First, let me make clear to you that I am under no illusions. Ken Livingstone is the front runner in this race. But this contest is now between the two of us, Ken Livingstone and me.

As the Labour candidate I want you to know that I am proud of the Labour Party but in this race I am more than that.

I am the mainstream candidate.

The serious candidate and the responsible candidate.

I represent London values. I represent the values of the hardworking majority in this great city of ours.

When I set out on this journey I knew it would be a hard battle to get where I am today. But that battle has been worth every ounce of effort. This is the greatest challenge of my life. And I am going to win.

I'm going to win because when all the froth has died down and people ask themselves who do they want to run London they will be faced with three choices.

• A choice between genuine policies and gesture politics.
• A choice between a united London and a divided London.
• A choice between mainstream values and Livingstone values.

In this election if people want more jobs, sensible taxation policies, and a pro police and pro business stance I am the person who will deliver on them.

This is a serious job involving far reaching decisions, with serious money to spend, the public's money.

It's the biggest, direct personal mandate of any politician in Britain. A £3 billion budget. The ability to make decisions that affect the lives of millions of Londoners.

It's a big responsibility.

London's firms and businesses generate wealth on a huge scale. London contributes around 17 per cent of our country's GDP.

London contributes three quarters of Britain's income from financial services - to the tune of £6 billion a year.

London offers opportunities which attract the best and brightest from across the country - from around the world - to live and work here. We attract some of the world's biggest and best companies to invest here.

For years now I have been going around talking to business leaders in London, listening to the what they have to say, discussing with them the problems we face and the opportunities that exist.

As Labour's Mayor, I will continue to work with the business community to deliver the success that we want to see for London's future.

The challenges we face in our city are great. In all this prosperity there are whole communities who do not share in that success.

There are more unemployed people in London than in Scotland and Wales put together and one and a half million Londoners are on income support. And I'm going to change that.

Today, I wish to announce that as Mayor I will establish with business a partnership for prosperity aimed at creating over 100,000 more jobs in London over four years.

To ensure that together we deliver on my ambitious pledge I will bring together the brightest and the best business people around London. I will ask major firms to contribute the expertise of their senior executives to the work of the GLA. Business people like you have heard today.

I will ensure that the majority of appointees to the LDA are serious entrepreneurs. I want businesses of all sizes to be represented at the heart of the Greater London Authority. And I will consult not just about its membership but about how the LDA goes about its business.

As Mayor my key priority for the new London Development Agency (LDA) will be to promote employment- to create more jobs helping London towards full employment.

A large amount of work is already being done to attract investment to create and retain jobs. The CBI, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, London First and the London Business Partnership have all been working to create and maintain jobs. And I applaud them for their work.

Every sensible person welcomes what has been done and I want to make it clear that as Mayor I will build on this good work. I will listen to the experts, the people out there running their own businesses. I believe the best way to achieve prosperity is through partnership.

My vision is of a prosperous London - where businesses can flourish, where wealth is created, and where people can share that wealth in the most fundamental and rewarding way - through having a job. I want a London at work not a London on benefits.

I want the London Development Agency's economic strategy to focus on enhancing and developing the skills of Londoners; as well as promoting business efficiency, competitiveness, and encouraging investment in London.

Over four years, I want to see more of the £1 billion of Single Regeneration Budget money available to the London Development Agency to be targeted at projects that will improve the employment prospects, training and skills of Londoners.

Anyone who knows anything about government understands that with power comes responsibility.

That's why I say to Mr Livingstone: every time you make an announcement that threatens business, I'm going to tell people about it. I'm going to spell out the job consequences for London's hardworking families.

London is a hub of the global economy. I want it to remain that way. I don't want the IMF, the WTO, the World Bank and other global institutions afraid that if they come to London the police will stand aside as London businesses are vandalised.

I don't want millions of pounds worth of damage to the City of London I want billions of pounds worth of investment.

London is a beacon for inward investment. I want it to remain that way. I want business to know that I am a pro business mayoral candidate.

