KEVIN THEAKSTON and GEOFFREY FRY
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198202387
- eISBN:
- 9780191675317
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198202387.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
This chapter discusses one of the most powerful influences upon the actions of Conservative governments: the role of the civil service. It notes that the Conservatives returned to office in 1970 and ...
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This chapter discusses one of the most powerful influences upon the actions of Conservative governments: the role of the civil service. It notes that the Conservatives returned to office in 1970 and still more in 1979 armed with plans intended to ensure that the governmental machine worked to implement rather than frustrate their aims. The chapter explains that, traditionally, Labour had been suspicious of the ‘establishment’ influence of the civil service, but once the Conservatives also adopted a radical agenda, they too came to regard the bureaucracy as a barrier to be overcome in its instinctive commitment to the status quo. It charts the different interactions between the party and Whitehall, concluding with a discussion of the Thatcher and Major reforms.Less
This chapter discusses one of the most powerful influences upon the actions of Conservative governments: the role of the civil service. It notes that the Conservatives returned to office in 1970 and still more in 1979 armed with plans intended to ensure that the governmental machine worked to implement rather than frustrate their aims. The chapter explains that, traditionally, Labour had been suspicious of the ‘establishment’ influence of the civil service, but once the Conservatives also adopted a radical agenda, they too came to regard the bureaucracy as a barrier to be overcome in its instinctive commitment to the status quo. It charts the different interactions between the party and Whitehall, concluding with a discussion of the Thatcher and Major reforms.
Stephen F. Ross and Stefan Szymanski
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804756686
- eISBN:
- 9780804769778
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804756686.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Behavioural Economics
This book is a clarion call to sports fans. It proposes a significant restructuring of sports leagues. The book sets out a rational program for a revolution that will serve the best interests of the ...
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This book is a clarion call to sports fans. It proposes a significant restructuring of sports leagues. The book sets out a rational program for a revolution that will serve the best interests of the fans and of the sport itself. But the book is not Marxist: it shows how a revolution in the organization of sports might even benefit the owners. By harnessing the power of markets, sports leagues can be made both more responsive to the needs of the fans, and more efficient. Many years were spent before this bok was written evaluating the ways in which leagues work across the globe. Drawing on an extensive study of leagues, the book boils down a plan to two major reforms. Borrowing from NASCAR, the book proposes that team owners should not own sports leagues as well. Rather, league ownership should be separate. The second proposal is drawn from soccer: introduce competition through a promotion and relegation system. In this type of system, the worst teams in the league are kicked out at the end of the season and replaced by the best-performing teams in the next division down. This gives poor performing teams incentive to step up their game, and allows fresh blood to enter the leagues if the poor performers fail to do so.Less
This book is a clarion call to sports fans. It proposes a significant restructuring of sports leagues. The book sets out a rational program for a revolution that will serve the best interests of the fans and of the sport itself. But the book is not Marxist: it shows how a revolution in the organization of sports might even benefit the owners. By harnessing the power of markets, sports leagues can be made both more responsive to the needs of the fans, and more efficient. Many years were spent before this bok was written evaluating the ways in which leagues work across the globe. Drawing on an extensive study of leagues, the book boils down a plan to two major reforms. Borrowing from NASCAR, the book proposes that team owners should not own sports leagues as well. Rather, league ownership should be separate. The second proposal is drawn from soccer: introduce competition through a promotion and relegation system. In this type of system, the worst teams in the league are kicked out at the end of the season and replaced by the best-performing teams in the next division down. This gives poor performing teams incentive to step up their game, and allows fresh blood to enter the leagues if the poor performers fail to do so.
