Nicky Gavron has been selected as Labour's candidate to challenge Ken Livingstone for the London mayoralty.

Ms Gavron, the current Deputy Mayor of London, beat her closest rival, Tony Banks MP, by a majority of 7%.

She comfortably won the vote of the trade unions, but took a narrow majority of just 70 from the 12,000 individual votes cast by London party members.

The other candidate on Labour's short list was trade union official and former Harrow councillor Bob Shannon.

The missing piece of the jigsaw is a Labour mayor

Nicky Gavron

Ms Gavron will now go up against Ken Livingstone in the 2004 elections.

Mr Livingstone had publicly urged Labour members to choose Ms Gavron

Ms Gavron presented herself as a "continuity candidate", who would take forward Mayor Livingstone's policies.

She also says she would urge London voters to use the second of their two votes to back the current mayor.

'Huge honour'

Ms Gavron described her win as a "huge honour", but said London needs a "faster pace of change".

"The missing piece of the jigsaw is a Labour mayor," she added.

"As London's mayor I could work with the Government to leaver in the resources London needs."

Pledging �100 million for better bus services, Ms Gavron said her priorities were "a greener, safer, cleaner city with good public transport, where people can afford to live".

More power

Congratulating Ms Gavron, Mr Banks said: "The office of Mayor has got to have more powers in legislative terms and it has got to have an independent revenue scheme."

Mayor Livingstone said: "This result means that London Labour Party members have recognised that the main enemies of public services in London are the Tories."

But there are concerns that the Ms Gavron and Mr Livingstone are too politically similar.

Shadow local government secretary Eric Pickles said: "Standing up for London means having someone who can stand up to and beat Livingstone.

Labour has refused to let Ken Livingstone back into the party

Her record shows she'll do neither - supporting Livingstone's council tax hikes and anti-car policies."

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have yet to select their candidates, although Steve Norris and Susan Kramer are expected to want to run again for the job they failed to win two years ago.

Nominations for Tory candidates closes on November 29.

In the first London mayoral elections in 2000, Mr Livingstone failed to become the Labour candidate despite winning the support of most London party members.

He subsequently left the party to run as an independent. The official party candidate, Frank Dobson, managed only third place after Mr Norris.

Earlier this year, Labour rejected Mr Livingstone's attempt to rejoin the party.