The general election on June 8 is Londoners’ last chance to stop the extreme form of “hard Brexit” that the Tories have pushed at every opportunity, and to send a clear message that London is proud to be the most open, diverse, tolerant and forward-looking city in the world.

The majority of Londoners did not vote for Brexit — but the British public did and I respect their democratic will. But, as Londoners, we do reject the extreme and damaging version of hard Brexit that the Tories have put forward since the referendum — which risks doing immense harm to our city. The Tories alone decided that they want Britain to leave the single market as well as the EU — putting Londoners’ jobs and prosperity at risk. Leaving the single market and the customs union will make it harder for our businesses to succeed and grow, imposing tariffs on exports to our biggest market and creating unnecessary barriers for key sectors such as financial services and tech.

The Tories alone decided not to give EU citizens living in London a cast-iron guarantee that they will be able to stay here after we leave the EU. These people are Londoners — making a huge contribution to our city, economically, socially and culturally. They now face huge uncertainties in their lives thanks to the Tories — not knowing whether they can continue to live in the place that they and their families call home. The general election is not another referendum on our membership of the EU — but it is our last chance to send a clear and strong message about the type of Brexit we want — and to reject a hard Brexit once and for all.

A vote for Labour is a vote for the best possible access to the single market, a vote for giving EU citizens living in Britain the certainty they and their families deserve, and a vote to ensure our businesses get the access to the skilled workforce they need to grow and to create jobs for all Londoners.

Of course, there are other crucial issues at stake in this election. While Jeremy Corbyn has, over the past week, announced policies to help carers and those working but still struggling to make ends meet, the Tory government is pushing through a range of measures that will harm London: cutting funding for the Metropolitan Police, slashing spending on London schools while wasting money on new grammar schools, and breaking its promise to let Transport for London run suburban rail services — leaving commuters to suffer. A vote for Labour on June 8 is a vote against five more years of this.

Over the past year I hope I have proved to Londoners what Labour can achieve in power: making fares more affordable, taking the first major steps towards fixing the housing crisis, putting more dedicated police officers in local communities, bringing forward the most ambitious plans to tackle air quality anywhere in the world, taking on the scourge of homelessness on our streets, prioritising jobs and growth, promoting equality and showing that London is open. That is what Londoners will get by voting on June 8 for our fantastic Labour MPs — who work so hard for their local communities — and for our Labour candidates who want the chance to do the same.

All Londoners must take this opportunity to say, loud and clear, that we will simply not accept the extreme hard Brexit that Theresa May wants to impose upon us and the generations to come.