Analysis of Gordon Browns Leadership

Analysis of Gordon Browns Leadership Gordon Brown with his ‘government of all the talents’ and his promise to listen suggests he prefers a Cabinet form of Government over Prime Ministerial Government. What has been his record to date in exercising his prime ministerial powers? Illustrate with reference to the practice of the past three Prime Ministers and decide whether it is a positive or negative development. Introduction Upon becoming Prime Minister in June 2007, Gordon Brown gave strong indications that he would change the political culture in Britain. Among those promises, he pledged to govern with a â€Å"government of all the talents†, seeking consultation and advice from outside the traditional Labour Party sources. (BBC, 2007) Since then, the Prime Minister has also stated his preference for a more cabinet form of Government as opposed to a strong Prime Ministerial Government common in the Blair and Thatcher periods. (Rentoul, p552) Does Gordon Brown’s record show a preference for consultation, has Parliament been given more power in the running of Government or has Gordon Brown reverted to the strong autocratic style of leadership that he was often accused of during his time as Chancellor? This essay will examine Gordon Brown’s short reign as Prime Minister, looking closely at his use of Prime Ministerial powers in Government. The work will explore the extent to which the present Labour Cabinet has strong influence over decisions and policies, and whether Gordon Brown has strengthened Parliament by transferring some of the traditional Prime Ministerial powers to the legislature. In order to judge Gordon Brown’s record, it is necessary to compare the actions and records of the previous three UK Prime Ministers, Tony Blair, John Major and Margaret Thatcher. Each Prime Minister differed in their use of Prime Ministerial powers, influenced by the political situation and their own style and personality. By giving strong examples of cabinet or Prime Ministerial Government we may better understand their meaning, as well as better judging Gordon Brown’s record and style of Government. Finally we shall attempt to conclude whether Gordon Brown has brought ab out a more Cabinet form of Government, and if so, judge if this has been a positive or negative development for Government and the Country. Chapter One In Gordon Brown’s first address to the House of Commons as Prime Minister, he indicated that his Premiership was one that would increase the power of Parliament in such vital areas as declaring war, signing International treaties and approving public appointments. This was part of his plan to devolve power, which included proposals to start de-centralising power across the UK, allowing UK citizens and councils more influence in Government. The Prime Minister has in many ways delivered on some of his promises to rule with a â€Å"government of all the talents† appointing Labour outsiders such as Sir Digby Jones and setting up the National Economic Council. (Bagehot, 2008) These actions however, do not necessarily mean that Gordon Brown has brought in a new period of cabinet Government however. Cabinet Government refers to the UK Prime Minister ruling in conjunction with his or her Cabinet, sharing responsibility and power but remaining first among equals. Prime Ministeri al Government refers to the Prime Minister dominating the executive, making all the major policy decisions without always consulting with or taking the advice of the Cabinet. (Jones, 2005, p.27) Does Gordon Brown’s record suggest that he rules in co-operation with his Cabinet or does he make the major decisions without their contribution? The first few months of the Brown era were a relative success for the Government. The change of leader helped Labour recover public support, and Gordon Brown gave a successful image as a strong and experienced leader. Policies were put forward to restore Cabinet Government, the party was united and the PM appears to have consulted the Cabinet whilst remaining firmly in control. This was a change from the Blair period of Government, in which a strong Prime Ministerial form of Leadership existed, with outside unelected advisors exercising more power and influence on the PM than the elected Cabinet members. (Rentoul, 2001, p.536) Although the strong leadership of Blair and the unity of the party had been in many ways responsible for their electoral success, Blair’s weakening of Cabinet power and autocratic leadership led Britain into an unpopular and, for the Labour parties’ popularity, disastrous war in Iraq. Gordon Brown entered office with the promise of restoring Cabinets importance, and lessening the influence of outsiders such as Alistair Campbell, who during the Blair years appeared to be the real deputy Leader, rather than the elected John Prescott. (Stephens, 2004, p.180) Brown then, seemed to be promoting a style of Government personified by John Major. During Majors time as PM Cabinet meetings were transformed from meetings where Mrs Thatcher would inform the cabinet of her policies and demand obedience into genuine forums for debate and deliberation. Important issues were discussed, free debate was encouraged and arguments were common. This was extremely popular within Government, as suggested in Dick Leonards â€Å"A Century of Premiers†. â€Å"Major has restored Cabinet Government† (Leonard, 2005, p.333) In the first few months, Gordon Brown did successfully lead in a Cabinet style of Government. The aftermath and response to several failed terrorist attacks were handled