SO the NHS is 70 and the Conservatives are giving it a birthday present.

Guess who's going to pay?

We are, because the government has no money at all, never has had, and never will have and there is no money to be saved from leaving Europe.

That was a lie too, but we swallowed it and voted to leave. So how do we fund the health service?

It is the most serious question we face today.

We should forget about leaving Europe, but we will not do that. In the short term, we simply cannot afford to fund it without massive borrowing that is the reality if we leave Europe.

Politicians from all parties are lying.

Health matters more than anything; taxation has to rise and rise seriously across the board.

Since it came into office, this government has overseen an increase in the national debt of some £600 billion. Yes, really.

The infrastructure of this country is diabolical and everything than can be sold has been sold.

I do not believe that there are any more rabbits to can pull out of the hat!

The Prime Minister is now promising £20 billion extra for the health service which is still not sufficient and the Labour Party is promising even less on the basis of affordability.

The British people are grown-ups they either pay or do without. Jeremy Corbyn should tell them the facts.

I would suggest that we take back into public ownership all hospitals on PFI so that burden is taken off the health authorities; that will save billions.

Next, stop all outsourcing of treatments to private medicine and stop all agency staff as soon as practically possible.

Stop health authorities having to pay rates on their properties; what's good for the churches, mosques, synagogues and any religious buildings should be good enough for the health authorities.

Health authorities and social health care should come under one umbrella along with social funding and be funded out of a separate taxation system.

In actual fact, what is needed is in region of £25-£30 billion extra. That is a great deal of money and if anyone thinks this can be drawn from efficiency savings as politicians love to say then they are deluding themselves.

The problem is that politicians will not relinquish power; politicians most stop interfering for this to work; they must hand over the running of the health service to a separate body answerable to Parliament but separate from Parliament rather like the judiciary.

Parliament could and should have an overview, but that is all.

If it is decided that we should have a model that runs (say) on 12 per cent of GDP then that is what they have to work with.

So, at the next general election, parties can put forward a plan to either increase the amount spent on the National Health Service or to reduce it and let the people decide.

Ian Greenhalgh

Smithills