Rockstar Sir Rod Stewart surprised journalists and viewers when he phoned in to Sky News to share his views on the NHS crisis - and call on the Government to stand down.
Singer-songwriter Sir Rod, 78, was watching the Your Say segment on Thursday while building his model railway at home, when he made the unscheduled appearance after hearing people’s stories of trying to access healthcare.
He said that despite being a long-time Conservative voter, he feels it is time for the party to stand down and “give the Labour Party a go”.
🗣️ 'In all my years in this country I've never seen it so bad...change the bloody government.' - @rodstewart
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 26, 2023
During a live phone-in on Sky News Sir Rod Stewart says: "This government should stand down now and give the Labour Party a go".
Read more: https://t.co/SRBpbZl51Y pic.twitter.com/xSEj3VCFKk
Sir Rod, who has had six number one hits in the UK charts, told how he had attended a private health clinic on for a yearly scan on Wednesday that was basically “empty”.
“There are people dying because they cannot get scans,” he said.
On the subject of NHS strikes, he said: “They’re not asking for a great deal.
“I personally have been a Tory for a long time but I think this Government should stand now down and give the Labour Party a go at it.
“Because this is heartbreaking for the nurses - it really is heartbreaking.
“In all my time living in this country, I’ve never seen it so bad. And anything I can do to help... Poor nurses, I’m on your side.”
“This is a bad time for us in Great Britain, it really is,” he added. “Change the bloody government.
“It’s just terribly sad. I’m so proud to be British and I can’t stand it being this way.”
Having heard other callers describe their experience of struggling to get NHS appointments, Sir Rod told the programme he “would like to pay for 10 or 20 scans” for other people.
“I don’t know how we’re [going to] work this out and, hopefully, some other people will follow, because it seems ridiculous that this particular scanning clinic [I visited on Wednesday] was empty,” he said.
“I don’t need the publicity. I just want to do some good things and this, I think, it’s a good thing, because if other people follow me, I’d love it.”
Nurses, ambulance staff and other NHS workers have taken strike action in recent months, with more walkouts planned in the coming weeks.
Viewers were told to get in touch with Sky News to get a scan paid for by Sir Rod.
