Blair hardens his strike resolve

Friday is the last full day of the current strike

Tony Blair has given an impassioned declaration of his determination to hold fast in the fire dispute even in the face unpopularity among Labour's natural supporters.

Labour was never going to return to the days that "scarred" the party and saw it languish in opposition for 18 years, said the prime minister.

It is better to do the right thing, even if it's the unpopular thing

Tony Blair

Exploratory talks between local employers and the Fire Brigades' Union (FBU) resume on Friday.

FBU leader Andy Gilchrist told BBC One's Question Time: "I'm extremely hopeful that tomorrow is yet another opportunity to get strikes off next week and get talks back on."

Mr Gilchrist said those talks about modernisation could have taken place this week while firefighters were still at work if ministers had not scuppered a proposed deal between his union and employers.

Union demonstration day

The government has branded that agreement "uncosted and unfunded".

It says any pay rise above 4% must be paid for by changes in the way firefighters work.

Trade unions are preparing to show their support for the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) with a national demonstration on Saturday, 7 December.

Blair: Labour must stick to the lessons it learned

Talking to a Labour fundraising dinner in Cardiff, Mr Blair suggested such protests would not influence him.

About 60 trade union members boycotted the dinner, which saw Mr Blair give a staunch defence of his stance in the dispute.

The prime minister said he was resolved to resist "unreasonable" pay demands and urged the unions to return to sensible talks.

'Scars of the past'

Labour had learned hard lessons from its long years out of power and was not going back now, he said.

"What we are never going to do as a government is to go back to the days that we left behind as that scarred us, that left us in the 18 years of opposition," he said.

He had a tough message too for Labour's traditional supporters.

Gilchrist will be at the table on Friday

"It is part of life in government to put up with protests, to put up with disagreement, sometimes even from those that you feel should be close to you and supportive of you."

"But in the end, it is better to do the right thing, even if it's the unpopular thing, than to do the wrong thing and have the country pay the consequences of it."

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott sent a letter to Sir Jeremy Beecham, chairman of the Local Government Association, stressing that the government would not write a blank cheque to resolve the dispute.

'No extra cash'

The employers say they are working with ministers on a new package to put to the FBU and want the next strike suspended so detailed discussions can go ahead unimpeded.

In Mr Prescott's letter, he told the employers they could not commit the government to any deal which needed extra government cash.

John Prescott's letter
Click here for full text

The prime minister's official spokesman said the letter was to ensure all sides understood the ground rules.

The government wants to avoid a repeat of last week's debacle when an employers' spokesman said a deal had been done and the government was required to fund it.

On Thursday, ministers sent a clear message of intent on modernisation by telling firefighters to learn from the military how best to operate joint control rooms - a key point of conflict between the two sides.

The FBU believes control rooms would become call centres, trying to merge three incompatible services.

It also wants to resist plans to cut the number of firefighters, a fifth of whom are due to retire in the next three years.

	:	Opposed to change?
Picketing firefighters have their say

The Conservatives are urging a return to serious negotiations.

But Tory chairman Theresa May said government "incoherence" and "incompetence" could have meant progress was achieved earlier.

Seven people have died in house fires since the start of the eight-day strike last Friday.

The strike is set to end at 0900 GMT on Saturday and will be followed by two further eight-day-long walkouts next Wednesday and on 16 December - unless a deal can be reached.

A planned strike ballot among London Underground workers in a row linked to the firefighters' dispute has been suspended.