1.3 pressure groups Flashcards
in 2023 the government responded to widespread and prolonged outlive sector strikes with the strikes (minimum service levels) act requires
some workers to still work during strikes or face being sacked
WASPI have campaigned for compensation due to the government increasing pension age they want to
recieve compensation 2024
BMA , British medical assosciation , successfully campaigned for
2% ruse of doctors wages post pandemic
just stop oil methodology was civil disobedience regardless of public image
getting their message across was priority rather than public support
April 2022 just stop oil activists vandalised
petrol pumps along the M25
October 2022 two JSO activist scaled the queen Elizabeth bridge on the M25 near dartford and were there suspended in cables for 37 hours both got
sentenced to 3 years in prison
the NFU , national farmers union has a close link with its relevant government department , which is
department for enbironememt food and rural affairs
FU annual conference stating he had worked with the national farmers union to create a £220 million package of funding for technology and innovation to protect British farming which would allow
bosses to fire and sue union employees in public sectors during strikes if minimum levels of service aren’t met
the labour supporting pressure group , momentum , has influenced the Labour Party in other ways such as putting in candidates for selection as labour MPS and councillors , this includes MPs such as
zara sultana
asana begum
Nadia whittome
aspana begum is the first Hijabi Mp in parliament she also accused labour for targeting her for deflection because she is
a socilaist , muslim , working class woman (2022)
the charity care4calais has attempted to bring a legal challenge against the Rwanda bill stating
” human rights law still applies , we are ready to go “
the national trust is the largest pressure group in the county having access to huge amounts of funding and membership , however is sometimes unable to influence government . in 2022 it called for the government to
stay true to its net zero by 2030 obligation and continue to ban fracking, Sunak extended the net zero to 2050 and PM Truss lifted the ban on fracking (Sunak reinstated this )
may 2024 extinction rebellion gathered to launch awareness of pollution in the river Nidd , with the venture named “poo patorl” which consisted of activists dressed in white overalls with fishing rods , the patrol pretended to
fish the poops out of the river Nidd as a visual image of what’s in the river
the group fareshare used footballer Marcus rashford as a figurehead for their social media campaign to provide free meals to struggling children in the 2020 lockdown , this campaign was extremely popular with rashfords epetition receiving
1.1 million signatures , consequently the gov announced it would provide £120 million ‘ covid summer food fund ‘ and £170 million ‘ covid winter grant scheme ‘ for vulnerable families
the ghurka justice campaign was a successful political campaign which sought for ghurkas who served in the British military to gain right of abode , despite the lack of government support from the bear government in 2008 the high court ruled that
the lack of rights for ghurkas was illegal , in 2009 gordon brown announced that all Gurkha veterans who had served four years or more in the British army would be allowed to settle in britain
stop the war coalition 2003 sae mass rallies to stop the invasion of Iraq in 2003 , however this was still resisted by the Blair government which escalated
the conflict by sending British troops to Iraq due to Blairs ideology of his war doctrine
the shift of Conservative Party thinking towards a more overtly free marker oriented approach in the 1970s owed a great deal to Margaret thatchers patronage of
right wing think tanks such as the centre for policy studies and the Adam smith institute
in 2022 the neoliberal think tank institute of economic affairs had 24 parliamentary supporters including prominent figures such as
Liz Truss
Priti Patel
Keim Badenoch
Kwasi Kwarteng
many think tanks like the resolution foundation and the fabian society warned agsint brexit stating that it would be
detrimental to the UK economy however the con gov ignored this
the Conservative Party is associated with the Adam smith institute and the centre for social justice whereas Labour
is associated with he fabian society and institute for public policy
the lobbying firm Best for Britain tried to get another referendum through persuading MPs however
this wasn’t successful and Johnson carried on his ‘ Get Brexit Done’ plans
the national farmers union used their insider status with the department of environment , food and rural affairs to allow the 2013 badger cull , head of the the environmental affairs committee attended an NFU summit in 2023 and thus in 2024
Rishi signal said to NFU “ we have your back “ illustrating close links
in 2004 the RSPCA and other groups joined forces to campaign for the ban on hunting which was eventually
succesful in the hunting dogs act 2004
stonewall is a pressure groups which advocates for lgbtq+ and are very influential as it helped with
same sex marriage and having LGBTQ on the national curriculum and more
one of stonewalls biggest successes was being a key group in convincing the government to commit to banning
conversion therapy in 2020
- however the legislation is yet to be introduced
trade unions did and still hold influence over government especially labour pre 1997 a popular term to highlight this was
’ beer and sandwiches at no.10’
in the last 3 months of 2019 trade unions donated
£4 million to the Labour Party
from 2015-21 the institute of fiscal studies’ reports had over 150 citations in
official gouvernement documents
Greenpeace an outsider group was successful in its microbeads campaign as the gov proposed the strongest ban on microbeads in the world and declared that all
personal care and cosmetic products containing microbeads would be off the shelves by 2018
- example of a successful outsider pressure group demonstrating insider statues is not significant
countervailing is a product of hyperpluralism, for every PG that exists there is one that directly opposes its views. This means the govt can choose
one they agree with the most and continue with their intended policy aim while appearing to be responsive to PGs.
Consulting with PGs is a politically calculated move the PG cage uk which advocates against post 9\11 terror laws that disproportionately affect muslims has little influence, because muslims only represent 4% of the electorate their lack of influence is accentuated by the fact that
most muslims are labour voters so there would be no electoral gain if the cons party consulted with them.
Lobbying scandal - MP Scott Benton suspended for breaking lobbying rules after he was alleged to have lobbied for the gambling industry and
gave the company access to confidential government documents.
he UK lobbying industry is the third largest in the world with
4,000 lobbyists in and around Westminster
Palestine Solidarity Campaign → campaigned for immediate ceasefire in Gaza which led to
gaza mass protests in London = 18th May 2024 → 250,000 marched in London (biggest one)
June 2022: Institute for Government issued
‘How metro mayors can help level up England’
June 2022: Adam Smith Institute released a paper entitled ‘Countdown: Reforming the Cabinet Office, exploring how the Cabinet office could be made more efficient and effective. It released this because it opposed
bureaucracy and believed the government should be small. It suggested reducing the size of the cabinet office by 90% (outsourcing some work done by the Cabinet Office to private bodies + keeping a tighter grip on spending
he Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s 2022 UK Poverty Report was a wide-reaching examination of the causes of poverty and its impact, including
its effects on children, the disabled and those from different ethnic groups
Chatham House (an international affairs think tank) is responsible for the ‘Insights’ book series, which are intended to provide readers with a better understanding of key international issues. For example,
in 2022 they published The Justice Laboratory: International Law in Africa
Three think tanks which were most often cited in policy documents between 2015-21:
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation - Name checked in 157 documents relating to employment, culture or education. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is a charity that researches social policy and campaign on quality of life issues
The Institute for Fiscal Studies - A research institute with particular interests in taxation, welfare benefits and education, which received citation in 150 documents
The National Bureau of Economics Research - A non-profit American group mention in 130 documents
The 2019 Conservative Manifesto was co-authored by Robert Colville and Rachel Wolf, both from
the Centre for Policy Studies
