THE crucial issue facing the new Labour Government is that it must - this time - deliver on its promises.

Education and health will be under the microscope in the next four or five years to see if Labour will, at last, be able to turn around the public services that were so badly neglected during the 1980s and early 1990s.

Today, we see the first practical step of its second term - the announcement of a new wave of Beacon and Specialist Schools across England to improve standards.

It's a move which is difficult to brand as "spin".

Research published today by the National Foundation for Educational Research, looking at the effectiveness of the Beacon School programme, showed it had benefited staff both in the chosen schools and in their partner education establishments.

It showed they both improved practice, raised standards, improved staff development and increased teacher and pupil morale.

And it also found that the programme helped widen the horizons of staff and presented schools with a new professional challenge.

So, today, there will be particular rejoicing at the eight Worcestershire and Herefordshire schools picked to join the elite ranks.

The choice of Elgar High School to receive specialist status in technology, is a just reward for the great strides forward made by pupils, teachers and governors in recent years.

If Elgar High is an example of what Education Secretary Estelle Morris wants to see - schools which can build on their own unique character, play to their strengths, foster a culture of innovation, and share best practice - then Labour might be able to present an improving school system for the voters to judge at the next General Election.