:”We’ve improved our position (in the city) and we’ll continue to improve our position until we take control”.
The Conservative nominee also used his speech to invite the newly elected mayor to visit the Minister for Transport in regards to the ‘ever worsening’ congestion situation; an issue Dennett was keen on tackling too: “I’m more than happy to work with Tory Councillors to make the situation better, but when Robin (Garido) sat on the transport board he did nothing to tackle the situation”.
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2016 City Mayor election results after two rounds
Paul Dennett (Labour): 28,332
Robin Garrido (Conservative): 14,484
Owen Martin Hammond (UKIP): N/A (Votes from first round:8,668)
Wendy Kay Olsen (Green): N/A (Votes from first round 4,158)j
