I recently saw a television interview where Sir Keir Starmer stated that vast numbers of British children were having to have lots of teeth removed - and that it was the fault of the current government and no one else.

When I was a child sweets were a treat and not a staple and my parents ensured that I brushed my teeth regularly and properly. As a result I did not need to have any bad teeth taken out.

If this had not been the case and I’d required the removal of decayed teeth, would that have been the fault of the governments of James Callaghan, Ted Heath or Harold Wilson? I think not.

We must also remember that Pam Ayres’ most famous poem is ‘I Wish I’d Looked After Me Teeth’. It isn’t ‘I Wish the UK Government Had Looked After Me Teeth’.

Dale Edwards, Bootham, York