Welcome back Simon

T, HE X Factor returns to our screens tonight giving hopefuls – ranging from talentless warblers to singing sensations – the chance to achieve stardom. Back in February Simon Cowell’s son Eric was born. Fans will be hoping fatherhood has not softened the notoriously blunt judge.

IT’S fashionable these days to bash the NHS, especially if you’re on the Left and want to make political capital out of the myth that the health service isn’t safe in the hands of the wicked Tories. What nonsense these people spout!

The NHS is a gigantic operation that deals with one million patients every 36 hours, spends about £300million a day and employs 1,364,000 staff (incidentally, fewer than three per cent of them managers).

There are things that go wrong – occasionally with tragic consequences – but the fact that the NHS performs as well as it does day in and day out is nothing short of a miracle for which we should all be very grateful.

However that’s not to say it couldn’t do better in many areas. When you or a family member are sick or injured, the last thing you should have to worry about is whether you’ve pumped enough pound coins