NO-WIN situations dominate Labour's agenda at the moment, the first being the Firemen's Strike.

If the Prime Minister agrees to inflationary demands from the firemen, we all know that other claims will follow and the stability of an economy which has delivered low inflation, low interest rates, increased public investment and high levels of employment will be put at risk.

I spent many years as a Trade Union negotiator, so I have a natural sympathy for firefighters' aspirations. I quickly learned to resist, however, putting in wage claims which were wildly unattainable because such a strategy always ends in tears and inevitably leads to furious conflict. This must be a time for both sides of this dispute to step back, think carefully, and start again with negotiations that are achievable, offering wages and a fire service in the best interest of firemen and the public.

The debate on top-up fees is another sensitive and difficult issue, with our colleges and universities suffering decades of under-funding. There is, of course, no easy solution, but I am urging the Government not to try and solve their problems by delivering a two-tier system that turns our top educational institutions into places where only the children of the rich can go.

Individual contributions, should they be necessary, ought to be based on deferred payments from those who eventually receive above average incomes as a result of their education, and we cannot hope to escape from the necessity to increase public funding in this important field.

Thirdly, the economy has started to witness its first blip since the election of New Labour in 1997, with predictions for growth having to be scaled back. This takes place amid the most difficult world economic slowdown for 30 years. Twenty other countries, accounting for 60 per cent of the world's output, have been or are in recession. I was pleased that the Chancellor maintained his commitment to high quality public services.

Labour's long-term goal must continue to be to deliver world-class public services through investment and reform to ensure that taxpayers receive value for money. So I was happy that he did promise that we would meet our spending plans, including over £40 billion extra for the NHS and an extra £14.7 billion for education.

The challenge we face, of course, is to ensure that we spend the available money wisely and ensure that taxpayers receive value for money.

By David Crausby MP for Bolton North-east