48% of voters don’t want lifestyle advice

Published on 20/08/2012 00:37

Nearly half of voters want ministers to stop telling them how much to drink and what to eat, according to research.

A YouGov poll finds 48 per cent do not believe that the government should provide advice on food and alcohol consumption, with just 22 per cent who do.

Opposition is slightly higher among women, at 49 per cent, compared with 45 per cent of men, and is strongest among the over-60s, at 57 per cent, but fell to 28 per cent for 18 to 24-year-olds.

Nearly two out of three do not believe that politicians and civil servants are well equipped to take decisions on their behalf, according to the research.

The findings show that voters reject parts of the so-called nanny state, right-leaning think-tank the Adam Smith Institute, which commissioned the poll, claimed.