EVERYONE seems to think that the strain of running UK Ltd. has told on the MP for Sedgefield, Tony Blair. After four years at No. 10, the Prime Minister has visibly aged, going from the boyish new kid on the block, to a greying statesman.

While his ability to win elections appears undiminished, the 2001 Tony Blair looks noticeably more world-weary than the 1997 version.

But Alan Milburn, the tall, dark-suited North-Easterner who is often seen at the PM's side during Question Time seems to be thriving on the pressure of being in one of the hottest seats in politics. He looks good for his age, fit and bronzed.

So, how does he do it?

Health Secretary Alan Milburn says he is looking forward to his own second term; he was asked to stay in the job within 24 hours of Labour's General Election victory two weeks ago.

So is he just very resilient? Does he have a pact with the devil? Or does he pop vitamin pills and work out relentlessly on an exercise bike in the corner of his huge Whitehall office?

"To tell you the truth, I'm full of cold. I got it a few days before polling day," says Alan, dressed in a cream, open-necked shirt in the homely surroundings of his rather cramped constituency office in Darlington's Victoria Road. "I lost my voice during election week, which is not very good for a politician - but probably very good for the public."

Despite feeling less than 100 per cent, the Darlington MP had no time to sit back and reflect on victory after comfortably retaining his seat, albeit with a reduced majority.

"I was in Darlington all day on Election Day, then I was at the count, then a party afterwards. I got home at about 4.30am and then was back in London at noon the following day," he says.

In the capital, Alan was summoned to Number 10 for the traditional reshuffle of cabinet ministers. And the Darlington MP was back at the Department of Health by tea-time after getting the PM's vote of confidence for the second time.

While that 24-hour period was untypical, the average schedule of the Health Secretary's is punishing to say the least. But the Tow Law boy-made-good shrugs off any suggestion that it is more than flesh and blood can take.

"The thing about Government is that it is knackering and it is continuous but I don't want to make it sound like it is a punishment. Being a cabinet minister is a privilege," says Alan, stretching out his long legs. "Of course, you work very long hours, there are a lot of pressures, sometimes it is immensely frustrating the way things get reported, but that is how it is."

The former trade union researcher-turned-Parliamentarian says the pressures he faces are no different to those that many professional people cope with every day. "The most precious commodity these days is time," he says.

After the interlude of the election campaign - which Alan reckons helped him lose weight - the 43-year-old has returned to his "normal" routine, which often involves working 16 hours a day. But unlike Mrs Thatcher - who famously managed on very few hours - Labour's rising star needs as much sleep as he can get. "I like my sleep, but I don't get it, that's one of the sad things about my life," he says. "During the election, I was getting an average of about five hours a night and that wasn't enough."

Most weeks begin with a very early train from Newcastle Central Station (he lives in the pretty, stone-built Tynedale village of Stocksfield with his doctor wife, Ruth, and two young sons Danny, four, and Joe, ten) to London, where he likes to be behind his ministerial desk by 7.45am each day. During weekdays he is whisked by ministerial limousine from his London flat to the imposing Richmond House in Whitehall, near the Cenotaph. A typical day can involve meetings, speeches and visits and usually the Health Secretary is still working after midnight.

Sometimes Alan delays the run-in on a Monday so he can take the lads to school. Not seeing more of his family is the main regret about his high-profile lifestyle. The other is missing out on football - not enough time to take a seat in the stand at St James's Park to see his beloved Newcastle United, or to get along to Tow Law Town's high-altitude ground more often.

MY main relaxation is the kids," says Alan. "When you have got two energetic little boys, there is no problem of getting exercise. I try to do something nice with them at the weekend, although there is always a lot of paper work."

The Health Secretary tries to get back to his Darlington constituency as many Fridays as possible and there is always a queue of people waiting to see their MP.

"Once I get home, I try to do the weekend red boxes on a Saturday so I can keep Sunday as free as possible, but inevitably there is always a huge amount of paper work and phone calls."

Apart from the long hours, there is also the need to respond to news events virtually 24 hours a day. "If you talk to people who were in Government in the 1970s, they say things have changed so much and this is largely because we now have 24-hour media and a lot more outlets," he says.

Getting away from the media madness of London politics is always a relief. "It is important for me that I am based in the North-East. I am from the region and it is in my blood. I am proud of it and I hope that it helps to keep my feet on the ground," says Alan, who had a very ordinary North-East background before going to Lancaster University.

His first 11 years were spent in Tow Law before his family moved to Newcastle - which may account for his difficult-to-place accent.

Friends are also important in connecting with reality. "Because my wife is a doctor in the region, we inevitably have friends who work in the NHS. Friends who are doctors will be very frank about the problems that they see and the frustrations that they have in their jobs. It is a way of me keeping in touch with what is going on at the front-line."

Despite occasional jibes that the former left-winger has turned his back on the socialism of his younger days, the MP is relaxed about his past.

"My left-wing past has been written about so much. My attitude is 'So what'. People in their 20s tend to have different views from people in the 40s," he shrugged.

But his jaw takes a characteristically firm line as he declares: "I hope the things I fundamentally believe in are those that I have always believed in, which is how do you make sure people get a fair chance in life. What motivates me is trying to make sure that people have the opportunity to realise their potential."

A distinctly steely glitter appears in his eyes when he talks of the Thatcherite years. "When Mrs T said there was no such thing as society, that was the most destructive thing in British politics for 20 years. It led precisely to the sort of division in society, the writing off of communities and the under-investment in public services that we saw under the Tories. All of that was a failure and I want to put it right. I am very lucky that I have got an opportunity to do that."

Above all, the MP says you have to try to be true to yourself. "In this job, if you aren't...that way probably lies madness."

If the workload doesn't get you first, of course...