EXACTLY one year ago the result of the Conservative Party leadership contest was announced. Even though the momentum appeared to be coming in my direction, I didn’t expect to win. But in politics you have to be prepared for every eventuality so I rather enjoyed planning who I would put into the cabinet.

When Boris won, it was perhaps the only predictable thing that has happened recently in British politics. And a year on, it is worth reflecting that – whether friend or foe – he has delivered on the two central promises he made during that leadership campaign, namely to get Brexit done and defeat Jeremy Corbyn.

For sure we do not yet have a trade deal but although the odds on getting one have lengthened I am still optimistic we will. But what is not in doubt is Brexit itself – we have left the European Union. That incredibly divisive issue has started to recede – to the great relief of the vast majority of the population.

The new Prime Minister has also achieved something else – a decisive election victory which has given us much-needed political stability. Who would have wanted to be facing our first pandemic in a century with a hung parliament? That 80 seat majority is more than I would have achieved because Nigel Farage would not have stepped aside in Conservative seats if I had been leader – so the result is a personal triumph for Boris.

I am therefore happy to give credit where credit is due, however much I may have taken issue at times with the government’s handling of the pandemic, as is my duty in my role as chair of the Health Select Committee.

But politics is relentless and rarely thanks you for yesterday’s victories. With a formidable new leader the Labour party will not be the same opponent at the next election as it was at the last.

If the Conservatives are to be successful, the key will not lie in clever polling or messaging but in the raw substance of delivery. Can we look red wall voters in the eye and say we have started to bridge the North South divide, have built new hospitals and have fixed the social care system?

For that reason, the Prime Minister needs reformers like Michael Gove and Dominic Cummings around him. I would rather deal with the controversies such figures can generate if it means we can be confident some of our most deep-rooted problems are being faced head-on.

On a personal note I have surprised myself in the last year by finding I rather enjoy the backbenches – perhaps too much! As chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee my principal focus has been on preventing the large number of avoidable deaths we have in healthcare systems, whether or not in a pandemic. As part of that I plan to write a book on patient safety, which is a topic beginning to be much more widely considered.

But I have also had more time for my family and constituency. As Boris celebrates his first year in office, I will be taking my son away on a weekend trip – the first time we have ever had such a trip just the two of us.

It is to the intense jealously of his younger sisters but their turn will come!

I have enjoyed having time to support important causes locally. I am particularly proud, amongst other things, that we now have a project board set up to deliver the transformation of Farnham Town Centre; a promise by Matt Hancock in the House of Commons not to close the Haslemere Minor Injuries Unit; and a fully working flood defence scheme in Godalming that was successfully activated for the first time during some heavy rain.

But what has made me most proud is the extraordinary local response to the Coronavirus pandemic. We are an incredibly strong and vibrant community that has risen to the challenge beyond all expectations.

In that I have played far less of a role that our wonderful frontline NHS and care staff. But having seen their remarkable work, alongside hundreds of volunteers, we can surely look ahead to any subsequent challenges with confidence.