Campaigns

• Double jeopardy

  • Double jeopardy prevents a person being tried again for the same crime
  • Ann Ming campaigned against this law
  • A provision in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 came into force stating that where there is ‘new and compelling evidence’ pointing to the guilt of a former defendant, the Court of Appeal may quash an acquittal and order a retrial. This change was necessary due to advancements in technology and medical knowledge
• Sarah’s law

  8 year old Sarah Payne was murdered and abducted by Roy Whiting whilst visiting her grandparents. Her mother, Sara Payne insisted that if she knew someone with such convictions was in the area, she would not have let her daughter play in the local fields with no adult present. Sara started a campaign to allow parents to formally ask the police for information about someone who has contact with their child who has a record for sexual assault. The petition for this campaign was signed by 700,000 members of the public.
• Anti-Smoking Campaign

  The most important piece of public health legislation for a generation. Anti-smoking ads on TV and on bill boards have been around for many years. Messages such as ‘Smoking Kills’ on cigarette packets have been EU law since 1991, yet to many people they seemed to be less memorable than cigarette ads which were completely banned in 2002. Campaign group ASH- receives funding for its work from the BHF and Cancer Research UK. It has also received funding from the Department of Health to support tobacco control. 9.1 million smokers still remain in the UK.
• Assisted dying campaign

  Campaign to change the law on assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults. The campaign believed that dying people should be able to control the manner and timing of their death. 82% of the public support the choice of assisted dying for terminally ill adults and 86% of people with a disability support a change to the law. Despite the law remaining unchanged the campaign benefitted from celebrity support (hollywood actor Sir Patrick Stewart) and a judicial review.
• Describe how pressure groups can affect campaigns

  They can campaign and eventually influence a change in the law. They may use a variety of methods such as television, advertising, events, petitions and merchandise. e.g The British Lung Foundation which campaigned to positively change lung health and contributed to the change introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014, which banned smoking in cars with children. Another example is CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) they brought about the introduction of a government Minister for mental health, inequalities and suicide prevention.
• Methods of promoting a campaign

  Television - news reports featuring the campaign

  Radio - interviews and reports to raise the profile of the campaign

  Blogs - web logs containing information about the topic

  Online petitions - seeking signatures in support of the campaign