1 pressure groups Flashcards
What is the difference between a pressure group and a movement?
Pressure Group - Formal Organisation and Structure
Movement - Loosely organised, more of an idea than an organisation. Wider goals (The Occupy Movement is widely anti-capitalist as an idea)
They are still similar however, as pressure groups can evolve from social movements.
What are main classifications of pressure groups?
Sectional groups
Cause Groups
Social Movements
What do cause or promotional groups seek to do?
Promote issues of interest to its members and supporters in relation to a particular topic.
Greenpeace - Promotes environmental issues.
What do sectional or interest groups seek to do?
Seek to protect the interest of members.
CBI - Represents interests of business leaders and entrepreneurs.
What do single cause groups seek to do?
Have a solid focus on a singular issue.
CND - Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
What do multi-cause groups seek to do?
Focus their attention on a wider range of issues under a generalised heading.
Trade Unions - Influence policy in relation to workers: pensions, insurance etc.
What is an insider group?
Groups that the government may choose to consult. They will listen to their opinions.
NFU (National Farmer’s Union) are queried on food prices etc.
What is an outsider group?
Groups that cannot be seen to be influencing the government.
Why do some pressure groups have more influence than others?
Some groups have more leverage than others. (i.e. holding the economy hostage) (road hauliers and farmers spearheading a movement to blockade oil refineries, so tax on fuel would fall.)
Resources Available - Volunteers, people donating money to the cause etc.
Tactics / Leadership - RSPCA secured the ban on hunting dogs in 2004 by collaborating with two similar groups.
Public Support - If the public are aligned with the cause, it becomes much easier to influence government as a result.
Government Attitudes - Insider contacts with government ministers and civil servants allow a major key to success for pressure groups.
What is a think tank?
Their sole job is to devise policy suggestions, with most therefore having a political leaning.
What is an example of a very successful single cause group?
ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) - added the labelling to cigarette packaging and lobbied for bans on smoking in cars (with children present) and tubes etc.
example of pressure group - Liberty
est 1934
Founded to challenge government measures to restrict freedoms in the UK
eg recent legal challenge to lockdown restrictions
2020 - legally removed parts of the public spaces protection order that criminalised the homeless and beggars.
example of pressure group - Amnesty International
est 1961
founded by an english barrister who was inspired by the account of 2 portugese students who were sentenced to 7 years for toasting to liberty.
7 MILLION MEMBERS
‘write for rights’ campaign -> release of Yecenia Armenta (Mexico, 2016) who was jailed on a confession after 15 hours of torture.
PETA objective
to prevent animal suffering and advocate for the rights of animals
PETA methods
undercover investigations
customer boycotts
protests and demonstrations
PETA general info
finance
type
members
- funded through individual donations
- outsider pressure group
- 9 million members
success x1 of PETA
ended forced swim tests which major pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer carried out
shelter aim
a response to the UK’s housing crisis
shelter general info
finance
type x2
finance
donations 54% of funding
cause group, insider group as it lobbies government and local authorities for new laws
raised £48.2 mil pounds in 2020
CBI aims
to maintain british industry as a world player
CBI general
type
type
insider pressure group, mainly converse with govt
a sectional interest group
CBI success x1
gina miller challenged the government on the withdrawal agreement of Brexit, she was a member of the CBI
just stop oil aim
to convince the british govt to commit to ending new fossil fuel licensing and production
Just stop oil general
type
methods x3
outsider group
methods - civil resistance, direct action, vandalism
examples of just stop oil protests
disrupting BBC proms concert at the Royal Albert Hall and Wimbledon
Shutting down major roads such as the M25
Kill the Bill aim
in respisne to the proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in 2021 which restricted the right to protest, with anyone refusing to follow police direction at a protest would be fined
aims to stop the bill and protect civil liberties
methods of Kill the Bill
protests and demonstrations
social media campaigns - started off as #killthebill
Kill the Bill funding
primarily through internet crowdfunding
Kill the Bill type of organisation x3
cause group
social movement
outsider group
what do outsider groups rely on
public demonstrations etc to exert pressure
example of a killthebill success
protests in london in april 2021
british medical association purpose
represents, supports and negotiates on behalf of all UK doctors. fight for best conditions
methods of the BMA
lobbying as well as campaigning
what is the BMA general
- trade union
- core-insider group
success of BMA
2001 gained government recognition over the recruitment crisis in general practice as a result of lobbying.
created the Strike Fund in Motion which distributed money to striking workers.
BMA finance
annual membership fees which = £50 million
example of lobbying
BMA 2016
lobbied to force government to withdraw a new contract for junior hospital doctors
collecting information and offering specialised knowledge to policy-makers example
Action on smoking and health (ASH) conducts and shares research with the govrenment and public to stop harmful effects of smoking
email campaigns ecample
Friends of the Earth mobilised supporters by urging them to contact their MPs
Demonstrations example
Extinction Rebellion blocked major roads eg Oxford circus to persuade the govt to take immediate again against climate change
publicity stunts example
just stop oil
disruption of BBC Proms
M25 shut down
disruption of Wimbledon
media campaigns example
used #killthebill to protest the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
strike action example
BMA supporting the strike by distributing money through the Strike Fund in Motion
Violent demonstrations x2
Animal liberation Front - to end mink farming for fur they released captive minks
Green Peace - destroyed genetically modified crops to publicise the dangers
factors affecting success of a pressure group x5
- size
- funding
- public opintion
- government attitude
- stragetic position of group (in society)
pressure groups enhance democracy x5
- disperse power more widely
- educate the public and policymakers
- enable people to participate without a large sacrifice
- protect minorities
- call govt to account
pressure groups threaten democracy x5
- can be elitist and tend to concentrate power especially in the Westminster Bubble
- may distort information in their own interests
- internally undemocratic
- funding largely influences success
- illegal actions
example of educating the public and policymakers x1
ASH
example of enabling more people to participate x1
1 in 10 adults are involved in an environmental group
example of protecting minorities x1.5
BLM
Stonewall - helped get gay marriage and legal recognition of same-sex couples as parents
example of call govt to account x1
gina miller in her legal challenge with parliament over brexit, held theresa may’s govt to account and ensured everything was going through parliament
example of funding largely influences success x1
think tank Centre for Policy Studying employed David Cameron in 2018. needed lots of funding to do so
example of illegal actions (threaten democracy x3
- just stop oil
- greenpeace
- Animal liberation front.
example of think tanks directly influencing government policy x1
Under Johnson, the Legatum Institute and the Institute for Economic Affairs was known to guide Brexit policy
example of think tanks giving new ideas x1
Adam Smith Institute argued to give British Citizenship to people from Hong Kong. the policy was introduced in 2021
example of politicians who were in think tanks before politics x4 ppl
Patel, Truss, Kwarteng and Raab all previously worked for the Institute for Economic Affairs
think tanks bad x2 plus example each
unelected and unaccountable
eg 2019 the Centre for Policy Studies co-authored the Conservative Manifesto
the institute for Public Policy Research contributed to the Labour Manifesto
- their work is rarely transparent. able to hold private discussions with ministers and PM
Liz Truss held meetings with the Institute for Economic Affairs.
think tanks good tho x2 no example
- employ academics = provide government with high quality evidence.
- represent a whole range of political viewpoints. this enhances democracy by increasing the range of ideas that are discussed.
