We’re excited to announce the theme of the next SpeakFreely print issue:
The Nanny State Issue
This edition will explore the expanding reach of government into everyday life: from public health paternalism and speech regulation to surveillance, lifestyle controls, bureaucratic overreach, and the politics of risk.
We’re now officially open for submissions!
Accepted submissions will receive a $50 honorarium.
If you have something to say about state overreach, the war on personal responsibility, or the cultural and political logic of paternalism, we want to read it.
Deadline for submissions: 4th July 2026
Submit your article via this form
Whether you’ve written for SpeakFreely before or this would be your first time, we’d love to hear from you. Please note that we cannot publish every submission, and the selection process will be highly competitive.
Here are some potential topics you might cover:
• The rise of the modern nanny state
• Public health paternalism
• Sin taxes, bans, and lifestyle regulation
• Surveillance culture and the erosion of privacy
• Bureaucracy, technocracy, and democratic accountability
• The war on vices: gambling, smoking, alcohol, and beyond
• The regulation of food, consumption, and personal choice
• Digital ID systems, online harms legislation, and state control
• Infantilisation in politics and culture
• Other topics relating to state overreach, paternalism, and the future of freedom
We’re looking for sharp analysis, original arguments, personal essays, cultural criticism, and creative approaches to the theme.
We can’t wait to see what you come up with! In the meantime, why not take some inspiration from some of our previous articles?
The European Nanny State Will Keep Growing If Left Unchecked
“Although the nanny state is ever-present in our daily lives, many people don’t realise that they are being nannied. Tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks taxes, vape flavour bans, plain packaging and ad bans – to name a few – are examples of the overreaching hand of the nanny state. Despite being riddled with unintended consequences, these policies have perforated Europe.”
Why is the Nanny State so Popular?
“Bans on plastic straws, soda taxes, diesel cars; the crackdown on smoking, restrictions on alcohol consumption: the list of restrictions on people’s personal freedoms is steadily increasing. But why is the Nanny State so popular?”
We Should Abolish the Fun Police!
“There is this interesting dichotomy where at the same time, there are states in the US that essentially legalized certain “hard” drugs. But then on the other hand, they want to restrict vaping, which helps a lot of people stop smoking, which all seems a bit contradictory. You can drive a car and vape or smoke a cigarette. You shouldn’t drive a car, after you smoke cannabis. So there is actually more severity to a lot of the things that are treated easier. To some extent on the left-side of the political spectrum, cannabis has been a darling issue.”
Coca-Cola, the Sugar Tax, and Zero Recognition
“So the sugar tax forces them to dilute their flagship brand. To maintain market dominance they take the excellent product which once proudly occupied its own black can, and masquerade it as an equally excellent product which has existed for over 130 years. They confuse the consumer to maintain their profit margin hurt by government intervention. To survive in the short term, they must damage the long term identity of their product range.”
Are we being short-changed by the World Health Organisation?
“From smoking to sugar to alcohol, the WHO has spent recent years making clear its desire to purge the world of health vices. Pointing to obesity statistics and the like, the WHO spends a great deal of time and resources wielding its considerable power and influence to nudge national governments towards expanding their nanny statist policies.”
The Food Nannies Are Coming to Protect You from Hamburgers and Soda
“Did you notice the term “supply-driven?” This implies that the consumption of unhealthy food isn’t the result of actual market demand, but rather that of clever marketing wherein consumers are seen as mindless drones under the influence of Big Food, not as individuals. The reason is clear: Were you to accept that people make responsible individual choices, then you couldn’t make the argument that large-scale government intervention is necessary as a measure of protection. Dehumanizing market decisions is key to patronizing nanny-state policies.”
Christopher Snowdon: the Hidden Costs of Bottle Return Schemes and the War on Convenience
“And people will say, “Oh well, can’t you just go without alcohol between these hours, or on a Sunday?” Well, why should I? I mean, I can go without it. It’s just a matter of thinking ahead. But sometimes people like to live more spur of the moment, and be spontaneous.
And you’ve got public health campaigners trying to do the same thing in different ways—targeting tobacconists, banning cigarette vending machines, and so on. You have people who are deliberately trying to make things inconvenient because they don’t like the products.”
Red Tape Clips Your Wings: UK Energy Drinks Ban
“Yes, a nanny’s main role is to look after children and protect them from harm, but is so much more than that. A nanny’s other (and much more important) role is to run the blockade of Mum and Dad, smuggling sweets and treats past their unfair excise border, into the hands of sugar-starved kids. The government is no nanny – it’s the warden of a prison for young offenders, where everyone is an inmate until they turn 18. After that they are released on strict parole, lasting until the day they die.”
The Slippery Slope Axiom
“Their term ‘slippery slope fallacy’ is a perfect manifestation of their mindset. When governments implement seemingly small, pragmatic infringements on our liberties, the Serious Sensible Centrists are on hand to dismiss those warning about the long-term consequences—smirking at us like a parent might smirk at their ‘edgy’ teenager’s rebellious fashion choices. But far from being a fallacy, slippery slope arguments are all too often prophecies. Britain is proving it.”
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