by Cabinet figures such as Jacqui Smith, who liaised with the public and the Muslim Community. In both the crisis with Northern Rock and the flooding in rural areas Brown employed the full talents of his Ministers rather than attempting to micromanage every situation. (Freedland, 2007) Brown was popular with both the party and the public; it seemed that the return of Cabinet Government was beneficial for the Government and the Nation. In many ways Major and Brown inherited the Leadership under similar situations. Neither man had the commanding Parliamentary majority of Thatcher or Blair at their peak, and had to by necessity rely more on the support of their Cabinet. (Foley, 2002, p.33) Like Major, Brown has also had to deal with a resurgent opposition which for the first time in years appears to be ahead in the polls. This led to Brown’s first major crisis; in September and October 2007 Brown hinted that he would call an election to fully legitimise his Leadership, as he did not face a leadership election to become Prime Minister. However Brown decided not to go ahead with an election, with many suggesting that he was worried by the Tories lead in the opinion polls. (Robinson, 2007) From this point on Brown became steadily less popular with the Country and the party, as subsequent crises and Browns apparent lack of charisma and leadership chipping away at support for the Government. Despite this however, many would suggest that this has not caused Gordon Brown to abandon Cabinet Government. On the contrary, Gordon Brown has continued to consult and debate with his Cabinet on the major issues, allowing such figures as David Milliband and Jacqui Smith to emerge as possible future leaders of the Labour Party. Although Gordon Brown has consulted with many outside forces and attempted to build a more consensual form of British politics, even offering Paddy Ashdown a position in Government, (Woodward, 2007) this has not led to the marginalisation of the Cabinet. Margaret Thatcher’s preference for unelected advisors, such as Sir Alan Walters, over Cabinet Members helped bring about her downfall, making her believe she was infallible and isolating potentially loyal Ministers, as suggested by Leonard. â€Å"She acted as a virtual dictator, reducing the role of the Cabinet to that of a supporters club†. (Leonard, 2005, p.313) It did however, give Thatcher t he image of a strong Leader, one that could make important decisions decisively without having to consult or procrastinate. Unfortunately some of the decisions she made without consulting the Cabinet, such as the poll tax were disastrous for her and the Tory Party. Tony Blair did not marginalise or reduce his Cabinet to such a lowly level; however he did, as we have mentioned, surround himself with an inner circle of advisors, many of them outsiders like Alistair Campbell, and relied more heavily on their advice than that of his Cabinet. His style of leadership was also similar to Thatcher’s in that he tried to dominate and manage every important situation, with the notable exception of those issues that came under his Chancellors office. (Rentoul, 2001, p.249) Although the most successful Labour leader in history, Blair’s decisions and style of leadership were ultimately responsible for his clearly begrudging resignation. Despite following a more Cabinet orientated approach to Government, Gordon Brown has found that this does not necessarily guarantee loyalty during difficult times. There have been widespread rumours about a possible leadership challenge, with many Labour MPs talking to the press about their desire to see Gordon Brown step down. By giving his Cabinet power and responsibility Gordon Brown has allowed some of the bigger personalities, such as Milliband, to grow in status, so much so that many Labour MPs considered him a possible replacement. Chapter Two In our previous chapter we presented the argument that Gordon Brown has brought back a more Cabinet orientated form of Government. In Chapter two we will look at ways in which Gordon Brown has in fact maintained a Prime Ministerial form of Leadership, along with the negative consequences this has brought about. We will also attempt to evaluate Gordon Brown’s record, and come to a conclusion whether it has been a positive or negative development in relation to the three previous Prime Ministers reigns. At the beginning of Brown’s premiership, the Prime Minister made pledges to bring about more Parliamentary powers and increase executive accountability, a clear reference to Tony Blair’s decision to launch an unpopular war. (Stephens, 2005, p239) However so far, these pledges have remained in the formation stage. The Premier still retains ultimate authority on issues of national security, international treaties and appointments. Perhaps in the future these pledges will be passed in Parliament, however till that day the Prime Minister will retain a large degree of executive control. Since Brown has been in office little legislation actually transferring power away from the Executive has passed through Parliament. In many respects Brown has pushed through his own agenda, bypassing the reservations or objections of his Cabinet, as well as ruthlessly disposing of any Ministers that have dared to challenge his authority. (Bagehot, 2008) The ten pence tax rate cut was widely criticised by the media and opposition, and eventually forced the Government to backtrack. It was introduced in the 2007 budget by Brown, who insisted on implementing it despite the fact that it hit those on low incomes, natural Labour supporters. This