9. pressure groups

Question 1

What are pressure groups?

Answer 1

• organisation that aims to influence political decision making
• seek to influence those in power

Question 2

What are insider groups?

Answer 2

• those that are consulted by the government and therefore have insider status
• need to be law-abiding with a good public image to retain the trust of the government e.g. Banking Medical Association, National Trust

Question 3

What are outsider groups?

Answer 3

• those that are not consulted by the government and instead try to influence political decision making from the outside
• some try to become insider groups while others like the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty are happy to remain outside and use extreme tactics

Question 4

Who are the BMA?

Answer 4

• British Medical Association
• act as the doctors trade union, to improve pay and conditions
• lobbies the gov for improvements to healthcare
• 160,000 doctors
• methods: strikes, meetings with MPs
• 2002 campaigned for a smoking ban and it was achieved in 2007
• 2016 cancelled doctors strikes as hospitals complained

Question 5

Who are Greenpeace?

Answer 5

• Stopping climate change, protecting oceans and forests
• 3M members worldwide
• over £300M global revenues
• 2017 Cons announced to plans to lower carbon economy
• 2015 shell announced that they wont drill in the Artic
• 2016 - more than 100 Nobel laureates signed saying how Greenpeace are not scientific

Question 6

What are promotional groups?

Answer 6

• those that promote a specific cause, such as the housing for the homelessness charity shelter
• generally inclusive and altruistic

Question 7

What are interest groups?

Answer 7

• those that exist to defend the interests of a particular group or section of society
• trade unions
• National Education Union

Question 8

What are the methods of working within the system?

Answer 8

• influencing government
• influencing parliament
• influencing political parties
• using the courts

Question 9

How do pressure groups influence the government?

Answer 9

• insider pressure groups try to directly influencing ministers and civil servants through contributions

Question 10

How do pressure groups influence parliament?

Answer 10

• pressure groups lobby MPs to try and influence their votes on gov bills
• they try to convince MPs to introduce a private members bill for their cause
• they can be asked to appear before a backbench committee

Question 11

How do pressure groups influence political parties?

Answer 11

• Unions have been part of the Labour Party since its formation and make an essential financial contribution
• some pressure groups attend party conferences to try and influence key members

Question 12

How do pressure groups use the courts?

Answer 12

• Pressure groups may try to overturn gov decisions with legal action using judicial review
• publicity and changing public opinion may be as important as wining the case

Question 13

What are the methods of working outside the governmental system?

Answer 13

• Appealing to the public
• background campaigns
• short term campaigns
• direct action

Question 14

How do pressure groups appeal to the public?

Answer 14

• pressure groups attract public support by using the media
• they appeal to the public directly using social media and online campagining
• they organise demonstrations and marches
• all pressure groups need public support, but is v. important for outside grous

Question 15

How doe pressure groups use background campaigns?

Answer 15

• long-term educational and propaganda campaigns are designed to produce significant shifts in public opinion

Question 16

How do pressure groups use short term campaigns?

Answer 16

• these are aimed at warning the public about a specific problem and trying to solve it
• the most extreme version was “fire brigade campaign” - rallied support quickly

Question 17

How do pressure groups use direct action?

Answer 17

• this is any action taken by a pressure group beyond the usual constitutional methods of campaigning
• direct action includes commonly used tactics
• some direct action is legal but some it illegal civil disobedience

Question 18

How does membership effect the political influencer of a pressure group
up?

Answer 18

• large membership often have more influence with the government
• pressure groups with highly regarded membership are likely to have more influence e.g. BMA made up of doctors
  HOWEVER - government may ignore pressure groups with large membership e.g. Striking unions

Question 19

How does the amount of resources a pressure group has effect the political influence of a pressure group?

Answer 19

• Money funds offices, equipment, staff and ads e.g. CBI has 13 offices across the UK - helps them lobby government better
• resources are needed to fund legal challenges to government policies

Question 20

How do the aims effect the political influence of pressure groups?

Answer 20

• limited and easily achievable aims are more likely to be met
• e.g. Snowdrop campagin 1996 aimed to ban private ownership of guns then an act of parliament was passed 1997

Question 21

How does the public support effect the political influence of a pressure group?

Answer 21

• public support helps to convince politicians to support and prioritise the pressure groups cause

Question 22

How do the methods effect the political influence of a pressure group?

Answer 22

• pressure groups that target the appropriate access point for their cause will have a better chance of influencing poltical decision makers
• direct action needs to be handled carefully - stunt bring media attention but violent acts can alienate decision makers and the public

Question 23

How does celebrity endorsement effect the political influence of a pressure group?

Answer 23

• can bring publicity to an issue that might otherwise be overlooked by politicians
• Lady Gaga and the #MeToo movement

Question 24

How does links with political parties effect the political influence of a pressure group?

Answer 24

• Trade union donations are hugely important to Labour, and provided much of the funding for its 2017 GE campaign
• BMA supported labours 2007 smoking ban (however BMA have been campaigning since 2002)

Question 25

How do links with governemnt effect the political influence of a pressure group?

Answer 25

• insider stats can allow pressure groups to directly influence government e.g. 2007 Smoking bans

Question 26

How does the relationship with the media effect the political influence of a pressure group?

Answer 26

• most pressure groups aim to attract publicity from media esp. when direct action is involved
• media support can put pressure on politicians

Question 27

What are the other influences on the on government and parliament?

Answer 27

• think-tanks
• lobbyists
• corporations
• the media

Question 28

How do think-tanks influence the government and parliament?

Answer 28

• organisations that exist purely to develop new policies
• some have clear position on the political spectrum e.g. Fabien Society
• others seek to be independent and neutral e.g. Chatham House
• many politicians have close links with think tanks e.g. Iain Duncan Smith

Question 29

How do lobbyists influence the government and parliament?

Answer 29

• lobbyists are political operatives who are paid to influence the government
• usually employed by corporations or wealthy pressure groups
• many former politicans become lobbyists
• more than 100 lobbying firms in the UK

Question 30

How do corporations influence the government and parliament?

Answer 30

• corporations may be invited by the government to contribute to policy discussions and to help produce legislation
• many corporations fund think tanks

Question 31

How do the media influence the government and parliament?

Answer 31

• government are scrutinised by the media and are keen to attract positive reports: communication with the media is a ley priority for every gov
• 2012 Cameron and Rebekah Brooks (former editor of sun) had a close friendship

Question 32

What is pluralism?

Answer 32

• a situation in which different groups, including pressure groups, compete equally for power and influence
• power is spread across different groups in society

Question 33

Are pressure groups good for democracy? - yes

Answer 33

• the pluralist interpretation is that pressure groups are an essential part of democracy as they allow different sections of society to have their views heard by government
• Pressure groups allow people to focus on on issue that concerns them
• pressure groups allow people to participate in democracy at any time
• pressure groups provide the government with information and statistics it might otherwise not discover- this is good for democracy as t makes the government better informed

Question 34

Are pressure groups good for democracy? - no

Answer 34

• elitist interpretation is that pressure groups are undemocratic - they give a louder voice to the most powerful
• pressure groups often have limited internal democracy so do not truly represent their members - decisions can be made by the leadership without consulting the group
• pressure groups are unaccountable to the electorate
• pressure groups foucs on one particular issue to the exclusion of everything else - may prevent politicans from delivering joined up government
• violent and aggressive campaigning methods are contrary to the rule of law and liberal democracy