PG, TT, Lobbyists Examples

Question 1

Example of a causal/promotional group

Answer 1

Greenpeace promotes awareness over environment concerns and tries to influence the government to adopt ‘green’ causes.

Question 2

Example of a sectional/ interest group

Answer 2

trade unions represent their members in negotiations with employers over wages and working conditions.

Question 3

Social movements: Iraq

Answer 3

The major anti-Iraq protests in 2003 (arranged by Stop the War Coalition) which included an estimated 750,000 demonstrators.

Question 4

Social movements: climate change

Answer 4

Fridays for Future Climate Marches by schoolchildren across the world, including the UK, started by Greta Thunberg.

Question 5

Social Movements: George Floyd

Answer 5

Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020

Question 6

E-petition

Answer 6

Revoke Article 50 e-petition in March 2019
Received over 6million signatures

Question 7

Insider groups: farming

Answer 7

the National Union of Farmers with DEFRA have close links with the relevant government departments

Question 8

Low profile insider group

Answer 8

the Howard League for Penal Reform

Question 9

High profile insider group

Answer 9

The confederation of British industry

Question 10

Outsider group far from the political mainstream

Answer 10

Animal rights protestors who try to intimidate animal testing laboratories into ceasing their work.

Question 11

Outsider group who believes talking to those in power will taint their reputation

Answer 11

The anti-capitalist ‘Occupy London’ movement, which camped outside St. Paul’s Cathedral in late 2011, saw the government as closely aligned to the global capitalist movement against which they were protesting.

Question 12

Example of a pressure group who uses disruptive public demonstrations

Answer 12

‘Just Stop Oil’ - have held disruptive public demonstrations and The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, which have held repeated strikes in order to demand increase in pay.

Question 13

Trade unions & Thatcher gov

Answer 13

Trade unions enjoyed privileged access and influence in the post-war era, especially with labour governments, but when the Thatcher government came to power in 1979, union leaders were deliberately excluded from the corridors of power and made the enemy of the people.

Question 14

Example of insider group using specialist advice to gain influence over policy

Answer 14

The National Farmers Union is able to give conservative governments knowledge in return for influence over policy

Question 15

Just stop oil

Answer 15

Just Stop Oil staged protests throughout 2022, including blocking roads and glueing themselves to football posts in the middle of games.

Question 16

Well funded pressure groups may initiate legal challenges against policies they disapprove of e.g.

Answer 16

The Countryside Alliance took its case against banning of fox hunting to the High Court in 2004, but failed.

Question 17

E.g. of a group using insider and outsider methods

Answer 17

British Medical Association usually enjoys insider status but, faced with Conservative determination to impose a new contract on junior doctors, it initiated strike action in the autumn of 2016.

Question 18

Human Rights pressure group

Answer 18

Stonewall

Question 19

What does stonewall do?

Answer 19

Campaigns for LGBT rights

Question 20

Why was Stonewall formed?

Answer 20

In opposition to section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act introduced by Thatcher’s government which prohibited the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ by local authorities.

Question 21

When did stonewall become an insider group?

Answer 21

When new labour came into power in 1997

Question 22

What important changes did stonewall cause

Answer 22

• banning of homosexuality in the armed forces was lifted by the government in 2000 after a successful case in the ECHR to challenge existing legislation.
• involves in legislative achievements including equalising the age of consent to 16 years old as part of the Sexual Offence Act 2000
• introduction of the Civil Partnership Act 2000

Question 23

Why did charities boycott the conservative government’s first LGBT conference

Answer 23

In April 2022, Stonewall, among other LGBT charities, boycotted the Conservative governments first global LGBT conference over its decision to exclude trans people from a ban on conversion therapy. It is now an outsider group as a result of government policy.

Question 24

Pressure group that campaigns to protect civil liberties and protect human rights

Answer 24

Liberty

Question 25

What has liberty focused on in the last 5 years

Answer 25

Challenging the investigatory powers act 2016 in the high court and challenging hostile environment policies for immigrants in the UK.

After raising £50,000 from a crowdfunder, Liberty challenged key provisions of the act and were successful, when in April 2018 the High Court ruled that key provisions in the act violated EU law.

Question 26

Sectional group who protects doctors

Answer 26

British Medical Association

Question 27

What has the BMA contributed to?

Answer 27

• the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces in 2007 and saw banning smoking is cars as the next step to banning smoking in the UK.

Question 28

How have the BMA lobbied

Answer 28

By using online technology to allow supporters to lobby MPs

Question 29

Marcus Rashfords Campaign

Answer 29

In the summer of 2020, he teamed up with Fairshare and put significant public pressure on the UK government to reverse its decision to not extend free school meals to children during the summer holidays, through open letters, e-petitions and his social media accounts which generated a social movement and major public support.

• celebrity support for outsider pressure groups

Question 30

Recent RMT strikes

Answer 30

In the winter of 2022/23, there have been major strikes by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) who work on the railways, to demand a real terms pay increase and protest about the increasing profits of rail companies.

• outsider, sectional pressure group

Question 31

Example of a pressure group with a large membership who pay subscriptions

Answer 31

RSPCA

Employs around 1600 people, supported by 1000’s of volunteers and can afford to spend a lot on advertising.

Question 32

Snowdrop campaign

Answer 32

Snowdrop campaign to ban the use of handguns in the UK, for example, was successful largely due to public horror over the 1996 Dunblane Primary School massacre.

Question 33

Celebrity influence on a campaign

Answer 33

Joanna Lumley’s public support and leadership in the Gurkha Justice campaign, which campaigned for retired Gurkah soldiers’ right to live in the UK, was important in helping to overturn a ban in 2009.

Question 34

Right wing think tank examples

Answer 34

Adam Smith Institute and Centre for Social Justice

Question 35

Left wing think tanks

Answer 35

Fabian Society and Institute for Public Policy

Question 36

Example of someone using a think tank as a spring board for a political career.

Answer 36

David Milliband worked for the Institute for Public Policy Research at the start of his career.

Question 37

Think tank influence: Universal Credit

Answer 37

Universal Credit benefit system was first proposed by the Centre for Social Justice and implemented by the Coalition government.

Question 38

Think tank influence: free-market

Answer 38

The shift in the Conservative party in the 1970’s to a more overtly free-market approach owed a great deal to Thatcher’s patronage of right-wing think tanks such as the Centre for Policy Studies and the Adam Smith institute.

Question 39

Prominent examples of lobbying: CFQ

Answer 39

Cash For Questions

• in the 1990’s when John major was in government, a number of Conservative MPs were accused of accepting money to ask particular questions in parliament.
• Neil Hampton accepted £2,000 through a lobbyists for asking questions on behalf of the owner of Harrods.

Question 40

Prominent examples of lobbying: Berni Ecclestone

Answer 40

• Tony Blair was involved in a scandal after exempting Forumla One from a ban on tobacco advertising after Bernie Ecclestone (the head of Formula One’s governing body) had donated £1million to labour
• the money was returned by Blair, who said the events weren’t connected.

Question 41

Loans given out in COVID

Answer 41

During COVID £7.5billion in loans were given out by the Bank of England to help corporations and companies struggling as a result of lockdowns, in the Covid Corporate Financing Facility.

Question 42

Companies which campaigned to leave the EU

Answer 42

Wetherspoons and Dyson