disaster was a direct result of Gordon Brown forcing an unpopular policy into being despite the opposition of many in the Party. Despite the large size of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister has ensured that those in the top jobs are those with a proven track record for loyally supporting Brown throughout his years as Chancellor. Those supporters or suspected supporters of Tony Blair have largely been marginalised, not allowed near the more important Ministerial positions. Those Ministers who have resisted his policies or have spoken for the need of a new leader have been dropped for more loyal, pliant personnel. (Helm, 2008)) In the most important sphere of influence, the economy, the Chancellor Alistair Darling appears to operate with far less independence and power than Brown did under Blair, indeed although we may say that Tony Blair operated a â€Å"Presidential† style of Leadership, he went out of his way to appease his Chancellor. Gordon Brown does not have any figure powerful or independent enough to build a sphere of influence within Government as Brown did previously. (Leonard, 2005, p355-358) Reg ardless of the press and several Labour MPs promotion of David Milliband, Brown remains without peer in terms of gravitas, influence and experience within the party. Despite his smaller majority, Brown has also shown that he is able to force unpopular legislation through Parliamentary and Cabinet opposition, most notably in the case of the 42 day detention issue. The intense opposition in his Party, with alleged deals being made to get the bill passed, along with opposition condemnation suggests that Gordon Brown was not concerned with giving Parliament new powers related to national security. In relation to Iraq although some British troops have been pulled out of the Country, British troops remain in both Iraq and Afghanistan, again despite the opposition of many in the party. That there is no opposition in the Cabinet is perhaps testament to the loyalty of those Gordon Brown has chosen, rather than there being complete unity. Developments in the Brown Government: Positive or Negative? In the last Chapter we have demonstrated that the Brown Leadership is not yet a perfect example of Cabinet Government. The Cabinet consists mainly of Brown loyalists, the Prime Minister has forced through many unpopular policies and as of yet has failed to deliver the legislation that would make a Cabinet Government a long term possibility. However despite these criticisms Gordon Brown has run a more Cabinet Government than either Tony Blair or Margaret Thatcher. It will be difficult for the Prime Minister to backtrack on legislation that will give more power to Parliament, and he has demonstrated in many of the crises that he is willing to share power and responsibility with the more senior Cabinet members. The large size and broad range of the Cabinet also suggests that Brown is less likely to rely on a small clique of outsiders for advice, as did Thatcher and Blair. In recent months Brown has also shown that he is willing to accept Blair loyalists into the Cabinet, as we have seen with the appointment of Peter Mandelson. (Sparrow, 2008) It is the opinion of this essay that despite the serious problems of the Labour Party this has been a positive development. Although there has been limited use of the talents of opposition party personnel, a Government of all the talents has the potential to change the confrontational, winner takes all style of British Politics. In a time of severe economic crisis there is a need to take advantage of all available talent and ability. History has shown that although a strong Prime Ministerial Government can be initially popular, if the Leader believes it is unnecessary to consult with their Cabinet then they can make serious errors of judgement. If Margaret Thatcher had listened to her Cabinet perhaps there would have been no poll tax, nor would relations with Europe be so damaged by Thatcher’s strident anti European speeches. (Riddell, 1991, pp.184-187) Ultimately though, a more Cabinet form of Government means a more democratic, accountable Government, one that is more likely to grant Parliament a greater role in the more important aspects of Government. A larger Cabinet made up of representatives from across the board is also more representative of the nation itself. If ideas and policies can be discussed, deliberated and argued out by a professional, representative and broad Cabinet then perhaps there will be less chance of the Government enacting policies that are popular and logical only to the Prime Minister and a close circle of unrepresentative outsiders. Conclusion This essay has demonstrated that since taking office Gordon Brown has led a Cabinet Government similar to that of John Major, rather than the more Prime Ministerial approach of both Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. The essay has also shown that Brown’s leadership style does still contain elements of the Prime Ministerial form of Government, especially in regards to forcing through unpopular pet projects originating from when Brown was Chancellor. However, despite his reputation as a â€Å"Stalinist† leader Brown has shown surprising flexibility, an ability to consult with those outside the traditional Labour party sphere as well as demonstrating trust in the more senior members of his Cabinet. If Brown remains Prime Minister for the foreseeable future then we are likely to see legislation that will strengthen both Cabinet Government and Parliament itself. In the new economic