Speeches and letters

First of all, let's get one thing straight. I've never believed politics is about image, or sound bites or spin-doctors. I didn't join the Labour Party because I wanted my picture in the papers.

I joined the Labour Party for the same reasons most people join the Party. Because we're democratic socialists. Because we care about ordinary people. Because we believe in social justice, in equality, that government exists to transform society. We have a passion for education because we understand that it sets people free - free from the cycle of poverty that still blights so much of our country.

Look at London. We have some of the wealthiest areas of Britain in our capital city. And yet we also have some of the deprived areas in the country as well. We have something like 20 per cent unemployment in London - and you're twice as likely to be jobless if you're Black or Asian. You're twice as likely to die by the time you're 75 if you live in Newham than if you live in Bromley - and it's only ten miles away. Infant mortality rates in Hackney are ten times worse than in Kingston. A child living in the Kings Cross area is five times as likely to be killed or injured in a house-fire than a child living in Hampstead.

Let's not kid ourselves here. In the year 2000, after two years of Labour Government, after a hundred years of our Party, we still have:
- kids sleeping rough on the street;
- people in a desperate state because of the nightmare of a drug addiction;
- housing so run down that it breaks your heart to think that a fellow human being has to live there;
- elderly people who've worked all their lives and yet who spend their retirement too frightened to go out after dark, too frightened to heat their homes.

Now I have been a proud member of the Government for two and a half years. And I think we've done a lot to be proud of. When I was the Secretary of State for Health, I was proud of the fact we raised billions of pounds to pay for the biggest hospital building programme in the history of the National Health Service. I'd like to think that the man that actually set up the Health Service, Nye Bevan, would have been proud of what the Government has achieved so far.

But I'm not daft enough to think that this Government has solved all our problems. Or even that it's got it all right. Priority number one for the Mayor of London has to be tackling poverty and inequality. And we need practical policies that actually make a difference to people's lives - not wish lists or warm words.

Trevor Phillips and me have set out clear policies to improve the lives of Londoners on all the main issues.
To help in the fight against crime, we will introduce a named police officer for every Londoner.
To reduce the inequalities in health, we will appoint a medical officer for health in London.
To help recruitment of key workers, we will develop low cost homes for nurses and teachers.
To improve access to public transport, we will give free bus passes to every youngster under the age of 18.
To improve education and leisure, we will work with the private sector to ensure that four in five London households have Internet access.

These are just some of our promises. It's only the start but an important one. These are just some of my ideas. Practical, common sense ideas that will make a real difference to people's lives. I want to work with people. I want to take people with us. I don't want to Mayor of London because I want my picture in the papers. I want to be Mayor of London because of what we can do - together to make a real difference.

You know, the Mayor can achieve very little alone. That is why I've said all along that I will work in partnership with the Assembly, the London Boroughs, the Trade Unions and with business to tackle London's problems.

I remember in Tower Hamlets when we campaigned against the BNP. When John Smith asked me to lead that campaign against the Fascists. People of all races and religions - and people like me without any religious beliefs - came together. People from across the London Labour Party came together. And together we sent those rotten, racists bastards packing in Tower Hamlets.

Later this month, Labour Party members in London have the chance to choose their candidate for Mayor. In May, Londoners will for the very first time be able to elect a Mayor of London. We've had all the arguments about the process - I insisted that Ken was allowed to stand and I asked the MEPs to let him and Glenda have access to the membership lists.

We can't afford to let the Tories benefit from our selection. They've selected their candidate. They've begun their campaign. History has taught us that it's the Tories that benefit when Labour is divided. We've got to get our act together. The Mayor of London is a serious job.

I am standing for Mayor because I've lived and worked in London all my adult life. I brought my family up here. I care about the future of our capital city. London is a great city. It can offer great excitement and endless possibilities. We have some of the greatest wealth in the country in London. Yet we have some of the most grotesque inequalities and the largest concentration of poverty seen anywhere in the country. High unemployment, high cost of living, high crime. Poor housing, poor health, poor transport blight huge parts of our city.

Yes I want to see a cleaner, safer, more prosperous London. But I also want to see a fairer London as well. That's why I'm in the Labour Party. That's what makes me a socialist. That's why I've spent all my adult life working, campaigning, trying to improve the lives of ordinary people. That's why I'm standing for Mayor. I'm standing for Mayor because I have lived and worked in London all my life. I brought my family up here. I care about the future of our capital city. With your help and support, Labour can beat the Tories in London. And together we can achieve great things for the people in this City.

Thank you.

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