Small government

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A Small government is one which minimises its own activities. In its "perfect" form it would confine itself to foreign policy, defence and law and leave other activities to local government, companies and individuals.

The idea of Small government was heavily promoted in the United Kingdom by the Conservative government of 1979 under the Premiership of Margaret Thatcher. There are differing views on the extent to which it was achieved.

An important part of the Thatcher government's policy was Privatization which was intended to reduce the role of the state in the economy. Supporters of Thatcherism would argue that this has been an unqualified success.

Opponents would argue that privatization has not led to small government at all. It has just led to the appearance of small government, while pushing up costs and harming public services. This argument is particularly heard in connection with the railways and the National Health Service.

In the 20th century, Small government was generally associated with the Conservative Party and Big government with the Labour Party. In the 21st century, both parties compete to "do more with less".

While governments try to interfere less with the economy they seem driven to interfere more with people's personal lives. The Labour government during the Premiership of Tony Blair was criticised on this score, e.g. by giving unwanted advice about eating, drinking and smoking.