First he mobilised the power of the government behind the Whittington Hospital in North London, when it was accused of maltreating a 94-year-old woman, and today he devoted what was billed as a major speech to singing the praises of public servants.

Unison's Dave Prentis and the NAHT's David Hart welcomed the change of tone, but expressed reservations.

The prime minister has posed himself an interesting problem: having made reform of the public services the main priority of his second term, he is challenging many of the established ways that people work - and often they do not like it.

Only today, the Police Reform Bill is being published, and many police officers resent it bitterly. Police Federation spokesman Fred Broughton thought the good things in the Bill were somewhat compromised by the extension of police powers to neighbourhood wardens.

Delivery

The clear implication of Mr Blair's paean of praise is perfectly simple: if the staff are talented and dedicated, something else must be causing dissatisfaction with the public services.

The Labour answer is decades of under-investment and a failure to reform the way the services work.

This is tricky ground for Mr Blair. He was first elected nearly five years ago, and he is sensitive to accusations that something should have happened by now.

Labour insists that things will still get better, but he reminded his audience about the reforms on which investment would depend, reforms which - he knows full well - may be unpopular and controversial.

In his interview, Charles Clarke acknowledged that, in the end, the government had to deliver on its invest and reform agenda.

To listen to the interviews, click on the links above