Andrew Dismore

You may have already heard that I was successful in the ballot and I am now officially your candidate for the GLA seat of Barnet and Camden to take on the Conservatives in the London elections of 2012.

Can I firstly thank the hundreds of members from all the five parliamentary constituencies who voted for me in the selection process.

Can I also thank the other two candidates, Tom Copley and Kath McGuirk for what was a good humoured selection campaign. They both have a tremendous amount to offer to our Party with their great enthusiasm and political skills, so I look forward to working with them both over the ensuing months to win Barnet and Camden for Labour. As you will appreciate, this was a very competitive contest, and taking on the Tories next year cannot be any tougher than winning this selection.

For those members who did not vote for me, I will work hard to earn your support and trust. I hope I will be able to count on your help too, as we all now need to come together to take on the common foe, the Conservatives and Lib Dems.

I realise that you have given me a great responsibility, in selecting me as your candidate. Unseating the Tory incumbent is not going to be easy. But together, we will do it. To win next year will be a team effort from all of us in the Labour Party and from all those others who support us – people who are not yet our members and those who just want to see the back of the Tories in City Hall.

Over the immediate future I will be doing my best to get round as much of this enormous constituency as I can, to meet with as many people as possible, particularly members who do not know me as well as others, and to listen to what you have to say.

I look forward to meeting you on the campaign trail in the very near future and hearing your opinions about what we need to do, together, to win next year.