Citizen's Influence Flashcards
Voting
All citizens in Scotland who are eligible to vote, are able to vote in local, Scottish Parliament, and UK Parliament elections.
Turnout in the 2019 election won 67% This means that the majority are voting and influencing decision making as a result.
This enables citizens to influence Government decision making, as citizens are able to have a say in who represents them in Parliament and, as a result, the Government will work hard to ensure that they have favourable results in elections.
However, the FPTP system means that many votes for small parties such as the Green party are wasted as they are not likely to win. Supporters of these parties are likely to have less influence on decision making as a result may not vote.
This limits the impact of voting on decision making because the nature of the voting system in the UK parliament means that voters’ power is restricted and elections continue to be dominated by bigger parties.
PG Insider
Insider groups are highly influential in decision making due to their close links with the government.
The government views insider pressure groups as experts in their areas and regularly consult them.
Insider groups can often provide evidence in support of government policy. Insider groups therefore have the advantage that they are needed for their knowledge and more likely to be listened to.
However their ability to raise awareness with the public is restricted. Due to their relationship with the government, they are expected to act in an appropriate manner and never break the law.
This sometimes creates less public awareness and support for their cause. As a result, this can reduce the pressure on the government to take action.
Outsider Groups
These groups are outside the political process and do not have direct contract with the Government Ministers
They prefer it this way as it means they can publicise their cause through the media.
Outsiders pressure groups can be argued to be an effective way of influencing Government decision making because the government can listen when they are under pressure. The Government realises that they are held accountable by the electorate and the electorate may also be swayed by the action of outsider pressure groups.
However, usually Outsider Groups’ demands are not in line with the government’s views. This therefore makes them less successful because the government is less likely to listen. Usually these types of pressure groups use direct action to pressure the government into getting what they want.
This shows that Outsider groups have a limited impact on Government decision making as the Government and public can often see their activities as extreme, and they are therefore less likely to listen to their demand
Media
It can be argued that pressure groups who gain media attention are more likely to be successful.
Media attention is able to raise public awareness which can place pressure on the government to make change for example the Gurkhas in 2004.
This shows that pressure groups with media attention are more likely to influence decision making as they can win the public onside and generate sympathy or empathy for their cause.
However, media attention does not guarantee success.
This Makes Poverty History campaigns have featured numerous celebrities over the years including Cameron Diaz and Brad Pitt, and have gained a lot of media attention appearing in the TV adverts. Despite this the Make Poverty History Campaign has not achieved its main goals. For example it wanted to make trade fairer but trade remains widely unfair.
This shows us that media attention does not always influence Government decision making because sometimes the goal is unrealistic and not a major focus for the Government of the time.
