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EURO 2008 - WHO CARES?
40% of British
men and 57% of women don't care about Euro 2008 But UK productivity
may benefit with very few taking time off to watch the games.
For those who do care...
Spain, Portugal and Italy are the favourite teams to support Russia
is the least popular team. A survey conducted by Surveylab showsed
that:- For those interested in football, 23% of respondents are not sure
who they will support in Euro 2008, but for those who have made up
their minds the most popular teams are Spain (17%), Portugal (12%)
and Italy (11%) with the Netherlands and France in joint fourth
place (both 7%). Russia is the least favourite (just 4
supporters from the UK), with Romania (8) and the hosts Austria (8)
and Switzerland (13 supporters) generating least support. 40%
of men answered they "don't care" about Euro 2008, with more
than a 3rd citing that they were not interested as none of England,
Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland will be playing. 57%of women
don't care, but less than a 3rd said because of no home nations to
support.
Whilst some have felt that England's failure to qualify might have a
negative impact on the UK economy it might be a blessing in
disguise. Productivity looks like being considerably better with no
home team playing. Whereas 36% of men and 12% of women said they
would have taken time off or finished work early to watch their home
team play this has dropped to just 2% for this summer's tournament.
The reasons for choosing a team to follow are varied but Surveylab's
research identified that the most popular reasons are: Relatives in
or family ties with a country.
This summer's destination for a holiday (or happy memories of one
abroad).
Favourite Premiership players, with Ronaldo of Portugal and Torres
for Spain driving their teams' popularity (36% of Portugal
supporters mentioned Ronaldo, 11% of Spain supporters mentioned
Torres).
A few also cited their favourite colour being the reason for
supporting orange shirted Holland, and they were not all women!
Another reason for supporting a particular team was due to being
given the team in a work's sweepstake.
And what are Britons doing instead of watching the football this
summer? 4% replied they would be spending the 'saved time' to
talk to their other half, 13% will go out, and 13% of women and
nearly 3 times as many men will probably watch the game anyway
(34%).
These findings come from an online survey of nearly 3,000 British
men and women conducted by Surveylab between 4 June to 5 June 2008. |
MEPS NEED FINANCIAL ‘CODE OF CONDUCT’
ALL
candidates for the European Parliament elections next year should be
expected to sign a code of conduct requiring them to meet high
standards of financial probity.
Chris Davies, the Liberal Democrat MEP who in February revealed the
contents of a secret auditors’ report detailing the misuse of public
money by some parliamentarians, says that party leaders should come
together to frame a new agreement.
He claims that significant reforms supported by all British MEPs are
repeatedly blocked in the European Parliament because of opposition
from members elsewhere.
Chris Davies MEP said:- “The Giles Chichester
affair has provoked another furore over MEP expenses in the UK, but
there will not be a mention of it in the Italian, Greek or Romanian
press. The European Parliament may be incapable of reforming
itself. Dutch, Scandinavian and British campaigners will never
secure a majority in favour of radical improvement while there is no
pressure on others to vote for change.”
Mr Davies wants the political parties in Britain to negotiate an
agreement between themselves that will lay stress on financial
transparency and annual independent auditing of MEPs’ accounts.
“We may not be able to bring about reform of all European
Parliament procedures, but at least we can
give an assurance to British voters that the representatives they
elect will set high standards of financial probity,”
Commenting on allegations that North West Conservative MEP Den Dover
had paid £758,000 to his wife and daughter out of his secretarial
expenses allowance Mr Davies said:- “I doubt that Den Dover
has broken any parliamentary rules, but this simply highlights that
there is something very wrong with the rules. Most people hearing
this news will rightly believe that they are capable of being
flagrantly abused.” |
