Saving us from ourselves: how Britain is learning to accept the nanny state

Young people at a music festival in Oxford. The term ‘nanny state’ was popularised in the 1960s in relation to laws described as ‘perishing nonsense’. Photograph: Festivals/Alamy

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 for ever once they come of age is supported by 59% of the public, according to one recent poll.