Pressure Groups

Question 1

What is a pressure group?

Answer 1

They are organisations that try to influence decision making and public policy for a particular cause or interest group.

Question 2

What is a sectional pressure group?

Answer 2

A pressure group that represents a specific section of society such as a trade union or employer’s association.

Question 3

What is a promotional group?

Answer 3

A pressure group that promotes a specific cause rather than the interests of its own members.

Question 4

What is a dual-function group?

Answer 4

Groups which are both sectional and cause based

Question 5

Give three examples of sectional pressure groups.

Answer 5

• Institute of Directors
• National Farmers’ Union
• Age UK

Question 6

Give three examples of promotional pressure groups.

Answer 6

• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
• Electoral Reform Society
• Liberty

Question 7

What is an insider group?

Answer 7

A pressure group that operates inside the political system through contacts with ministers, MPs, peers, and official committees. They are regularly consulted by government.

Question 8

What is an outsider group?

Answer 8

A pressure group that have no special links with government but seek to influence decision makers by mobilising public opinion from the outside.

Question 9

What is pluralism?

Answer 9

A political system where a wide range of beliefs, ideologies and ideas are tolerated. Power is dispersed and not concentrated in a few hands.

Question 10

What is functional representation?

Answer 10

The representation in a body of particular sections of society based on age, gender, income, e.t.c.

Question 11

What are the five main functions of pressure groups?

Answer 11

• Influence and inform policy makers
• Inform/educate the public
• Functional representation for sections of society
• Create opportunities for political participation
• Scrutinise legislation

Question 12

Give an example of a pressure group informing or educating the public.

Answer 12

Friends of the Earth have a ‘Youth & Education’ network whereby they provide free resources for primary school teachers to use.

Question 13

Give an example of a pressure group scrutinising government legislation.

Answer 13

The BMA successfully convinced government to amend the 2012 Health and Social Care Act to include increased protection for patient information and confidentiality, as well as an explicit duty for the Health Secretary to have national oversight over the training of new doctors.

Question 14

Give an example of a pressure group providing avenues for political participation.

Answer 14

The Taxpayers’ Alliance has over 18,000 members and encourages wider participation via its online petitions. For example, in 2012 they held a petition against the introduction of a 5p charge on carrier bags by the Welsh government.

Question 15

Give an example of a pressure group delivering functional representation.

Answer 15

The Muslim Council of Britain represents over 500 Mosques and lobbied to remove the ‘glorifying terrorism’ clause from the 2006 Terrorism Act as they felt that it unfairly targeted Muslims.

Question 16

What are the five main characteristics of pressure groups?

Answer 16

1. They influence decisions.
2. They propose amendments and influence the implementation of policies.
3. They operate on a relatively narrow range of issues.
4. They operate at varying levels of government from ministers to parliament to local assemblies and governments.
5. They can operate in the law courts to challenge the implementation of a decision.

Question 17

What are the main factors that influence the power/success of pressure groups?

Answer 17

• How close the group’s philosophy is to he government’s own agenda
• The finances of the group
• The size of the group
• The organisational structure of the group
• Opposition to the group
• Whether or not the group has insider status
• Celebrity backing?

Question 18

Give an example of a pressure group that was successful because it shared a similar philosophy to the government.

Answer 18

The Taxpayers’ Alliance ideology is closely aligned to that of the Conservative Party.

In 2012, the Taxpayers Alliance was highly supportive and wanted to amplify the raidcal Welfare Reform Act 2012 that introduced a hard welfare cap of £300 per person per week as well as the notorious under-occupancy penalty (bedroom tax).

Question 19

Give an example of a pressure group that was successful because of its size (and vice versa).

Answer 19

Friends of the Earth (200,000 members) and the Countryside Alliance (100,000) have lots of influence due to their large size.

Trade unions influence declining due to declining size as evidenced by loss of block voting power in Labour Party elections and inability to stop cuts to public services in 2010.

Question 20

Give an example of a pressure group that was successful because of its wealth.

Answer 20

In 2009, seven banks backed by the British Bankers Associated overturned a ruling that the Office of Fair Trading could investigate their system of charging for overdrafts.

November 2009: Office of Fair Trading versus Barclays Bank and others

Question 21

Give two examples of pressure groups using ‘direct action’ to exert their influence?

Answer 21

1. The anti-fuel tax lobby blockaded fuel depots to publicise its case for lower petrol taxes.
2. The Occupy London movement occupied key public spaces in tents such as St Paul’s cathedral in Late 2011/2012.

Question 22

Give an example of a pressure group lobbying the House of Lords.

Answer 22

A coalition of Christian churches lobbied the Lords to include an amendment to the 2010 Equality Act that would give them grounds to exclude homosexual people.

Question 23

Give an example of a pressure group using letter writing as a method for exerting influence.

Answer 23

Burma Campaign UK ran a letter-writing campaign to ask Foreign Secretary Hague to put pressure on the Burmese government to release political prisoners.

Question 24

Give an example of a pressure group being consulted by ministers and achieving a policy change.

Answer 24

Michael Gove consulted the Howard League for Penal Reform - the Howard League encouraged him to scrap the criminal courts charge. In December 2015, the charge was scrapped.

Question 25

Give an example of a pressur group raising public awareness to excert influence.

Answer 25

The Gurkha Justice Campaign collated a petition with over 250,000 signatures in 2008 and delivered it to parliament using Joanna Lumley’s celebrity status.

The petition wanted to grant pension rights to Gurkhas.

Question 26

How do pressure groups enhance democracy?

Answer 26

• Protect minority interests and prevent what John Stuart Mill described as ‘tyranny of the majority’
• They disperse power (pluralism)
• They provide representation
• They allow people to participate
• They provide education

Question 27

Give an example of a pressure group supporting dispersal of power.

Answer 27

Unite the Union has 1.42m members and helps disperse power away from government and public bodies via collective action (e.g. power to tube workers during tube strikes)

Question 28

Give an example of a pressure group enhancing democracy by improving representation?

Answer 28

Many peoples’ viewpoints transcend political parties.

For example, the temporary pressure group leave.eu has support from both Labour and Conservative supporters.

Question 29

How do pressure groups harm democracy?

Answer 29

• Insiders promote elitism
• Varying levels of wealth
• Disproportionate influence
• Internally undemocratic

Question 30

Give an example of a pressure group lacking internal democracy.

Answer 30

Arthur Scargill, leader of the National Union of Mineworkers, called a strike in 1984 without a national ballot.

Question 31

Give an example of a pressure group having disproportionate influence.

Answer 31

The Countryside Alliance, due to its huge size, managed to put 300,000 sympathisers on the streets in 2003 to protest the hunting ban.

This did not reflect public opinion and therefore the group was distorting the democratic process.

Question 32

Give an example of a pressure group using wealth to undermine the democratic process.

Answer 32

The British Bankers’ Association was able to prevent Gordon Brown from clamping down on excessive pay following the financial crisis by using their strategic importance to the UK economy.

Question 33

Give an example of an insider group promoting elitism.

Answer 33

The CBI’s annual dinner costs £340 to attend, and allows businesses the chance to get a ‘networking and profile’ package for a further £3,000. This grants access to a private bar.