UK Politics - Democracy And Participation - Pressure Groups

Question 1

What are the pressure group categories?

Answer 1

• sectional/interest
• insiders
• cause/promotional
• outsiders

Question 2

What do sectional/interest groups represent?

Answer 2

They represent the interests of a particular group in society e.g. the Muslim Council of Britain represents the interests of British Muslims

Question 3

What do cause/promotional pressure groups do?

Answer 3

They promote a particular issue e.g. Friends of the earth and liberty campaign on behalf of civil liberties in the UK

Question 4

What do insider pressure groups do?

Answer 4

They have privileged access to government decision making e.g. the British medical association represents doctors and so possesses specialist info the government will wish to consult

Question 5

What do outsider pressure groups do?

Answer 5

They do not possess access to political decision making and may be unprepared to work within existing political structures that they see as hopelessly compromised

Question 6

How does insider status help pressure groups achieve success?

Answer 6

In the 1970s, TU’s in Britain were so powerful that the secretary of transport and general workers’ union was once called the ‘most powerful man in Britain’. They are intern more likely to exert influence under the Labour government. Conversely, pressure groups that represent big businesses are more influential under conservative.
- nowadays, politicians are likely to consult environmental groups for specialist info e.g. HOC ‘eac’ consults with the green alliance

Question 7

How does social media help pressure groups achieve success?

Answer 7

Pressure groups can engage with the public e.g. Oxfam and Friends of the Earth use social media. Websites provide opportunities to donate and give information. Mobilising public support has been called ‘clickocracy’ e.g. 38 degrees was established in 2009 which provided a forum for members to launch their own campaign which will gain public attention

Question 8

How does wealth help pressure groups achieve success?

Answer 8

Financial resources are used to employ researchers close to important points of government access e.g. The CBI represents 190,000 UK businesses - its wealth has enabled it to employ more than 100 policy researchers

Question 9

How does celebrity influence help pressure groups achieve success?

Answer 9

It helps achieve popular recognition
- e.g. line eight (2005) was associated with Bob geldof and in 2009, Joanna Lumley supported the campaign for Gurkas to be granted full rights of residency, Marcus Rashford - endchildpoverty

Question 10

How does direct action help pressure groups achieve success?

Question 11

What pressure groups have been successful in the UK?

Answer 11

• smart motorways - the AA and the RAC were both critical of Johnson’s government plans to introduce smart motorways (where the hard shoulder is removed to increase capacity) they thought it increased driver risk
• free school meals - in 2020 lockdown, Marcus rashford supported children on free school meals who were deprived of this

Question 12

Why was motoring organisations and smart motorways successful

Answer 12

• in 2021, the RAC’s report on motoring survey showed that 54% of drivers believed that smart motorways made them less safe and along with the AA, the RAC provided specialist evidence to the Transport select committee. This caused the government to delay the building of them for 5 years until safety was assessed

Question 13

Why was Freeschoolmeals successful?

Answer 13

Rashford used his celebrity status and social media to advertise his business. He created an e-petition which received 1.1mn signatures and this growing momentum caused lots of MP’s to criticise the PM which led to the government providing a £120mn ‘covid summer food fund and a £170mn ‘winter grant scheme’

Question 14

What are two pressure groups that have failed?

Answer 14

• stop H2S - founded in 2010 in response to the decision to build a high speed rail link between London and Birmingham
• stop the war coalition - founded in 2001 in response to the ‘war on terror’ (Opposed Blair’s war in Iraq)

Question 15

Why was H2S unsuccessful?

Answer 15

• In 2013, MP’s voted 399 to 42 in favour of building the first stage and the HOL voted 386 to 26
• in 2020, although an epetition demanding a new parliamentary vote gained 155,253 signatures, support for London-Birmingham phase of HS2 meant that calls to scrap it could be ignored

Question 16

Why was the stop the war coalition unsuccessful?

Answer 16

Although the March against the War in Iraq was peaceful and impacted the public, Blair remained committed to the invasion and his large parliamentary majority and support of most of the Conservative Party also meant that when the HOC voted on military intervention in Iraq he had a 179-vote majority so he could ignore the protests
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has further reduced its influence with Keir starter condemning the coalition

Question 17

What are the other types of groups that can influence the government?

Question 18

What are think tanks?

