The Mayor has a duty to work on behalf of all Londoners. For those who are achieving great things in business, the arts or sports. For those raising families.

And for those fighting a daily battle against discrimination and unemployment.

I want to see an inclusive London, with a warm welcome for all.

The gross inequalities that mar the lives of so many Londoners upset me. We need to confront and tackle those inequalities. For example, we need to tackle racism head on. But it's not just racism that we need to address. It's all discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of gender, disability or sexuality.

I have a track record of delivery already.

Take just two examples.

In 1994, after the BNP won a council seat in Millwall, John Smith gave me the task - as Shadow Minister for London - of ensuring we rapidly snuffed out the threat of elected racism. I was not the only one who took it seriously. With the support of many members of the Labour Party and a well-conducted campaign we won back the seat and halted the BNP's electoral ambitions. I have never been more proud to be Labour than I was that night.

And I've made a start in promoting equality on NHS Trust and Health Authority Boards. Of all of the appointments to NHS Boards in London I made since I was Secretary of State for Health, over half (52 per cent) are women and over 1 in 5 (22 per cent) are from ethnic minority backgrounds.