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Carl Austin-Behan

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Carl Austin-Behan
OBE DL
Member of Manchester City Council for Burnage
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 September 2026
Serving with
  • Asma Alam
  • Azra Ali
Preceded byBev Craig
Majority328 (10.1%)
In office
5 May 2011 – 3 May 2018
Serving with
  • Azra Ali
  • Bev Craig
Preceded byWilliam Fisher
Succeeded byBen Clay
LGBT Adviser to the Mayor of Greater Manchester
In office
August 2018 – 31 July 2022
MayorAndy Burnham
Lord Mayor of Manchester
In office
13 May 2016 – 17 May 2017
Preceded byPaul Murphy
Succeeded byEddy Newman
LGBTQ+ Ambassador for Greater Manchester to the LGBT Foundation
Incumbent
Assumed office
August 2022
Personal details
Born
Manchester, England
PartyLabour
Spouse
Simon Austin-Behan
​
(m. 2015)​
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch
Royal Air Force
Service years
1991–1997
Rank
Senior Aircraftman
UnitRAF Chivenor Crash and Rescue Team[1]
AwardsRoyal Humane Society Bronze Medal

Carl Jason Austin-Behan OBE DL is a British politician and community activist who served as the LGBT adviser to the Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2018 to 2022. He served as Lord Mayor of Manchester from May 2016 to May 2017, being its first openly gay Lord Mayor. He has served as Labour councillor for Burnage since September 2026, having previously served in the same role from 2011 to 2018.[2]

He served in the Royal Air Force from April 1991 until October 1997 and in 2001, aged 29, he won Mr Gay UK.[3]

Early life and education

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Austin-Behan was born in north Manchester and grew up in Crumpsall.[4]

Career

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Austin-Behan was discharged from the Royal Air Force in 1997 for being gay at a time when it was illegal to be openly gay in the RAF.[5][6]

Austin-Behan was elected to Manchester City Council as Labour Member for Burnage ward in May 2011.[4][6] In 2016 he was made Lord Mayor of Manchester,[4][7][8] and his term ended in May 2017.[9] He was Manchester's first openly gay Lord Mayor[6][10] and one of its youngest at 44.[4] In November 2017 Labour deselected him as the Labour candidate for the local elections in May 2018. He said that he was "hurt, upset and gutted" to have been deselected in favour of Momentum candidate Ben Clay.[11]

In August 2018, he was appointed the first ever LGBT advisor to the mayor of Greater Manchester.[12] In July 2022, he left his role as LGBT advisor[13], and instead became an Ambassador for the LGBTQ+ Community in Greater Manchester to the LGBT Foundation.[14]

In August 2026, Austin-Behan was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the Burnage ward by-election, following the resignation of Labour councillor Bev Craig after she was elected Mayor of Greater Manchester.[15] Austin-Behan previously represented Burnage on Manchester City Council from 2011 to 2018.[16]

Awards and honours

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Personal life

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Austin-Behan married his partner of 12 years, Simon Behan in 2015.[21] In May 2016 the Metro reported that the couple were in the process of adopting a child.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "For Those Who Served: Corporal Ekins". Royal Air Force. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
  2. ↑ Carl Austin-Behan on X
  3. 1 2 "Past Winners". Mr Gay UK. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Lord Mayor's Office: The Lord Mayor of Manchester: Councillor Carl Austin-Behan". Manchester City Council. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Williams, Jennifer (16 May 2016). "Manchester to swear in its first ever openly gay Lord Mayor". Manchester Evening News. Manchester. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 Halliday, Josh (24 October 2016). "Manchester lord mayor 'subjected to homophobic abuse at Justin Bieber gig'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  7. ↑ Williams, Jennifer (19 May 2016). "Manchester's first ever openly gay Lord Mayor sworn in - with an Abba quote". Manchester Evening News. Manchester. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  8. ↑ Street-Porter, Janet (20 May 2016). "Manchester is a city that deserves a better mayor than Andy Burnham". The Independent. London. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  9. ↑ Williams, Jennifer (16 May 2017). "Interesting, amazing and knackering! Carl Austin-Behan on his year as Lord Mayor of Manchester". Manchester Evening News. Manchester. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  10. ↑ Peraudin, Frances (17 May 2016). "Manchester to swear in first openly gay lord mayor". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  11. ↑ Williams, Jennifer (2 November 2017). "Manchester's first openly gay mayor blocked from standing for election as Momentum gain ground". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  12. ↑ https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/news/mayor-sets-up-uk-s-first-city-region-lgbt-adviser-and-panel/
  13. ↑ https://lgbt.foundation/carl-austin-behan-obe-dl-joins-lgbt-foundation-as-greater-manchester-lgbtq-community-ambassador/
  14. ↑ https://lgbt.foundation/carl-austin-behan-obe-dl-joins-lgbt-foundation-as-greater-manchester-lgbtq-community-ambassador/
  15. ↑ Williams, Jennifer (August 2026). "Labour choose RAF veteran and former Mr Gay UK as Burnage by-election candidate". Manchester Evening News.
  16. ↑ "Burnage by-election, Manchester". PollCheck. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
  17. ↑ "Deputy Lieutenant Commissions Greater Manchester Lieutenancy". The London Gazette. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  18. ↑ "Carl Austin-Behan OBE DL". The Greater Manchester Lieutenancy. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  19. ↑ "New Year Honours" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  20. ↑ "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N11.
  21. 1 2 Nagesh, Ashitha (18 May 2016). "Former Mr Gay UK kicked out of RAF for his sexuality sworn in as Lord Mayor". Metro. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
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