climate and looming recession these policies might herald a new age of not only Cabinet Government, but a more consensual and cross party form of British Politics. The emergence of a Cabinet Government is undoubtedly then a positive sign for the future. Bibliography Foley, Michael â€Å"John Major, Tony Blair and a Conflict of leadership: Collision Course† (Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York, 2002) Jones, Bill â€Å"Politics UK† (Harlow, Pearson, Longman, London, 2006) Leonard, Dick â€Å"A Century of Premiers: From Salisbury to Blair† (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2005) Rentoul, John â€Å"Tony Blair: Prime Minister† (Time Warner, London, 2001) Riddell, Peter â€Å"The Thatcher Era and its Legacy† (Blackwell, Oxford UK and Cambridge USA, 1991) Stephens, Philip â€Å"Tony Blair: The making of a World Leader† (Viking, New York, 2004) Newspapers Bagehot â€Å"Gordon Brown’s Recovery: A War on two Fronts† Economist, 9/10/2008, p.27 Helm, Toby â€Å"Left Winger Cruddas in Think Tank challenge† Guardian, 12/10/2008 Freedland, Jonathan – â€Å"Who is Gordon Brown?† The New York Review of Books, Volume 54, Number 16, October 25 2007. Sparrow, Andrew â€Å"Gordon Brown defends decision to bring Peter Mandelson back into government† Guardian, 03/10/2008 Woodward, Will â€Å"Ashdown turns down job in Brown cabinet† Guardian, 21/06/2007, p2 Internet Brown is UK’s New Prime Minister – BBC News – 27/06/2007, accessed 06/11/2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6245682.stm Robinson, Nick â€Å"Brown rules out Autumn Election† BBC News – 06/10/2007, accessed 06/11/2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7031749.stm

Unit Three – Marketing P3

Marketing Research Market research indicates decisions made by a business, in this case Tesco, by helping the decision makers understand undercurrents of its market. This process involves research done on customers, competitors and the overall marketing environment. For example, when Tesco is promoting a product, they need to know the likes and dislikes of their targeted consumers in order to target the correct market successfully. They would also be required to research about their competitors, to find out if by any chance they offered a product that was similar, and how they would differentiate their product from it.Also, as an overall, they would be required to research the environment of the market, as well as the size of their target market, in order to decide how they are going to offer the product to the consumers. Example: sold in store, online, or both. Primary and Secondary Research There are two types of research: †¢Primary Research †¢Secondary Research Informati on for these types of research can be done internally – within the organization, or externally, from another organization or source of information outside the organization, in this case Tesco.When information or data is gathered for a certain purpose and has not been gathered before is known is primary research. Internal primary research data source could consist of: †¢The business’s sales figures of products †¢A central database holding customer data External primary research data source could consist of: †¢Various questionnaires and surveys †¢A variety of focus groups and interviews †¢Observation techniques When data or information that has been collected before, either internally or externally, is used for research is known as secondary research. Another name for secondary research is ‘desk research’.Internal secondary research data source could consist of: †¢Sales and regional reports †¢Market research gathered in the past External secondary research data source could consist of: †¢Websites and trade journals †¢Newspapers and books †¢Public reports †¢Census data †¢Industry reports For business like Tesco that operate in many different fields, secondary research is more cost-effective, before they decide to conduct primary research. This allows Tesco to have a better understanding of the market, as well as recognize any major obstacles before conducting expensive research.Secondary research also allows them to make assumptions based on similar products and therefore, once primary research is conducted, it can be used against the assumptions to evaluate and compare. This will help indicate how much primary research they are required to do and therefore they don’t end up doing too much that is not required. However, Tesco is required to take the limitation of secondary research into consideration: †¢The information may be outdated †¢The information may be b iased in order to promote particular causes †¢The methods used to collect the research may be unreliable.Qualitative and Quantitative Research Research methods can be qualitative, quantitive or can include both methods. Well-planned market research consists of both methods in order to result with a good combination of information revealing different things about the same market. Qualitative research is one-sided and normally unrestricted. It normally is gathered through interviews with customers or focus groups and therefore result in a wide range of research based on personal experiences and feelings.A qualitative question allows the individual go give a broad answer and not based against options. Qualitative research can be used to: †¢Find the perceptions of customers about an organization or brand. †¢Discover how changes in price and other factors affect customers and spending decisions. †¢Explore customer preference, interests and other factors. Quantitative research involves numbers and figures that can be examined