Nanny state

Nanny state is a term of British origin that conveys a view that a government or its policies are overprotective or interfering unduly with personal choice.

An early use of the term comes from Conservative British Member of Parliament Iain Macleod who referred to "what I like to call the nanny state" in the 3 December 1965 edition of The Spectator.

Canadian journalist and magazine publisher Tyler Brûlé argued that Australian cities were becoming over-sanitised and the country was on the verge of becoming the world's dumbest nation.

[11] In 2017, the Queenstown-Lakes District Council's proposed restrictions on residents renting their rooms on the short term rental site, Airbnb, prompted criticism by the company, which described the move as "nanny-state".

The term was used in an at-large sense against the legislative tendencies of liberal political ideology such as in the banishment of smoking in public places or the enactment of mandatory bicycle helmet laws.

"[23][24] David Harsanyi has used the term to describe food labeling regulations, the legal drinking age, and socially conservative government policies.