The strictly Orthodox candidate standing for Ukip in the Manchester mayoral election received just 1.87 per cent of the vote, mirroring a collapse in support for the party across the country.

Shneur Odze was placed sixth out of eight candidates, receiving 10,583 votes, and coming behind the English Democrats, the Greens, the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives and the Labour Party.

Labour’s Andy Burnham won the election outright in the first round of voting, receiving 63 per cent, or 359,352 votes out of the 566,735 cast overall.

Earlier this week Mr Odze was at the centre of a scandal, after the Mail on Sunday published allegations that he had had relationship with a woman he met on a bondage website.

He does not appear to have been present at the official count, held this afternoon.

In his victory speech, one of the first people thanked by Mr Burnham was Sir Howard Bernstein, who served as the chief executive of Manchester city council for 20 years, retiring at the end of March.

Ukip’s vote has disintegrated across the country, with the party having lost over 130 council seats.