Answer 18

They are made up of experts in a particular field who produce ideas that can form the basis for government policy making. Some of them are closely associated with a particular political ideology that helps them to achieve insider status

Question 19

What are lobbyists?

Answer 19

A lobbyists is paid by clients to try and influence the government and for MP’s and members of the HOL to act in their client’s interests, particularly when legislation in under consideration

Question 20

What are arguments to suggest that lobbyists enhance democracy?

Answer 20

• lobbyists open up the lines of communication between members of Parliament & groups that want to make their case. They are necessary to democracy as they broaden the debate so that all sides are heard e.g. the raptor alliance and the impact on gin legislation

Question 21

What are the arguments to suggest that lobbyists undermine democracy?

Answer 21

• major corporations and lobbying firms seek to influence decision making by cultivating links with politicians
• lobbying firms can also represent the interests of groups in society who are prepared to pay for their services and have thus been criticised for enabling powerful interests to try and buy influence. E.g. in 2010, three former labour ministers were suspended from the Labour Party when they were offered the chance to work for a fake consultancy firm for £5000 a day and they accepted
• in 2021, David Cameron was critiqued by the Treasury select committee ‘for a significant lack of judgement’ after he utilised his government contracts when lobbying on behalf of financial services company Greensill capital

Question 22

What roles did lobbyists play in Boris Johnson’s government?

Answer 22

Boris’ Johnson’s campaign was under Tory MP’s James Wharton who worked for a lobbying company which aimed to shape Brexit and had clients who would benefit from Brexit de-regulation. Boris Johnson had close connections to the rich and powerful, as well as people he employed such as Owen Paterson

Question 23

What is the Raptor Alliance and how did they gain influence?

Answer 23

The raptor alliance is a small organisation which represents pigeon fanciers - its members argue that the royal society for the protection of birds has been so successful in protecting birds of prey that it is killing off racing. They made their cause known in parliament by encouraging the establishment of an all-party parliamentary group for pigeon racing - Theresa may sponsored a bird

Question 24

What was the lobbyist impact on gin legislation

Answer 24

Since the gin act 1751, small scale production had been forbidden to stop bootlegging. However in 2008, lobbyists succeeded in having the gin act repealed and now boutique gin is becoming one of the UK’s most enterprising new exports

Question 25

What are examples of think tanks?

Answer 25

- Fabian Society - institute for economic affairs (IEA)

Question 26

What arguments suggest that pressure groups enhance democracy?

Answer 26

- they allow for specific interests to be heard which ensures democracy is upheld - equal voice e.g.

Question 27

What arguments suggest that pressure groups hinder democracy?

Question 28

What is the revolving door syndrome?

Question 29

How have corporations managed to lobby the government for money?

Answer 29

- Nissan Investment in electric vehicles production: they are delivering up to £2BT of new investment in order to help put more zero emission vehicles on the UK roads, hence making travel more sustainable - this is expected to support thousands of jobs

Question 30

What is the Fabian Society?

Answer 30

A British socialist organisation founded in 1884 whose purpose is to advance modern British socialism and advocate for a gradual reformist change rather than a revolutionary upheaval and many of the society’s members went on to have significant influence within the Labour Party Their notable members are: George Bernard Shaw and Beatrice Webb

Question 31

How does the CBI have influence?

Answer 31

They represent over 190,000 businesses which collectively employ over 7mn people - around a third of all UK private sector workers and they lobby both the UK and devolved administrations to ensure the voice of business is heard. They have 100+ economic and policy specialists

Question 32

How had CBI influence been reduced?

Answer 32

The era of ‘tripartism’ in the 1970s was brought to an end by Margaret Thatcher and in 1980, the director general of the CBI critiqued the governmentsmonetarist policies and he called for a ‘bare knuckle confrontation’ which led several companies to cancel their membership ps. HOWEVER SOON THE CHI INFLUENCED WAS INCREASED AGAIN TO SUPPORT THIR GOVERNMENT ON FIGHTING INFLATION

Question 33

What are some extra pressure groups that have failed?

