For (Party funding ) - corruption and influence
2021 - conservatives received 20,500,000 in donations (65% of total funding) - labour only 22% with 9,933,000
+ is likely to increased now labour is more attractive to business (lord sainsbury 2 mill - none under Corby)
- Cash for peerages - tony Blair putting people into house of lords
- recently russian donner Evgeny Lebedev 2 million and made life peer
Influence on elections of Party funding being different (need to reform)
2021 - labour 45,564,000 conservative - 31,744,000
Next highest - 5.7 million
Short money is not avalable to all partys - only opposition partys with 2 seats or more
- funding is granted to partys who have already won a number of seats and so favours established parties.
influence on democracy (Party funding)
Party funding has influence on elections, and so should be managed by the electoral commission
State funding would allow for partys to focus on representing the public and not doners- no more need for politicians to host fundraisers - more time on people
- also limit foul play in electioneering with Tory’s passing a bill to limit the power of trade unions in donating. 2016 trade union act.
Against Party funding reform : corruption
Labour recived 13% of income in 2021 from TUs, 35% on membership fees, and 15.5% from state
- all donations regulated by the electoral commission.
Against Party funding reform: influence on political system
Labour party recived large donations but also has large membership (400,000) + TUs - GBM
- if the state funding was introduced based on how party did in prevous election would still create 2 party system.
Against Party funding reform: influence on democracy
Would harm democracy, as would isolate members form party. - currently party’s are independent from influence of the state.
+ would cost the state a significant amount of money
Think tanks, lobbyists and pressure groups (for): insider pressure groups
Have close links to govt
- national farmers union (NFU) has strong links with the Department of environment, food and rural affairs.
-e.g.sucess on- badger kull to stop the spread to bovine tuberculosis 2013 - against public opinion
+ stonewall - success in equalising the age of consent for gay and straight individuals to 16 as part of the sexual offences act 2000.
Think tanks, lobbyists and pressure groups (for): outsider groups
Can use public support to gain attention to key issues forcing the government to change - Marcus rashford - u-tun on from government policy to accept demands for free school meals
Legal methods to push goverment (rights gropus)
- care4Calais - campaigning for the rights of refugees - sending people to rewanda removes human rights (LGBTQ) - first flight to rewanda did not happen due to human rights challenges.
Think tanks, lobbyists and pressure groups (for): think tanks and lobbyists
Think tanks, are groups of experts - investigate topics to come to reasoned outcomes
- they can be alternative source of ideas to the civil service - with more time and expertiees than partys to actty out research - they can inflience paties poitys and thier actions, as they have strong politcal leanings.
- universal Credit benfitit system was first proposed by the centre for socail justice (set up by Ian Duncan smith) implemented by coalition govt
- liz Truss + Kwasi Kwartengs policys were influenced by:
instatue of economic affairs (IEA), with the senior special advisor for truss being Ruith Porter former member of IEA.
Think tanks lobbyists and pressure groups against: insider
Govt dosnt have to listen
- unlikely to shift policy in direction the goverment did not want to go
- NFU - has some influence during conservative goverments (not thatcher)
- depends on the political leanings of the party
Think tanks, lobbyists and pressure groups (for): lobbyists
Lobbyisng is big in the uk; 4000 people with a total of 2 billion spent on it each year
- cash for questions scandal 1990s
- Neil hamilton MP accepted 2,000 through a lobbyist for asking questions on behalf of Mohamed AL Fayed
Think tanks lobbyists and pressure groups against:Outsider pressure groups
Just stop oil - alot of media attention but strugled to gain support, and so were not listened to.
Think tanks lobbyists and pressure groups against:Think tanks
Hard to show the level of influence of the policies, as are not upfront about winners and losers
Think tanks lobbyists and pressure groups against: Lobbyists
Greensill capital hired David cameron - but rishi sunak refused to make changes in 2020 (on covid corporate financing facility)
Evaluate the view that social media is now more important than traditional media (for) : S v the paper
2015 survey - 79% of 18-25s get news entirely from social media and 59% dependent to find others opinions
- social media scandals, can distrupt votes, grenfil towers, with Jacob rees mogg (not popular) - con still won election 2019
- targuited adds - according to whotargetsme - labour spent 1.4 million on facebook advertising, and torys and libdems both spent 900,000.
Evaluate the view that social media is now more important than traditional media (for) : Vs radio and TV
Clips form TV and radio ovtern go ‘viral’ on social media, allowing them to have a much wider reach and impact on the beliefs and views of a Greater number of voters.
- liz truss’s radio interviews were replayed by millions on social media
And the same is true for PMQs where clips can gain millions of views
Social media most important (counter to opinion polls)
Opinion polls often do not have a significant impact on voters, and they are viewed though social media.
Evaluate the view that social media is now more important than traditional media against: traditional media
7 million poeple reed news papers daily in the uk - key source of informaiton
- general public belived that traditoanl media had a greater impact with 32% for and 26% against.
- the top 2 news papers have backed the conservatives for the last 3 elections with (the sun 1.8 and the mail with 1.6 million reeders) and the mirror with only 809,000 backing labour
- ‘sun wot won it’
Evaluate the view that social media is now more important than traditional media against: TV and radio
TV can be seen as important in how it projects visual images, helping voters to form an impression of party leaders.
For example, a lot of the negative coverage of Corbyn focused on his personality and ‘scruffy’ appearance rather than his policies.
- tv debates and interviews are most important
- 2017 Theresa may refused to take part in debate with corbyn, make her look weak and increased unpopularity.
- Newsnight exposes failure of government or opposition (COVID) transmitted to care homes by corbyn
- 62% of people cited TV as strongest influence and only 25% put papers first. (2015 election)
Opinon polls more important than social media
2015 elecion and in brexit high trounouts due to polls due to polls indicating close election
- 2017 caused corby to have incresed support
- give tactical voters infleuce on who is going to win, cuasing lib dem voters to switch to con to stop labour win
- opinion polls can show sections of the up public being opposed to trans rights, role in candidates for the conservative party, opposed to trans rights. 2022.
