Acceso usuarios
Arthur McMaster, Alan Bairner
The office of UK Minister for Sport was created in 1964 at a junior level in government and has had 14 post-holders up to 2011. In this period, sport has become increasingly politicised. However, decisions to bid for major events such as the 2012 Olympics are made at Cabinet level from which the Minister for Sport is excluded. If Sports Ministers do not get closely involved in high-level sports policy decisions, what do they actually do? This article looks at relevant aspects of government sports policy, the influence that Ministers for Sport may have had on it and the limitations of that influence. It then examines the activities of the Ministers in Parliament, including the proportion of their time actually spent on sport. Finally, it assesses the holders of the office themselves and, in particular, their prospects for promotion in government.
