How tickled I’d be if Ken backed tax

I was chuffed to see Ken Dodd released from Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital after recovering from a serious infection and saying “The kindness and affection I have been shown by everyone has been absolutely amazing.”

After I was treated there last year I wrote the same sentiments but added that the level of devotion and expertise on offer at the NHS should inspire us all to want to pay more tax to protect it. Maybe Doddy could do the same. A call to pay taxes to keep public services going from someone who still jokes about being the man who “invented self-assessment” would really mean something.