HOT on the heels of teachers threatening industrial action over the Government's education policies, health workers are warning of strikes over job cuts in the National Health Service.

Industrial action in schools will do most harm to our children. And strikes in the NHS will harm patients. It is not the answer.

That said, these are worrying times for Tony Blair on the two fronts which were closest to him when he first set foot in Downing Street - education and health.

There are echoes of the clash between public service workers and the government which helped bring down the last Labour administration in 1979. And although those echoes are faint, there is clear potential for the disagreements to escalate into a serious confrontation.

Since 1997 we believe there has been clear progress in areas of education and health services.

But achievements such as significant cuts in cardiac and cancer waiting times are in danger of being overshadowed by the 7,000-plus job cuts which Tony Blair insists are necessary to modernise the NHS.

To the NUT, the Government's education reforms are a disaster. To Unison, its health reforms are just as bad. Mr Blair has called for a sense of balance and we endorse that plea.

It comes down - as everything does in politics - to trust.

For all the arguments raging between unions and ministers, the ultimate test of the Government's track record on education and health will be personal day to day experiences of parents and patients.

If, on the whole, they are positive, the Government should be able to look to the future with confidence.