Pessure Groups And Other Organisations Flashcards
(30 cards)
RMT
Insider group Found in 1990 through merging 2 groups (NUR) + (NUS)
Objectives- better pay + conditions for members, short hours + safe working environment.
RMT methods
Contract with major transport company (TFL) on behalf of members for better terms and safety.
By affiliating with labour, successfully put candidates up for election + say in decision making.
Organise + conduct strikes to pressure employees to meet demand. Effective as RMT dominate in key sectors e.g tube drivers in London.
election. Has a say in policy making.
Success
Help members bring legal cases following injuries + wrongful treatment.
£55k to member who lost his index finger tip in industrial accident.
Definition
Groups that tries influence public policy in interest of a particular cause
Just stop oil March 2025
Announced finishing their protest as achieved goal of stopping new oil + gas licenses.
They also weren’t liked by the public as they used violent methods so had little electoral influence e.g. blocking roads and disrupting stone henge.
2023, Sunak passed Public Order Act in response to highly disruptive protest tactics. This reduced their ability to protest.
Although labour government stopped new oil and gas licenses, haven’t reversed the 100 new oil and gas licenses issued by Sunni 2023 + development of rose bank oil and gas field which came despite a year of protest. Therefore, can’t be seen as successful outsider P.G as failed to gain public support and influence gov policy.
RMT success May 2012.
2011-2012, lobbied TFL, London Underground + mayor for London over concerns about additional workload that would be placed on all London Underground staff during 2012 olympics.
At the end of May 2012- London Undergound offered drivers a bonus of up to £1000 and all other staff bonus of up to £850 with no conditions.
health and safety at work act 1974
employment rights act 1996
Reason for the success of RMT union
- Importance of Olympics put pressure on London Underground + gov.
- Unions large membership covered vital sector of London’s economy, risk of closing Tube during the Olympics.
- These 2 factors made the threat of a strike by a unified membership a big risk.
- Bob crow, the general secretary of the union, raised the media profileof the issue to pressure gov.
RMT union failures
2015-2016 London Underground began to lose ticket offices across the Tube Network.
Staff were to be moved to platforms but RMT raised concern over passenger safety + job security or members.
The union launched a 48 hour series of strikes to disrupt the Tube Network + take legal case to High Court.
By June 2016, TFL closed 289 ticket offices,meaning they failed to achieve their goal.
Reasons for failure
- Strikes failed gain public support
- The commitment to the programme of closures by TFL, the mayor of London (at the time) and the gov.
- Court case being rejected.
- Lack public sympathy over issue.
Greenpeace
successfully lobbied
Just Stop Oil 2022
Lack of success. Gained a lot of media attention 22 due to disruptive public demonstrations e.g. block roads + stop premier league football
matches. Alienated public to their cause which was to end all new licenses for producing fossil fuels in UK + lil pressure put on gov to change policy.
Furthermore, mass support could’ve led to large memberships that pay subscriptions; allowing PG’S to pay staff + organise publicity. E,g, could’ve led to them taking legal action.
Counter argument of importance of mass support for pressure groups leads to success.
Difficult for PG’S to get gov to change policy even with significant public support. Changing policy due to pressure groups would lead to gov admitting they’re wrong.
Individual pressure groups involved in anti-fracking movement 2010s
gained significant public support with protests, petitions and local campaigns.
Public opposition was high and many groups involved e.g. Greenpeace and Friends Of The Earth, large demonstrations showing concern.
However, gov still supported fracking.
2015, More than 100 exploration and drilling licenses awarded to firms e.g. IGas.
Pressure group success is highly dependent on leadership and strategy
Leadership is highly important part. outsider pressure groups who use media + seek to mobilise public opinion behind their cause. A well known personality in particular can attract public support.
Marcus in the campaign to extend free school meals to children during the school holidays. Not only did he engage with the public on twitter in particular, an open letter he wrote to the government proved decisive in the government’s decision to u-turn on 16 June 2020. Rashford was frequently described as providing more effective opposition to the government than Keir Starmer.
Strategy- JUNE 2020he used his personal story (making it powerful)and posted a public letter to the UK government urging them to extend free school melas during the summer holidays. He shared it on Twitter and it went viral.
He used the #MAKETHEUTURN widely shared + picked up by media.
Often described as providing more effective opposition to gov than Starmer.
Think Tanks
Group experts together to investigate topics + solutions to complicated issues.
Influence gov policy; more time + expertise than parties to research + construct policy solutions.
2009, Centre For Social Justice published a ‘dynamic benefits’ report which criticised the existing welfare system for being too complex.
They proposed a universal credit benefits system which was later implemented by the collation govement in 2013.
Lobbyists
Members of professional organisations paid my clients who seek access to + influence over gov, MPs and HOL members. Purpose is guan influence on behalf of clients and prevent legislation damaging interests and promote legislation promoting interests.
Annual amount spent on lobbying
£2 billion
How seek influence
Meet gov ministers, parliament members , civil servants + convince to adopt policies which are in clients interest.
Many firms hire former politicians to lobby on their behalf. Shows influence of those with connections.
Lobbying example
When Cameron PM , Lex Greensill was his senior adviser.
After leaving politics, he became an advisor at greensill capital and lobbied senior gov. officials.
Paid over $1 million per year by company.
Cameron lobbied Sunak 2020 to change rules to allow Green-sill to access money thru COVID Corporate Financial Facility. Later unsuccessful.
Hadn’t broken any rules but unease about how much access + influence they able to have in gov when he was PM, paid a lot of money by them afterwards.
Corporations
Often hire lobbyists to work on their behalf can have significant influence on gov due to their importance to the UK economy + jobs in UK.
Gov may ask them for input on new policies, while they lobby Gov to ensure policy helps their business.
1 way they can do this is threaten relocation to a diff country ; taking jobs + econ. activity out of UK.
Liberty
Protect civil liberties + human rights in UK thru courts, parliament, wider campaigns to gain public support.
Failure
Fail to prevent Police, Crime, Sentencing + Courts Act from passed in 2021, limiting right to protests in uk.
-organised many protests under the slogan #KillTheBill + is very experienced organisation but was unable to prevent it, due to some of public opposing disruptive protests of JSO which bill was in response to + Gov was intent on passing it.
Another failure
Unable prevent passage of Public Order Act 2023 under Sunak’s Gov
whcih introduced new offences such as ‘locking-on’ + interfering with national
infrastructure to prevent disruptive protests in UK.
❎lobbied parliamentarians + sought to arrange public awareness of the act but failed to prevent passage.
❎failed to convince new Labour Gov to repeal the law + in march 2025 the Public Order Act used to prevent farmers protest against inheritance tax changes from bringing tractors to their protests in Westminster and blocking roads.
Think tanks
Outsider pressure groups
Seek to exert over Gov policy by mobilise public opinion + support thru using media , public protest, and other non-discrete methods.
Social movements in particular are able to have success as ability to demonstrate to Gov thier goals have much public support + could influence Gov popularity.
2020 campaign led by Marcus Rashford.
