There was a brief moment when I walked away from my notes and thought, “Is this such a good idea?” but it was only fleeting The next thing I knew, I was running out of time. The chap who sits at the front and indicates how many minutes I had left was suddenly saying “one” when I thought I had three. But I managed to say it all – I reckoned that by then they were all listening anyway.I knew it had gone well. I think it worked because I was using my own natural style – also I felt passionately about the subject.

When I finished, it was non-stop thereafter; lots of congratulations. But what pleased me most was how the newspapers reported it; normally they distort the content of a speech but this time they didn’t. Now I hope the debate will move on, and we’ll talk about how the NHS will tackle supply.The rest of the day was a blur of congratulations. William Hague was delighted and came up to me after the speech. Then in the evening I had a big lecture at which I was able to put across a more intellectual analysis of the day’s speech.WednesdayAttended a lot of health fringe meetings – one with the Royal College of Nursing.

There weren’t any hostile questions but a lot of ones about nurses’ pay. My answer was the same; it’s an independent review body’s decision and it has to be independently assessed.The afternoon was full of endless meetings – I must have met a thousand people – and more media interviews.One funny thing was going to a stall where you can have your health tested. So I trogged along and thought what a bad idea – I’d eaten a big fried breakfast. Then I was told I was in robust good health – maybe it’s walking up and down that platform. Seriously, I put it down to feeling confident in what you’re doing.