Answer 33

- ‘Plane stupid’ has opposed a third runway at Heathrow but failed because they weren’t able to persuade government that they have a powerful enough case or support - The pressure groups ‘Life’, which advocates limiting abortion rights, lacks the popular support and insider status necessary to achieve success

Question 34

Black Loves matter social movement and pressure group influence:

Answer 34

- Following the murder of George Floyd, in the Uk there were several large protests during the summer of 2020, including the toppling in Bristol of a statue of Edward Colston (an investor whose wealth derived from the slave trade. The enthusiasm of these protests and ‘taking the knee’ demonstrations led to Johnson’s government to establish a new commission on racial equality, Colston’s girls’ school changed its name to Montpelier high school and the government of wales announced that from 2022, it would be mandatory for Welsh schools to teach the history of black, Asian and minority ethnic people

Question 35

What evidence suggests that the BLM movement/pressure group didn’t have influence?

Answer 35

In the UK, from March 2020-2021, racially motivated crimes increased by 12% to their highest ever level, while the Home Secretary (Priti Patel) condemned’taking the knee’.

Question 36

Who are ‘Extinction Rebellion’ and how do they aim to achieve influence?

Question 37

What are some key successes of ‘Extinction Rebellion’?

Question 38

Why is it argued that ‘Extinction rebellion’ don’t achieve success?

Question 39

What is the ‘taxpayers alliance’ and why was it successful?

Answer 39

It was established in 2004 to encourage small governments and lower taxes. Its research papers and advice were particularly valued by David Cameron and George Osborne and its ideas were usedto underpin the austerity programme of the coalition gov.( 2010-15). Its euroscepticism has also afforded it significant influence within the Tory party.

Question 40

How had the think tank ‘taxpayers alliance’ been reduced?

Answer 40

Politicians decided whtpether they are going to accept their ideas and advice - the Johnson and Sunak governments’ readiness to engage in large government projects bumped taxes up and went against the think tanks advice

Question 41

What is the Countryside Alliance and what was their impact?

Answer 41

Series of large protests in 2002, with over 40000 people against a hunting ban. Ultimately, the hunting ban 2004 was passed despite the campaign, however the alliance did highlight rural issues and remains influential

Question 42

What is stop the war coalition 2003 and its impact?

Answer 42

Organised in Feb 15 2003 - 1-2 million attendees marched in London and arguably affected future policy

Question 43

Gurkha Justice campaign 2008-09:

Answer 43

Achieved a dramatic victory which was a great case of a celebrity-backed cause

Question 44

BMA Junior doctors strike (2015/16):

Answer 44

A professional association acting as a pressure group, with strikes over new contract - although the government imposed the contract the group got huge sympathy - shown that public campaigns can invigorate feeling amongst the public

Question 45

Just stop oil 2022/23:

Answer 45

A radical environmental group using disruptive protests (blocking roads, throwing soup on a Van Gogh painting, sitting on the formula 1 track at Silverstone). This helps draw huge media attention to climate inaction, however also controversy, and has resulted in the government imposing harsher protest restrictions

Question 46

The ‘people’s vote’ campaign (2018/19) (minimal influence):

Answer 46

They pushed for a second Brexit referendum, held massive marches (1mn in October 2019 in London) and online campaigns, however a second referendum was not reached and despite advocating for a softer Brexit, a relatively hard Brexit happened under Boris Johnson whose campaign stated the importance of ‘getting Brexit done’

Question 47

Where has the media had influence over participation?

Question 48

Key theorists:

Question 49

Examples of pressure groups enhancing democracy:

Answer 49

- trade unions like the RMT have engaged in strikes and negotiations, achieving policies like improved worker protection or pay rises (e.g. RMT’s Mick Lynch in 2022 secured a pay deal after widespread rail strikes), therefore showing that unions give millions of workers representation in industrial decisions, a democratic function in the economy - pressure groups such as ‘Friends of the Earth’ and the ‘Climate Coalition’ played a key role in lobbying for the climate change act 2008, which made the UK the first country with legally binding emission targets. The government worked with NGO’s and even included them in consultations

Question 50

How have/can pressure groups undermine/ed democracy:

Answer 50

wealthy and elitist groups tend to have more power: - corporations and business lobbies can afford extensive lobbying operations, donations and high-level access that ordinary groups can’t offer e.g. the financial industry’s lobbying was so influential that the UK government dropped plans to cap bankers’ bonuses after pressure from the British Bankers Association - for instance, the IEA, a free market think tank had outsized influence on Liz Truss’s government as many of her advisers had ties with them. These groups, funded by private donors arguably highjacked public policy (as seen in the ill-fated budget)