Forest fires up a national debate about Scotland's nanny state

Mon 25th June, 2018

To mark the publication of 'The McNanny State', a new report by former MSP Brian Monteith, Forest is hosting a private dinner in Edinburgh on Tuesday June 26.

The theme of the roundtable event is 'The nanny state we're in'. According to Monteith:

"Scotland has become a puritan's playground and it is going to get a lot worse before enough people wake up and decide to do something about it."

Special guest for the evening is journalist and novelist Allan Massie who has written the foreword to 'The McNanny State'.

According to Massie:

"Ever since the Scottish Parliament came into being in 1999, the politicians have chipped away at the liberties of the people.

"The Scottish state today treats adults as people incapable of managing their own lives and, if they are parents, as people who cannot be trusted with the unfettered care of their children."

Simon Clark, director of Forest, said:

"Both the report and the dinner are perfectly timed. The Scottish Government's updated tobacco control plan, announced last week [June 20], is another blow for those who want less not more state interference in their daily lives.

"Proposals to ban smoking in social housing and restrict the number of shops that can sell tobacco represent further attacks on consumers and convenience stores that are already over-regulated.

"There will be a range of views and organisations around the dinner table so we don't expect our views to go unchallenged.

"The aim is to launch a national debate on the role of government in people's lives and examine the way the issue is being addressed in political and media circles.

"Our goal is to put lifestyle choices back into the hands of consumers, not politicians and taxpayer-funded pressure groups."

Brian Monteith: Scotland has become a failing nanny state (Scotsman)

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