mathematically or graphically. This may consist of sales figures, market values, etc. , as well as responses from customers on questionnaires.This is only categorized as quantitative research if the responses from the customers a chosen from series of answers provided on the questionnaire. The difference between quantitative and qualitative research: QuantitativeQualitative ObjectiveSubjective Tests theoryDevelops theory Concise and narrowComplex and broad Measurable Interpretive Basic analysis: NumbersBasic analysis: words and ideas Logical and reasonableDialectic Establishes relationshipsDescribes meaning Experimental settingNatural setting Uses of marketing researchThe information collected for market research prevents businesses like Tesco making wrong business decisions. If the product designer for Tesco progresses a new product without market research, then the business is not moving forward on reliable sources and the refore are unaware if customers are interested in the product or not. This indicates, effective market research improves the chances of success and reduces the risks. Tesco’s can also measure progress effectively over time. This can be done by, carrying out market research, to found out the awareness of the product before managing national advertising campaigns.Once they have conducted the research, they can put their national advertising campaigns into action and again conduct research and compare the two. Therefore, this indicates, market research can be used to measure progress as well as the effects of marketing activities. Limitations of market research – costs, effectiveness and validity of data collected Weather market research is done at a small or large scale, any time is required to be performed accurately and appropriately otherwise it gives irrelevant results.All market research conducted has the chances of being wrong no matter how well controlled and plan ned. There are various reasons why market research may not provide accurate or good results but a usual problem is deciding whether the research conducted really measures what it claims to be measuring. Marketers for Tesco are required to decide how reliable the information they have obtained is. Also they need to take into consideration, if the research contained had different respondents or different set of data points, would the results be similar.Validity refers to whether the research conducted is what it intended to be. Validity involves dependability, which means, a valid measure must be reliable. But, reliability doesn’t have to link to validity, a reliable measure is not required to be valid. The difference between reliability and validity: †¢Reliability guesses the point to which an tool processes the same way each time it is used in under the same conditions with the same subjects. †¢Validity involves the point of accuracy of your measurement.For organiza tions like Tesco’s, validity is considered more important than reliability because if a process does not precisely measure what it is supposed to, there is no use of it and therefore it being reliable is useless. Costs are also an essential consideration for Tesco when carrying out market research, as they are required to take into consideration if they money spent is worth the research undertaken and its potential benefits to the product, as well as the organization. A lot of time, effort and money can be spent on market research and in the end the solution discovered might not be worth implementing.

Fast Food Industry in U.S Essay

A variety of different regulations have been set for people that are concerned with tobacco either on a personal level or commercially. Tobacco is associated with damages and thus it has been attacked by medical authorities and social observers. The fast food industry is no exception since it has also contributed to different damages to people’s health. Obesity is just one of the many ailments caused by fast food joints. FDA has made sure that regulations are set and implemented to protect people from damages that tobacco cause. FDA and Tobacco Regulation have some policies that prevent the families from smoking (McGrew, 2008). There is a control act for Tobacco that requires changes to be made to the labeling and advertising of various tobacco products. This act regulates all the advertising to ensure that information passed to people through advertisements is controlled. I think strict regulations should be put in place for the fast food industry. All fast food joints should ensure that their menus have healthier diets. Through advertising, advice can be given to people about their eating so that people can make informed choices on healthy foods. Just like the Tobacco control act, fast foods should post their menus or readable signs of the contents of various foods in terms of how many calories, saturated fat and carbohydrate a diet contain (Tom Paulson, 2008). This menu board can be placed in a readable place inside the restaurant so that when a person makes a choice of food, he or she can be aware of what is being consumed. Tobacco has been subjected to a regulatory control on its production. King James expressed his opinion towards Tobacco production and consumption. He said that tobacco was loathsome to people eyes, it was hateful to people’s nose, it brought harm to the brain and it was a big danger to people’s lung. This statement explains the most specific damages that Tobacco causes to the entire body. The above statement by the King also applies to fast foods. Meat consumption is viewed just as dangerous as Tobacco is to