Unconvinced: Gilchrist

Two of Tony Blair's critics in the trade union movement remain unconvinced despite the prime minister's speech on Tuesday.

Speaking shortly after the prime minister's keynote speech at the TUC conference in Blackpool, Fire Brigade union leader Andy Gilchrist told ePolitix.com he remained to be persuaded of the merits of on either Iraq or public services.

"If we follow his argument then we're going to be at war with a number of parts of the globe for a very long time," he said.

Gilchrist, who is currently locked in a battle with local government chiefs over fire fighter's pay, said his members were unlikely to be persuaded by his arguments on public services.

"He is to be congratulated on what he has achieved but the excuses are beginning to wear a little thin on why we have to wait for the proper funding of public services," he said.

He applauded the prime minister's pledges to put the UN and Parliament at the forefront of his campaign but believed the speech as not enough to win the case on military action.

"I don't think the prime minister has won the argument; not only with MPs but with the country as a whole," he said.

The leader of the civil service union, Mark Serwotka, also chose to highlight the dispute with fire fighters.

"What we want is the deeds that put these words into practice. I am staggered that on the eve of the first national firefighters dispute for 20 years he failed to refer to these dedicated underpaid public servants," he said.

"Our concerns about privatisation, PPP, low morale and low pay in the public sector remain. I agree with the need to modernise public services but disagree that modernisation means privatisation. We want a real dialogue about how we can deliver quality public services from within the public sector."