It is not only for refereeing purposes that the members of the Russell Group are trying to flex their muscles; during an unsuccessful attempt last year to headhunt me to a larger institution in time for the next Research Assessment Exercise, my academic contact at that institution was told by his vice chancellor to "tell him that he had better accept since if he doesn't there won't be any research [in institutions] in ten years' time". Fortunately research is done by individuals and not by institutions, so I doubt that that will happen.
Name and institution supplied