the public health. The people that can be held accountable legally for unhealthy lifestyles are meat producers and the fast food outlets. The fast food industry should be legally accountable for obesity. Living longer does not mean leaving healthier. There has been a great shift between what people eat and where they get their food from. Economic and public health continues to suffer the consequences brought by obesity and a question is raised who can be held accountable. This question is similar to the issue related to illnesses caused by tobacco which is another public health problem. There are different lawsuits brought against fast food industries like McDonald just like tobacco industries was earlier faced by the same disparaging reaction (Michelle M. Mello, 2007). The responsibility of the harm smoking causes was squarely laid on the tobacco industry by the public. These claims were solved by some tight regulations which have ensured the control of tobacco products to date. Fast food offer bad foods but the biggest problem is that a number of people seem not to disregard this fact despite knowing it. The industry tends to do just fine because their unhealthy foods continue to be consumed. For this reason they do not find the need for implementing policies but on the contrary this should be a prime reason as to why they should regulate the industry in a similar way to tobacco industries. My suggestion would be if people must eat these fast foods then they should know the best and the worst so that the role of making the choice can be left on the customer not the vendor. Why fast food industries should have similar policies to tobacco industry is because it has the same damages to the public health. Fast foods have faced claims from different customers in regard to the products produced. Consumption of these products has caused: obesity which has lead to diabetes, heart diseases due to excess fats, high blood pressure, high cholesterol intake and other health effects. The public have claimed that some fast food industries have engaged in advertising that is deceiving, low quality sales and promotions. Fast food has also been accused of producing food that is unreasonably unsafe, and lacking to inform customers on the dangers of these products. There is a rising level of obesity in the world today and the cause is found in the way our food is being grown, processed and packaged (Brownell, 2009). Fast food industry should adapt the marketing and the tactics in lobbying that are used by the tobacco industries. The tobacco industry used legal, political and business strategies tactic due to the concern that the industry had to the public health. Fast foods should employ these same regulations that the tobacco giants employed. The public should be informed about the link that exists between various fast food products and diseases. The doubts that the public has regarding to fast food products should be cleared through intensive marketing especially to the target consumers and in the fast food case it’s the children, adolescents and young adults. Just like tobacco is addictive fast foods can also cause an addiction especially to people who dislike cooking at home or mostly live alone in their homes. The industry should embrace regulations since a great concern has been raised about fast food and how they are advertising their products and selling unhealthy food to school children. Food industry should take up only the good policies that the tobacco industry used and leave the deceptive path. References Brownell, K. (2009, April 8). Food Industry Pursues the strategy of Big Tobacco. anvironment 360 . McGrew, J. L. (2008). History of Tobacco Regulation. Washington D. C. Michelle M. Mello, E. B. (2007). The Fast Food Industry and Legal Accountability. The McLawsuit . Tom Paulson, P. R. (2008, December 31). Fast food chains must post fat, calories. Retrieved March 2012, 2012, from County’s new rules aim at healthier eating: http://www. seattlepi. com/local/article/Fast-food-chains-must-post-fat-calori.

Types And Regional Distribution And Frequency Of...

i. Abstract Numerous extinct spreading centres are found within the world’s ocean basins and these record instances of spreading cessation or migration that provide valuable insights into the mechanism of heat-loss from the mantle and plate tectonic behaviour. This study presents the first comprehensive review of all reported extinct ridges and investigates their characteristics and regional distribution and frequency of occurrence over the last ~170 Myr as recorded in present-day preserved oceanic crust. The axial morphology, gravity signal and crustal structure of extinct ridges are evaluated by generating across-axis profiles through global datasets (IHO - IOC 2014; Sandwell et al. 2014) for individual ridge segments. Information on the spreading-rates, time of cessation and duration of spreading prior to cessation was collating information from previous studies. The potential geodynamic influences on the lifespan and activity of mid-ocean ridges were investigated by evaluating the rel ationship of extinct ridges to hotspots at their time of extinction using GPlates (Boyden et al. 2011) and a global reconstruction (Seton et al. 2012). Global examples are investigated to assess similarities or differences and to determine the ‘characteristic’ signal of extinct ridges. Ridges were classified according to the quality of constraints into a primary, secondary or tertiary tier that dictated their inclusion in the quantitative analysis undertaken. Spreading centre subtype is