The relationship of pressure groups to government Flashcards
Who is an example of a pressure group which has regular contact with serious officials?
the British Treasury
What are 4 initialised pressure groups which ministers and civil servants have found useful in the past?
NFU
BMA
TUC
CBI
What are 4 reasons why consultation is valuable to government
- obtaining views of the members of the group
- they can get technical information and advice
- they may obtain assistance in carrying out policy
- ministers can use pressure group contacts to pass information to the people who will be most interested
How may the BMA be useful in order to assist in carrying out policy?
The BMA may find out about an incident of any infectious diseases that GPs come across and can have the support of doctors in any programme of mass or local vaccination
Why do business groups tend to be in regular contact with government?
because they play a pivotal role in the economy as producers and employers
In the 1960s and 1970s why did the government work with trade unions?
In order to make the process of government more consensual
What was the idea of the tripartism of the 1960’s/1970’s?
in order to elevate the national interest above purely sectional interests
in the 1960/70’s what were union leaders prepared to do in return for employers to do their best to maintain employment and keep the prices of their goods down?
they were prepared to exhibit restraint in wage demands
What have governments done in a move away from tripartism and corporatism ?
they have moved to a free market competition, deregulation and competition
Under Thatcher which pressure group in particular was distanced from government?
the CBI
What are policy networks?
They are the different kinds of relationships that can apply between government, pressure groups and the range of other players involved in policy making in a particular sector. Policy communities and issue networks are subsections of policy networks.
What are policy communities?
These are small, stable and consensual groupings of government officials and group leaders involved in decision making in a particular areas
What are issue networks?
these are large, flexible and open networks of particular individuals in any policy area. They are wider than policy communities and involves more people
What do policy networks involve/what are their purpose?
this involves decision makers and group lobbyists working together to do something that may be of benefit to them both or at least prevent them from developing attitudes and adopting policies that may damage one side or the other
Who’s pressure group classification did the idea of policy communities fit in well with?
Grants insider and outsider groupings
