Influences on law Reform e.g. pressure groups model answer

• There are official agencies that research and investigate areas of law that may need updating. Official law reform agencies such as the Law Commission will suggest proposals for reform of the law to the Government. Other influences such as public opinion, media, pressure groups and lobbyists can influence Parliamentary law making.
• Political influences can be seen through Party Manifestos. A Manifesto is a written set of promises published in the run up to a General Election, by a Political Party which shows the Laws they will pass should they win. This is a major influence on the types of Law they pass if they become the Government. Some of these promises become laws but many do not (8% of the Conservative government's manifesto promises became Law between 1970-1974). Between 1984 and 2010 political parties in power passed around 80% of their Manifesto Promises into Law.
• Major Manifesto promises such as the Poll Tax and human rights originated from manifestos. Poll tax was promised by the Conservative Party in its 1987 manifesto. The Labour Party promised to 'bring rights home' in its 1997 Manifesto and created the Human Rights Act 1998.
• The legislative agenda can also be used to influence the Government. Organisations trying to change existing laws or make new ones, may seek the advice of different organisations, such as the Law Commission, to help them formulate their policy which can influence law reform. The Government controls the legislative agenda in Parliament so they can decide what laws are put through the legislation process.
• As they have the most seats in the Houses of Commons, they are more likely to succeed in passing any legislation they wish as they will have the most votes if all their party members vote accordingly. The House of Lords may try to delay or amend a bill, but this can also be stopped if the House of Commons invoke the Parliament Act 1911 & 1949. This is a much bigger and quicker influence on law reform compared to others as they are already in the centre of Parliamentary law making. They are not just an influence on Parliament, they are Parliament.
• A Private Members' Bill is a Law passed by an individual MP on an issue they think is important or the area they represent. Pressure groups may lobby a backbencher to try to get them to support the group's cause and put forward a bill.
• There are two ways that an individual MP can introduce a Bill: Ballot- Each Year 20 MPs selected by Ballot are allowed to present their Bill to the House of Commons for a Vote; Ten-Minute Rule- During debates, MPs get 10 minutes to speak on an issue, or introduce a new bill. However, this is very difficult, and it requires other MPs to support them and no votes against it.
• Private Members' Bills are rarely successful as they have to win the support of Parliament to get their law passed, however some famous examples include David Steel who introduced the Abortion Act 1967; Sydney Silverman introduced the Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act 1968 which abolished the death penalty.
• The UK Public opinion may Influence the Government to change or create a particular law by protesting or contacting their local MP. This particularly occurs close to election time when the government wants to get the public to re-elect them.
• The media, such as newspapers, social media, the radio etc, play a huge role in bringing public opinion to the government's attention (e.g. through opinion polls). It is able to criticise government policy and is a means of informing the public about issues. The Media may have particular laws that they want to change or create and may campaign on particular issues to get changes by bringing these to the attention of the government.
• Where an issue is given a high profile on the TV and coverage in newspapers, it brings it to the public's attention and may cause the public to have a large opinion on it. Usually, the more support there is from the public, the higher the likelihood it will influence law reform.
• Some campaigns have been successful whereas others have not. News reports concerning pit bull terriers attacking children led to the Conservative government quickly passing the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
• In 2000, the News of the World campaigned for a change in law regarding pedophiles. The newspaper wanted the government to 'name and shame' pedophiles and for a public register for sex offenders after the death of Sarah Payne. The newspaper printed photographs of sex offenders and urged the government to allow the public access to details about their identities. Although the government did not completely change the law, the pressure from the newspaper led to the creation of a private sex offenders' register.
• Pressure Groups are organisations who will try to bring issues to the attention of the public and Parliament to try to influence changes to the law on that particular issue. There are 2 main types of Pressure Group: Sectional pressure groups- These represent a section of Society, and they try to influence laws which benefit them. Usually, they are quite large and also it is rare for government to introduce a law that affects them without being consulted.
• The Law Society represents solicitor's interests; Cause pressure groups - These represent a belief/cause and try to influence laws being changed to protect this cause. Usually, these pressure groups are less likely to be consulted or have governmental links so influence much less.
• For example: the RSPC promotes animal welfare and influenced the Animals Act 2006 which set out basic rights for family pets), Fathers 4 Justice promotes equal child access, Shelter campaign for the homeless and Stonewall campaign for gay rights, Stonewall in relation to the reduction of age in Homosexual relationships.
• Pressure groups can influence changes in the law in a variety of ways such as protests, petitions and publicity stunts.

  Many pressure groups try to lobby (persuade) individual MP's, MEP's and local councils trying to get their beliefs heard. If successful it may persuade an MP to ask questions in Parliament about a particular problem. It is also possible that a backbench MP may use the Private Members Bill session to introduce a bill trying to reform the law in the way that the pressure group wants.
• Pressure Groups don't just try to influence laws to protect their interests, they may also try to stop laws being passed which harm their interests. For example in 2012 when the Government passed the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (known as LASPO), organisations such as the Law Society (Solicitors), Bar Council (Barristers) and Liberty (charity promoting fairer sentencing rules) campaigned against changes to legal aid in criminal.
• Some people try and persuade an MP to support their cause, these people are called lobbyists and is another way of influencing law making and law reform. They are called lobbyists because they speak to the MPs in the lobby (hallways) of Parliament. Lobbyists will try and bring a particular issue to Parliament's attention and get the law changed.
• There are two main types of Lobbyist; Professional Lobbyists which are employed by major Pressure Groups to persuade MPs and the Government to support their cause and change/create a particular law; Local lobbyists- This can be an individual writing to their MP asking for them to raise an issue in Parliament, this can lead to debates on the issue. An individual can also lobby their MP in their own constituency or in Parliament. Lobbyists often try and get the MP to highlight their cause by raising a question in the House of Commons and trying to force a debate.
• Major Pressure Groups such as Cancer Research and businesses such as Lloyds Bank use Lobbyists to press for changes in the law. Greenpeace influenced changes to the law on the use of Microplastics in health products in the UK in 2017.
• Another example is Stonewall created a professional lobbying group to try and prevent such attacks on lesbians, gay and bi people. One of its main successes is their campaign which led to the successful repeal of B (an offensive piece of legislation designed to prevent the so-called 'promotion' of homosexuality in schools, as well as stigmatising lesbian, gay and bi people).