Pressure Groups and Rights Flashcards
(22 cards)
Evaluate the view that rights are effectively protected in the UK- Themes
Civil Liberties Pressure Groups
Government and Parliament
Judiciary and HRA
Pressure Groups- DON’T protect rights
Limited effectiveness, government ultimately makes final decision on legislation affecting rights
eg Liberty failed to prevent Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act from passing in 2021- limits right to protest due to strong government intent following disruptive protests by Just Stop Oil
Liberty and other Human Rights pressure groups also failed to convinve Labour Gov to repeal Public Order Act 2023 which is seen as limiting right to disruptive protests
Used in March 2025 against farmers to stop them bringing tractors to Westminster as it interfered with national infrastructure
Pressure groups ineffective as rely on government to comply
Pressure groups- DO protect rights
Ensure rights remain high-profile in political system, citizens made aware of their rights
Outsider pressure groups initiate legal challenges on behalf of individuals
eg Asylum Aid brought legal challenges to Illegal Immigration Act 2023 as it violated HRA
eg April 2025, For Women Scotland successfully protected rights of biological females by legally challenging the Scottish gov’s implementation of the gender representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 (For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers)
Shows pressure groups are effective in protecting rights
Government/parliament- DON’T protect rights
Recent Cons govs have passed legisation which threaten individual rights
eg Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act gave greater power to police and criminal justice system to impose restrictions on protests
Conservative figures also supported proposal to leave ECHR and replace HRA with British Bill of Rights, current leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled this out
Labour Gov also haven’t effectively protected rights, Feb 2025 revised ‘good character’ guidance to deny British citizenship applications to refugees entering UK through unauthorised routes
Critics argue this violates protection of refugees from penalties for illegal entry when fleeing persecution
Government-parliament- DO protect rights
Gov important in protecting rights through ability to pass legislation
eg Gordon Brown’s government introduced 2010 Equality Act and the Coalition legalised same sex marriage
Government measures that threaten individual rights are justified as they protect collective rights in times of emergency- eg removing freedom of movement temporarily during COVID deemed as necessary
Judiciary and HRA- DON’T protect rights
Parliamentary sovereignty means judges can’t legally compel parliament to make changes to laws
HRA not entrenched so could be repealed by act of parliament
Gov can simply change the law to make their actions legal eg Safety of Rwanda Act 2024 passed to allow government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, which had been deemed unsafe and incompatible with the HRA by Supreme Court
Judiciary can only implement the law passed by Parliament
Judiciary and HRA- DO protect rights
HRA means ECHR is part of UK law and individuals can take cases to domestic court
Led to a ‘rights-based culture’
New legislation must be compliant and judges can declare earlier acts incompatible
Joing Committed on Human Rights scrutinises bills to ensure they are compatible with HRA, demonstrating its ‘persuasive influence’
Government’s that do not listen to declarations of incompatibility receive backlash eg Rwanda policy
eg A v Secretary of State for Home Department, part of Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Sentencing Act 2001 declared incompatible, Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 introduced to fix this
Evaluate the view that pressure groups are successful due to ability to generate mass support- Themes
Generating mass support
Strategy and leadership
Government attitudes
Mass support- IS why pressure groups are successful
Gov more likely to change policy if a large section of the population support it, not doing so may alienate voters at the next election
eg 2020 campaign to extend free school meals during holidays, led by Marcus Rashford, generated public support which made the government U-turn and accept their demands
eg Public pressure and anger demonstrated by social movements calling for ceasefire in Gaza played a key role in Labour government suspending some of its arms export licenses to Israel in Sep 2024
Mass support also leads to large memberships that pay subscriptions allowing offices, payed staff and organised publicity
Mass support-ISN’T why pressure groups are successful
Government still unlikely to change policy that is key to their ideology, even with significant public support
eg 2019 People’s Vote march for a 2nd Brexit referendum had over 700,000 participants but failed to change government policy
Governments with a large majority and significant public support overall, will be less threatened by some opposition
Mass support alone doesn’t make a pressure group successful
Strategy and leadership- IS why pressure groups are successful
Mass support only effective when combined with strategy and leadership
Strategy is central to success by having an attainable goal to get people on side
eg BMA changed their campaign from an outright ban on smoking in cars to just when children were present, allowing them to gain support from Asthma UK
eg ‘Occupy London’ movement 2011 gained significant support but failed to have an unattainable goal of overthrowing capitalism and lacking a figurehead to represent the movement
Shows how success of pressure groups is dependent on using strategy and leadership once mass support has been achieved