I want a tax climate that encourages enterprise. Ken Livingstone wants a 40 per cent corporation tax rate on London firms.

I want to encourage public private partnerships like the East London gateway project. Ken Livingstone dogmatically rejects proposals for public private partnerships.

London's transport needs at least £8bn of modernisation. I will make sure that we get it.

I am not ideological about how that is done. I will make sure that we use private sector expertise wherever we need to.

What I will not do is what Ken Livingstone would do. He would borrow money London does not have and ask Londoners and the business community to bail him out when things go wrong. He would take the decisions and Londoners would carry the risk.

If the Jubilee line extension had been funded with bonds Londoners would now be having to find £1.5 billion to pay for the cost overrun.

Job losses and tax hikes - that's Livingstone economics. And I'm going make sure Londoners know about it.

The £1 billion of Single Regeneration Budget money will be crucial to improving employment prospects - but other spending streams will play their part.

Over £20 million will be available for the development of skills.

That's where I will focus my attention - on those that need basic skills - and the thousands of Londoners whose employment prospects would be enhanced by gaining skills equivalent to NVQ level 3.

I will ensure that the skills and potential of individuals are developed and rewarded with increased opportunity of employment.

With the right skills and investment - new jobs can be created in each of London's key sectors: in the creative industries, in manufacturing and the financial services.

682,000 Londoners are employed in cultural and creative jobs (including tourism) across the city - some 20% of London's workforce.

I will ensure that the development strategy includes promoting better access to support services for business development in the cultural industries - as this sector is fragmented and diverse.

And I will help lever in private sector and partnership funding to help sustain cultural facilities and organisations that make London the leading creative industry-city in the world.

Manufacturing employs some 325,000 Londoners - approximately 10% of the workforce.

Of course, London lost nearly 60% of its manufacturing jobs between 1980 to 1995 - some of that thanks to Stephen Norris and his Tory colleagues.

Yet despite manufacturing employment having halved, with Labour total output is now sustaining a continued upward trend.

London firms manufacture £20 billion worth of goods.

And the highest growth industries include electronics, information networks, and multimedia and software design.

All these industries make the most of London's excellent skills base - involving designers, engineers and production line workers.

I will work to ensure that a diverse range of jobs is available to meet the skills Londoners have to offer.

And I am determined to promote more effective partnerships between business and London Universities, colleges, research centres and medical schools. If we can do this, we can ensure that more of the things that are discovered and invented in London are developed and manufactured in London.

We will need to step up the effort to attract new business to invest in London, but we will also need to do more to persuade existing businesses to stay. London has been losing too many small and medium sized employers.

They usually leave when faced with an major investment decision such as replacing outdated plant and equipment, introducing technological change or going into a new market. We have to convince them that their future lies here in London .

The major problem for employers is not being able to get the staff with the right skills. Another is the cost of transport delays estimated by the CBI at 16 billion pounds a year. Another is the problem of premises being broken into and vandalised - vans being robbed or stolen, staff assaulted.

As Mayor I will care about and address all of these problems. I will make sure more is done to match training programmes to job opportunities.

On transport delays, I would start by asking business what they actually want from the transport system - what would really help them keep their costs down - speed up deliveries and staff journeys.

On crime, I would get police and employers working together to reduce theft, vandalism and violence to staff.

That is the kind of Mayor I will be.

Relentlessly concentrating on the every day problems that employers face.

And in the financial services, where some 210,000 Londoners are employed, I will ensure that London's status as an international financial centre is not jeopardised.

I understand what the business community needs in order to thrive. They need security, stability and predictability. And that is exactly what they will get from me by the bucket load.

I understand the vital importance of business to London. I understand the wealth that it generates. I understand too the great progress we can make - the difference we can make - right here in our capital city.

It is a huge responsibility to be London's first Mayor. It is a position of great trust and importance. And it is a challenge I relish and look forward to with every hour and every day of this campaign.