I don't see them being at inflated rates. They are worth what they are worth. As NinianClark has also said, many pension funds rely on these businesses to generate cashflows for their customers. What happens to pensioners, who have no time to plan or make changes to their financial arrangements?
Your second point is a decent analogy, however surely you can see that losing 6-0 in the first leg could mean that you are out of the game forever. Better to only lose 2-0 or even nick a late goal to make the next round much more competitive.
My real concern is that we end up with very weak opposition that has no way of holding government to account. when that happens all non Tory MPs may as well go home.