Tessa’s One London vision is exactly what working people in London need

Next May London will have faced eight years of a Tory in City Hall and 6 years of the Tories in Downing Street, with at least four more to come. London needs a Labour Mayor.

But more than that London needs a Labour Mayor who can deliver. That’s why for me – and Trade Unionists for Tessa – it’s so obvious that it has to be Tessa.

We all know that Tessa is the candidate best placed to beat the Tories – and the polls confirm it – but there’s also no question over which candidate has the best record of delivering for Londoners.

Put it this way, do you think Londoners would rather vote for the woman who delivered Sure Start and the Olympics or Zac Goldsmith best know for inheriting millions of pounds.

Londoners know that our great city faces major challenges. The housing crisis, growing inequality, rising population, low pay, growing global competition. We need someone we can rely on to do the job.

And of course getting the job done means a constructive relationship between Trade Unions and people in power. Tessa has always shown that there’s a better way than macho rows and dramatic showdowns.

In the build up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, she agreed a progressive partnership with the trade unions to deliver them – ensuring that the thousands of workers who built and delivered the games were safe, well treated and properly rewarded as well as setting new standards for apprenticeships, training and health and safety. As a result, not a single day was lost to strike action nor was there a single accident related fatality on site – and thousands of people gained the skills that would allow them to forge a career in the construction industry.

And that translates to how she has always done her politics. She is utterly steely and resolute but she also brings people with her to get things done. When she decided London should host the 2012 Olympics her department began a talk her out of it campaign – but instead she talked them into it. Then she convinced the entire cabinet, then she worked with the bid team to convince the whole world.

That’s the sort of determination and delivery I want to see from the next Mayor of London.

The question for Labour supporters this month is simple – who can beat the Tories, who has the plan, and who can deliver. When you put it like that I don’t think there’s any question at all about who is best placed.

Tessa’s One London vision is exactly what working people in this city need – and crucially she can make it happen. London in 2020 could be a city of real opportunity for all, where the housing crisis is a thing of the past and everyone gets a chance to share in our city’s success.

That’s the future I want to see for our city and winning next year is the future I want to see for our party. That’s why I’m backing Tessa to be the next Labour Mayor and deliver the change that London needs.

Roger Lyons – Former President of the TUC and General Secretary of Amicus, and Convener of Trade Unionists for Tessa