Group activity

• pressure groups: a group of like minded individuals who come together on the basis of shared interests to put pressure on a policy makers at Westminsters
• Pressure group functions:

  • investigate issues
  • raise public awareness
  • help develop gov policies in order to educate the electorate
  • organise e-petitions and demonstrations
• casual group: seem to promote a particular cause to convert the ideas behind the cause into gov action or parliament legislation
• Examples of a casual groups are green peace, liberty, people for the ethical treatment of animals (PETA) and friends of the earth
• Sectional groups: represent a particular section of the community in the UK, self interested in hope of pursuing the interests of their own membership
• An example of a sectional group is the BMA (British Medical Association) who represent doctors, medical student etc
• Insider pressure groups: have close links to decision makers
• Example of an insider pressure group is BMA
• outside pressure group: a group that works outside the gov
• An example of an outsider pressure group is just stop oil
• access points: the places which pressure groups go to exert influence
• Access points for pressure groups:

  • ministers
  • parliament
  • courts
  • political parties
  • the media and public opinion
  • key decision makers (for insider groups)
• lobbying: direct attention to a key decision maker
• Access points + lobbying: depends which points are available to them, opportunities for lobbying will come about at local events with councillors, mayoral office etc
• Public campaigning: groups without direct access to gov tend to mobilise demonstrations to convince gov to listen to them
• financial grants: common to be made to political parties as means of finding favour for their cause or interest (e.g. trade unions have long financed the labour party)
• MPs: most MPs and peers promote the interests of one group or another, raising issues in debate or lobbying ministers directly
• media campaigns: press, TV and radio can provide publicity for their concerns
• direct action: e.g. demonstrations and strikes that are officially organised but cause mass disruption which may put pressure on the government
• Illegal methods: often a last resort when all else fails but often gains them publicity e.g. green peace has destroyed genetically modified crops to publicise the dangers
• Courts: by requesting a judicial review if it feels government or a state of body has acted contrary to the rule of law and has discriminated against a group in society
• Insider advantage example:

  • BMA aimed to persuade gov to introduce a sugar tax of 20%
  • used lobbying and their expertise/data to persuade gov to implement policy
  • in 2015 gov announced support for a sugar tax, recommending 20%
• Size of membership of a pressure group:

  • more supporters puts more pressure on decision makers
  • groups with smaller sizes can be overlooked by larger groups campaigns
  • fewer people to participate and raise funds makes success harder to achieve
• BMA had a large membership and was able to take strike action in 2016-17
• Finance of pressure groups:

  • wealthy groups can afford expensive campaigns
  • able to employ lobbyists
  • sponsor political parties
  • purchase favourable publicity
• Strategic position of a particular sectional group:

  • if viewed as important to the economy or a key service it can put more pressure on gov
  • groups not seen as important can be easily ignored
• A strategic position of a particular sectional group example are NHS workers who are a vital sector
• Illegal method example is when Extinction Rebellion stood on Rishi Sunak’s house with a banner
• Insider pressure groups provide government with specialised information to help them reach decisions
• If the pressure group does not have relations with the governing party they may not uphold insider status, for example trade unions during the conservatives time in office
• More wealthy pressure groups will have the financial resources to employ researchers
• Clickocracy: using the internet to enable the public to engage with pressure groups purely online
• Success of pressure groups depend on RIPE:

  • Resources
  • Ideological compatibility with the government
  • Popularity
  • Expertise
• The CBI (confederation of British industry) represents 190,000 UK businesses and employs nearly 7 million people. Their wealth allows them to employ more than 100 policy researchers
• In 2020 Marcus Rashford used his celebrity status to campaign for all school children in households accessing universal credit to have free school meals, this was successful as the gov changed policy
• Social media use example is 38 degrees provided a forum for its members to quickly choose and launch their own online campaigns
• The Automobile Association (AA) and the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) were highly critical of Johnson’s smart motorways and use their expertise + insider status to prove they are less safe causing the gov to delay building for 5 years to assess safety implications
• In 2014 the coalition passed the Transparency of Lobbying Non-party campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act
• The Acts in 2014 prevented ministers and top civil servants from lobbying their former colleagues 2 years after leaving gov
• The Acts in 2014 also mean ministers must declare who they are meeting with for Transparency