THERE have been suggestions that Tony Blair is in crisis, a man under pressure.

But I cannot recall a Prime Minister who has taken so much on at once.

Education, health, law and order, transport and Northern Ireland, how many other premiers have put so much on the agenda?

Neither has he hidden himself away, he has been up front and taken everything on the chin. What better example than Question Time last week when he faced a barrage of questions about Euan being found drunk and incapable. The point is he was there to face them.

Mr Blair is also one of the few Prime Ministers in living memory to be faced with such an enthusiastic leader of the opposition in William Hague, who has now come of age. He is putting Mr Blair under pressure at every opportunity. He is like a predator waiting to pounce.

Mr Hague also knows when to back off, as he did over Euan Blair. If he had capitalised on the incident Mr Hague's popularity would have fallen. He is too much of a decent man to do that.

The competition from the opposition keeps the Government on its toes, which has to be good for the country.

There is no doubt that Mr Blair is the best man to lead Labour and Mr Hague is the best man to lead the Conservatives - and that hasn't often happened. For once you have got true leaders battling it out.

As for Euan, what I found annoying was the way the media linked the incident with Mr Blair's recent comments on anti-social behaviour.

Mr Blair wants to be creative, he wants to do something about the yob problem in this country.

He's as aware as I am that the real fear of crime isn't the prospect of being burgled, it's people's belief that they will see behaviour on the streets which they find intimidating. It's the thing that makes your heartbeat race, the thing that makes you a victim of crime without ever registering as a statistic.

Mr Blair wasn't talking about the simple drunk but yobs in our towns and cities who cause havoc with their behaviour which is anti-social and aggressive.

Euan Blair was not arrested for being anti-social but because he had collapsed and for his own safety. He wasn't drunk and disorderly, he was drunk and incapable and I think the police acted correctly.

Still on the issue of Mr Blair and crime, his recent appointment of former BBC director general John Birt as an advisor on crime reduction strikes a chord.

Mr Birt is renowned as a troubleshooter, a man to get rid of bureaucracy and make an organisation efficient. Some will ask what does he know about crime reduction?

He is a proven manager and if you want someone to take a fresh look, a non-police look, who better than Mr Birt. I think we should let him get on with it and judge him, and Tony Blair for making the appointment, in 12 months' time.

What we do know is every pound spent on policing is a pound less invested in education and health. So what have we got to lose.

On the subject of health I have just visited the Butterwick Hospice in Stockton. I thought it was going to be dowdy, morbid, a place where you went to die. I was shocked by the surroundings, it was a real education for me. It was bright, sparkling and I was amazed by the attitudes of the patients.

There they are suffering from life threatening illnesses but they are living with great hope and without fear.

I sat there feeling humble. They weren't down, far from it, they were bucking each other up.

In the end what was ironic was that instead of me cheering them up they were cheering me up. If ever I'm looking for inspiration in the future I know where to go.