Strategy and leadership- ISN’T why pressure groups are successful
Stategy and leadership is less important than government attitudes
eg 2021, Liberty failed to prevent Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act from passing
Organised widespread protests using slogan ‘Kill the Bill’ and are a very experienced organisation
Failed due to strong government intent on passing in response to Just Stop Oil’s disruptive protests
Farmer protests have failed to get Labour to U-turn on inheritance tax changes, despite being led by experienced NFU and having Jeremy Clarkson as a figurehead
Strategy and leadership are ineffective without government ideological alliance
Government attitudes- ISN’T why pressure groups are successful
Importance of government attitudes shouldn’t be overstated
Whilst insider groups have a grater impact, government ultimately makes final decisions
eg Women agianst State Pension Inequality failed to convince Labour gov to compensate the 3.6M women affected by the poorly communicated women’s state pension age that began in 2010, despite Chancellor Rachel Reevs previously supporting the cause it was not aligned with the government’s goals of reducing the deficit and promoting growth
Government Attitudes- IS why pressure groups are successful
Being an insider group that aligns with government attitudes and has important contacts is more important than mass support
More likely to be listened to and bring about change
eg NFU had close links with Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) under Conservative Gov
eg Sunak attended annual conference in early 2024 and pledged to protect British farming in the agricultural market, suspending trade talks with Canada after they refused to loosen food standards
2024 budget- Rachel Reeves announced 20% tax on inherited farmin assets over £1M, refusing to reverse policy despite mass protests
Evaluate the view that think-tanks, lobbyists and pressure groups have little impact on government decisions- Themes
Insider Pressure groups
Outsider Pressure groups
Think-Tanks and Lobbyists
Difference between P groups, Think tanks and lobbyists
P groups- seek to change policy through influencing public opinion, parliament and government
Think tanks- experts brought together to investigate topics and offer solutions
Lobbyists- members of professional organisations paid by clients seeking access to gov, MPs and Lords, seek to gain influence on behalf of clients
Insider Pressure groups- DO influence government
Have close contacts with Ministers, Gov departments and civil servants
Can directly lobby due to ideological alignment
NFU had close links with DEFRA under Conservatives and provided expertise and advice
Sunak attended annual conference in early 2024, pledged to protect British Farming in agricultural market, led to suspending trade talks with Canada after refusal to loosen food standards
Can play a role in drafting legislation or give evidence to select committees
eg Stonewall played key role in policy formulation under New Labour, equalising age of consent for gay and straight to 16 under Sexual Offences Act 2000
Insider pressure groups- DON’T influence gov
Government ultimately makes final decision
As insider groups are broadly aligned, any policy shift is unlikely to be down to them and and likely government had planned to separate from p group’s influence
Insider grps very dependent on political leanings of government and can quickly become outsiders eg NFU under Labour
Insiders also do not publicise their successed as they may risk of losing government contacts
Outsider p groups- DO influence gov
Seek to exert influence by mobilising public opinion and support through media, public protests and other direct action
Social movements often successful as they represent large sections of the population
eg 2020 campaign to exend free school meals to holidays led by Rashford generated huge public support and made government U-turn and accept demands
eg Success of protests calling for ceasefire in Gaza, Sept 2024 Labour suspended some of its arms export licenses to Israel
Outsider p groups- DON’T influence gov
Struggle to have major influence as they lack contacts and are not ideologicaly aligned
eg Women Against State Pension Inequality failed to convince Labour gov to compensate women affected by poorly communicated change to women’s state pension age in 2010- did not align with goal of reducing deficit
Outsiders that fail to get public support also ineffective eg Just Stop Oil- 2022 protests alienated public from their cause, Sunak’s gov granted 100 new North Sea oil and gas licenses in 2023
Think-Tanks and Lobbyists- DO influence gov
Think-tanks have significant expertise and carry out research, strong political leanings and party allegiances work in their favour
eg Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwartneg’s disastrous economic policy in 2022 influeneced by very neoliberal Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)
Lobbyists frequently discuss concerns with MPs and Gov Departments and use the economic importance of their clients
eg April 2025, former ministe Penny Mordaunt took up a role with British American Tobacco, increasing their insider access with her rep, connections and understanding of government workings- displays the revolving door
Think-tanks and lobbyists- DON’T influence gov
As with insider p groups, they also do not publicise successes
Both groups lack significant public support, often due to the ‘behind the scenes’ nature of their work- i.e. public often unaware
Lobbyists unsuccessful if they go against government intentions and popular policies
eg April 2024, Commons voted in favour of Tobacco and Vapes Act with large majority despite intense lobbying by tobacco industry
March 2023- increased regulation by banning MPs from providing paid parliamentary advice
