Sir Rod Stewart has told the Tories to make way for Labour as he tore into the Government over the state of the NHS.
The 78-year-old veteran hitmaker was an unexpected caller to Sky News this afternoon where he offered to pay for scans for people stuck on waiting lists.
Sir Rod said backed striking NHS workers who "aren't asking for a great deal" and said it was time to "change the bloody Government".
He said: "I personally have been a Tory for a long time, but I think this Government should stand down now and give the Labour Party a go at it because this is heart-breaking for the nurses, it really is heart-breaking.
"In all my years of living in this country I’ve never seen it so bad and anything I can do to help. Go on, the nurses. I’m on your side.”
Sir Rod, who said he was able to pay for his family to get private healthcare, said the NHS needed to be rebuilt with "billions and billions" of pounds.
"This is a bad time," he said. "Change the bloody Government."
He said it was "ridiculous" that so many people were waiting for care and described how he visited a private clinic yesterday for his yearly scan where they only had "a couple of customers".
"I would like to pay for 10 or 20 scans. I don't know how we're going to work this but hopefully some other people will follow," he said.
"It seems ridiculous that this particular scanning clinic was empty and there are people dying because they cannot get scans.
"Now listen to me, I don't need the publicity, I just want to do some good things and this, I think is a good thing. If other people follow me, I'd love it."
He said he had been listening to sad stories from callers on Sky News while he was working on his model railway.
He added: "I'm so proud to be British and I can't stand it being this way."
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting tweeted: "Maggie may have been a Tory but Rod's Labour!"
The unexpected intervention comes as health unions gear up for the biggest staff walkout in NHS history on February 6, when nurses and ambulance crews will down tools at the same time.
More than 30,000 nurses and ambulance staff are due to go on strike together for the first time as the bitter dispute over pay intensifies.
Thousands of operations and appointments face being cancelled and a bank holiday-style service is expected to operate in many areas.
Thousands of teachers and civil servants are also due to take part in major walkouts on February 1, coinciding with a day of protests by the Trades Union Congress.
Sir Rod left the UK in 1975 and moved to Los Angeles to avoid paying the top rate of tax, which at the time was 83p in the pound.
But he returned after nearly 40 years in 2014, so his kids could be educated in the UK.
The move angered critics who said Sir Rod had paid no UK tax for 39 years but wanted to return to enjoy the benefits of free schools, hospitals and public services.
He previously attracted criticism for congratulating Boris Johnson on Twitter over the Tory landslide in the 2019 election.
