I’ve been a member of the Labour Party since I was fifteen.

I was born and brought up in London and it was through the Labour Party in London that I got my first sense of people working together to change their community.

When Labour created the office of Mayor of London in 1999 and we had our first mayoral elections in 2000 I was studying politics at school. I remember thinking then that this new political office would change the way I would see London in the future. I hoped London would become less of a victim of politics, a giant without a leader, and change to become a great example of what cities and communities can achieve when they work together.

That might have been wishful thinking, and the ten years since then have shown that London has a staggering set of challenges; making political leadership of the city a hard task. Crime, transport, immigration, the economy and jobs, the environment, housing, education, health care…all these are pressure points in London and the Mayor cant affect change in all these areas, they have to pick their priorities.

I think that difficultly of prioritisation was part of the reason that Londoners trusted the only man who had run London before when we elected our first Mayor in 2000. Ken Livingstone ran as an independent candidate after being rejected by the Labour Party for the nomination. Running as an independent demonstrated Ken’s clear ambition to lead London, even if Labour didn’t want him to. But after eight years in office Ken’s brand and his work were not what Londoners wanted anymore, and sadly they opted for Boris. Maybe this was similar to the reaction the public had to Gordon Brown during the General Election? Maybe Ken just didn’t deliver.

Either way, with Boris as Mayor, Labour needs to think again about who we need as our candidate to run London in 2012. I want someone who represents all Londoners and takes responsibility for London. I know Boris doesnt do that. But who is best to lead London for Labour?

Labour needs to find the right candidate over the next three months, and when Party members are chosing who to vote for they should think about who Labour needs to help us reconnect with London.