Tyler Brûlé in Saturday's Financial Times suggests a hypothetical Liberteria as an alternative to the current UK. He writes:

This month has seen the UK all but infantilized by a wave of bans and curbs which will render it a more bland, less edgy nation.

He suggests there should be no highway speed limits, no planning restrictions on architectural innovation, a banking system 'sans frontières,' and "freaky and fabulous hotel and resort properties."

…smoking would still be tolerated in clubs, bars and restaurants and drinking would occur round the clock. Gambling, strip clubs and prostitution would all be legal. Add to this a tolerant line on soft drugs..

He wants a return to the hop on, hop off London buses which were deemed unsafe, and cyclists free to ride with the wind in their hair, rather than having to wear helmets. He sees a brand niche for a Liberteria which welcomes "all kinds of lifestyles and most manner of trade."

It's quite an agenda, and would certainly mark a break from the trend towards the ever heavier hand of the nanny state. Would it work? Indeed, would it be enough? Surely this state should be a tax haven, too?

The key question is whether this is all pure fantasy, or whether such a state might ever come about. And if it did, what would it be like to live in?