Chuka Umunna MP, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, in a speech to the British Chambers of Commerce Annual Conference, said:

Thank you for that introduction. And an even bigger thank you to John and the BCC for all the help and support you have given to my party and to me since I became Shadow Business Secretary in 2011.

We want the same things so common cause has united us, and common purpose has driven us. Common purpose like on establishing a proper British Investment Bank and sorting out the way our banks serve our businesses - a key priority of the BCC. I’m grateful to you for facilitating the consultation we did on that issue with your members right across Britain.

Or the common purpose on exports. I was delighted to lead a successful trade mission to West Africa for the London Chambers in the middle of this Parliament. It was a real pleasure spending the week with you banging the drum for British business.

And to all your members who have hosted me and my team – Liam Byrne, Toby Perkins, Iain Wright, Ian Murray and Stella Creasy – when we have visited your businesses all over the county, thank you.

Above all though, we should recognise the contribution your make, the products you sell, the jobs you create, the profits you make, the taxes you pay.

I know it is not easy. I know how tough it is to build a business, and make it succeed. I saw it growing up, watching my late father - an entrepreneur - as he built an import-export successful business from scratch. The worry, the stress, the long hours and late nights – I’ve seen it.

I saw it too practising as a solicitor for the best part of a decade. I helped businesses – large and small – navigate their way through employment law which my clients all too often felt was not written with them in mind.

But, in spite of these hurdles, you persevere, driven by precisely what I saw in my late father – that utter determination to succeed. In short, you are part of the backbone of our communities, our economy and our nation.

My party was established to build a fairer Britain. And I’ve always argued that if we want a fairer society we need a stronger economy – with more higher-skilled, better- paid, secure jobs. It is you – our businesses – that will create these jobs. Any debate on building a fairer society is academic unless there are businesses creating wealth.

We need you to succeed: to add to our nation’s bottom line and pay our way in the world. To help fund our public services and drive growth – from Cornwall to Cumbria, East Anglia to Aberdeen. To seize the vast opportunities of the global economy, and create the jobs of the future. This is the way we earn our way to higher living standards for all.

Jobs of like those I saw in Hove recently on my Future Jobs of Britain tour, at a company called D3O. They have developed this amazing material. It is soft and flexible in your hands, but forms a rigid, strong barrier immediately it is struck. Bikers, skiers, soldiers and runners are all discovering what amazing protection it offers. Still a young company, they are developing new applications for the material all the time, and now employ 50 people in the UK. They have tripled revenues to £10 million in the last two years and are aiming for £50 million by 2017, mostly from exports. If you want to see their product have a look online – just search for “shadow business secretary takes a hammering” – and alongside some other news articles from the last week, you should find the video.

Or other jobs of the future like those I saw in Bristol last week at Johnson Matthey, a leader in sustainable technologies. Its history goes right back to 1817, but it’s a company whose eyes are firmly ahead – on the challenges of sustainability, the jobs that can be created in transition to a lower-carbon world, and the economic possibilities of the circular economy.

And, in my own constituency, Streatham, jobs of the future at RJB Stone, the giftware wholesaler. It’s a company that started in 1996 with a 1000 juggling balls to sell at the Edinburgh festival, and now employs more than 100 people.

All three of these companies export at least 20 per cent of their product. These are the kinds of businesses we need to succeed, and need more of. Eyes firmly on the future, developing products and services the world wants, and creating good jobs here at home.

In 85 days from today I’m hoping to lose the Shadow from my title. And if I do, I can assure you of this. We will work every day, strain every sinew, to make your lives that bit easier: easier to do business; easier to export; easier to create jobs; easier to succeed.

I won’t make change for the sake of it. But neither will I hesitate from action where improvement is needed. My motto will be this: continuity wherever possible; change only where necessary. I will use every lever government has to back you actively, to support businesses large and small.

In my visits to companies like D3O, Johnson Matthey and RJB Stone I see the potential our nation has if we can unlock it on a broader scale. The economy is now growing, but it remains fragile. For all the Government has done, structural reforms remain necessary if we are to generate better balanced, more inclusive and enduring growth. Our Achilles heel remains productivity where we need a relentless focus if we are to restore the public finances to balance and raise living standards year-on-year.

So I want to talk briefly about three areas where our approach will make a real difference:

First, if we want vibrant local economies, we need to give local areas more control. That’s why we will take £30 billion of money central government currently spends on behalf of local areas, and put it into the hands of cities and regions. We won’t repeat the mistake this government made, abolishing RDAs without having thought through their replacements. But we will ensure that Local Enterprise Partnerships continue, have a clear purpose, and the capabilities, budgets and powers to deliver.

Second, if we want to raise productivity, we need to address skills shortages that hold you back, especially technical and vocational skills. The academic pathway through school to university is clear. Now we need the same clarity for vocational skills – starting with a new, gold standard, vocational qualification – the Tech Bacc. Then high quality apprenticeships and new Technical Degrees. We want a big expansion of apprenticeships, but this must be based on quality not simply the numbers game as it has become for this Government. Indeed, if it wasn’t so serious it would be funny. We have just discovered that almost four in 10 of the employers the Government counts as providing apprenticeships don’t think they do. Hardly a ringing endorsement.

And finally exports. Any government can wish upon a star for £1 trillion of exports. But wishing isn’t enough. Nor are export finance schemes that no one uses. And threatening exit from the EU – our largest export market and gateway to the world – is actively damaging and diminishing Britain’s clout in Europe and the world. My own view is that it would be disastrous for British business if we left.

Our exporters are national heroes, and you deserve the very best of support. That’s why I’m delighted the Chairman of AgustaWestland – Graham Cole – is leading an independent review for Ed Miliband, Ed Balls and me on how to create the world class service you deserve.

As a nation we have many advantages to draw on – the ties of language, culture and history; of family among our diaspora communities and ex-pats; and strong links with cities around the world. But we need to learn from the best examples around the world, and bring it all together.

One idea emerging from Graham’s Review is for a one-stop-shop for current and potential exporters in localities in the UK, to provide a high quality and seamless service to our exporting heroes in all communities and connect to markets abroad. It is something Chambers could be ideally placed to provide and I’d welcome your views on the idea.

For Britain to succeed we need you to succeed. Our exporting heroes. Our firms that train apprentices. Our businesses that are creating the jobs of the future. A Labour Government will back your success, with practical policies that will make a difference, and with the urgency and vigour you deserve.