Hughes stays on as Greater Manchester deputy mayor

Baroness Beverley Hughes has been reappointed for a second term as Greater Manchester's deputy mayor. 

She has served as mayor Andy Burnham's number two since he was first elected in 2017 and is responsible for oversight of policing, crime and the fire service.

Newly re-elected mayor Mr Burnham had expressed his desire for the former government minister and Trafford council leader to continue in her £85,000-a-year post, before it was formally approved at a meeting of the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel on Friday (14 May). 

A turbulent first term 

Mr Burnham and Baroness Hughes’ first term was a turbulent one, starting with the Manchester Arena bombing which happened just days after they took office.

Firefighters desperate to help victims were held back by their bosses for two hours, with decisions and mistakes made by top officers brought the service ‘to the brink of failure’.

GMP's response was largely praised in Lord Kerslake’s independent review of the events and aftermath of the attack, though a communications breakdown between the force and other agencies was highlighted.

The leadership of then-Chief Constable Ian Hopkins on the night of May 22, 2017 was hailed by both Mr Burnham and Baroness Hughes after the attack.

After announcing that Mr Hopkins had accepted a new two-year contract, Baroness Hughes said in June 2019: “Ian Hopkins has been an outstanding Chief Constable and I’m very happy that he will continue to serve our communities.”

A month later, GMP launched its £27m computer system iOPS, bringing with it a tide of technical and operational issues that would have a huge impact on officers and victims.

Such issues prompted one of two scathing reports within the space of a year by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

The watchdog's report published in March 2020 found iOPs had exposed hundreds of vulnerable people to the potential risk of harm, while forcing some officers to revert to using pen and paper after it crashed.

At the time, Baroness Hughes said that while many of the findings had already been identified by GMP, it raised ‘significant issues’ and answers were demanded from Mr Hopkins.

Nine months later the HMICFRS published a report revealing that GMP had failed to record around 80,000 crimes in a year – including one in four violent crimes.

The force was warned that victims were being ‘denied justice’ by its approach to domestic violence and child protection.

Mr Hopkins was asked to resign days after the report’s release according to Mr Burnham who, together with Baroness Hughes later publicly criticised the culture amongst senior leaders at GMP.

The outgoing chief was even accused of downplaying issues within the force, deliberately withholding information from the mayor’s office and refuting the HMICFRS’ findings.

'It's been my honour and a privilege to serve the communities of Greater Manchester'

Now she has been reappointed, Baroness Hughes has committed herself to protecting communities, tackling inequality, and building a strong, transparent police force. 

"It’s been my honour and a privilege to serve the communities of Greater Manchester as Deputy Mayor for the last four years, working alongside the Mayor to build safer, stronger communities. I am delighted to be given the opportunity to continue building on this work," she said. 

"Looking ahead, I am looking forward to working with the new Chief Constable as we begin a new chapter for Greater Manchester Police, one which will see us build a strong, accountable, victim-centred police service, that brings out the best of our many dedicated officers and staff who serve our communities day in, day out.”

"Today, we have also launched our first Fire Plan which sets out the priorities for our fire and rescue service for the next four years. I will be working closely with Chief Fire Officer, Dave Russel, to deliver on those priorities and ensure the Service understands and reflects the communities it serves.

"I’m also committed to tackling inequality across our city-region, working with partners, the VCSE sector and local people as we seek to build back better from the pandemic. I’m particularly passionate about gender equality and tackling gender-based abuse, which is pervasive in our society and must be eradicated. In the next few weeks, we will launch a formal consultation on our 10-year plan to prevent abuse and violence against women and girls and challenge the attitudes and inequalities that enable it." 

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “It has been a very challenging four years for our fire and police services. I believe we have got to the heart of the issues with GMFRS and now, with our new Chief Fire Officer, the service is making great progress and this work will continue under the Deputy Mayor’s leadership.

“Now, as we look towards a new era for GMP, I am confident we have an outstanding leader in the incoming Chief Constable Stephen Watson. Progress has already been made to address the problems within the force, but we are clear that more needs to be done, including strengthening neighbourhood policing and improving the 101 service. The level of scrutiny and accountability the Deputy Mayor has provided is of a level beyond what people may realise and we will continue to strengthen that public scrutiny and accountability going forward.”