Pressure Groups

• Pressure Groups

  Usually have a single interest or goal.

  Some campaign for a cause that their members believe in. E.g. Amnesty International.
• How to measure success.

  Legislation change.

  Attitude change.

  Behaviour change.

  Or lack of change, e.g. climate change.
• Sectional Groups

  Seeks to promote the interests of an occupation or group.

  Trade Unions represent their members in negotiations with employers.

  Membership is limited to people in the industry.
• Cause Groups


  Seeks to achieve a goal.

  Membership open to anyone,

  E.g. Greenpeace.

  Often helping a group that cannot help themselves.
• Social Movements

  Similar to cause groups but less formal and less structured.

  For example, the Occupy movement has broad criticisms of capitalism but has few specific policy ideas.
• What affects success


  Resources: larger memberships will help to finance groups making it easier to spread awareness.

  Leadership: experienced, capable leadership is vital to success, can help to secure goals and public support.

  Public support: high public support can make groups hard to ignore by the government.

  Insider status: Contacts with government and ministers, helps to achieve goals.

  Outsider status: No contact with government, not in line with mainstream. Harder to achieve goals.
• Fathers4Justice

  Success: Gained publicity

  Failures: Stunts begun to annoy public

  Leadership: Matt O'Connor

  Tactics: Public stunts, vandalism

  Public support: Positive at first, however turned negative after damaging stunts.

  Cause group.