Smoking, smacking, smartphones for kids: never mind the “nanny state ”, today’s national debate seems crowded with demands for decisive action from politicians to save us – or our children – from ourselves.
Rishi Sunak’s ban on selling cigarettes to under-15s forever once they come of age is supported by 59% of the public, according to one recent poll.
He has been unabashed about defending the tough policy, despite some of his more libertarian colleagues claiming it is an infringement on personal freedom, and one, Don Valley MP Nick Fletcher, fretting that “nanny states do not raise warriors”.
Meanwhile, the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, whose MPs backed the tobacco bill in the House of Commons last week, previously embraced the term “nanny state ” when confronting objections to Labour’s policy of supervised tooth-brushing for children.
“The moment you do anything on child health, people say ‘ You’re going down the road of the nanny state.’ We want to have that fight,” Starmer said earlier this year.
Polling of parents concerned about the impact of smartphone use on children’s mental health suggests almost 60% support a ban for under-16s.
Meanwhile, leading doctors banded together last week to urge the government to ban smacking children in England and Northern Ireland.
Prof John Coggon, of Bristol University, who specialises in public health law, says policies aimed at children are not really the “nanny state ”. Instead, the phrase refers to measures to protect adults – whether they like it or not.
Bu hikaye The Guardian Weekly dergisinin April 26, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Guardian Weekly dergisinin April 26, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
The Three-Coffee Ritual That Fuels A Nation's Daily Grind
500k Tonnes of coffee beans produced each year by Ethiopian farmers
Rising Hopes - Could Latest Ceasefire Talks Yield A Breakthrough?
There has been a recent flurry of activity around the talks, with an uptick of optimism about progress.
Fears Of A New War On Border With Lebanon As Tensions Rise
For the Israeli communities evacuated from the country's far north in the aftermath of 7 October, there is no longer any doubt about whether full-scale war with Hezbollah in Lebanon is going to happen. For most people, the only question is when.
World in motion
The Venice Biennale's 'foreigners everywhere' theme leaves Adrian Searle beguiled, tantalised - and frequently appalled
A hard-right tidal wave is coming, and outrunning it will be difficult - Gordon Brown
By the time of the European parliament elections in June, this year's rightward ebb in European politics will have turned into a tidal wave. Ultra-nationalist demagogues and populist-nationalists are now leading the polls in Italy, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, and running second in Germany and Sweden.
Shock and ore - Anglo sale would strip the jewel from South Africa's crown
The world's largest mining company has a problem. Australia's BHP has set out its intention to snap up the rival miner Anglo American in a multibillion-pound deal that would reshape the global industry.
In his Maga heartlands, Trump is a victim not a defendant
In one US, he cuts a diminished, humbled figure. \"He seems considerably older and he seems annoyed, resigned, maybe angry,\" said broadcaster Rachel Maddow of MSNBC after seeing Donald Trump up close in court. \"He seems like a man who is miserable to be here.\"
Seoul man - Ambassador by day, samba sensation by night
Brazil's latest music sensation grinned from ear to ear as he moseyed down Copacabana beach contemplating his unusual rise to fame.
Preserving the shoes of Stutthof
Leather footwear from Nazi concentration camps ended up at the Baltic coast base, and campaigners want them to be salvaged
On French coast, hope outweighs risk of death or Rwanda
Five drowned last week as a packed dinghy tried to cross the Channel, but those seeking a better life remain undeterred