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Politics > 1.3 - Pressure Groups and other infulences > Flashcards

1.3 - Pressure Groups and other infulences Flashcards

1
Q

Define Pressure Groups

A

An association who’s aim is to influence policy making at a local, regional, national or european levels without actually seeking power

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2
Q

Define Corperation

A

They do not vote in elections but they do have a big impact on democratic societies. Supermarket Giants like Tesco and Shell and huge budget companies that they have a say in making laws and regulations in a wide range of areas

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3
Q

Define Think Tank

A

Groups of experts who provide advise, ideas and policy proposals on political economic and social problems. They carry out research with the aim of building up a bank of detailed evidence in order to shape policy making

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4
Q

Define Lobbyists

A

Individuals or firms that are paired by clients to influence governments and/or MP’s and members of the house Lords to act in their clients interests particularly when legislation or changes to regulation are being proposed

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5
Q

What are the functions of pressure groups?

A
  • represent minority’s (representation)
  • promote certain causes that have not been adequately taken up by political parties (accountability)
  • inform and educate the public (consent)
  • call the government accountable (accountability)
  • pass key information to government and influence policy (legitimacy)
  • to give opportunities to citizens to participate in politics other than through party membership or voting (participation)
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6
Q

What is a sectional/interest pressure group?

A

An association which as an identifiable membership or supporting group. Such groups represent a section of society and are mainly concerned with its interest.

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7
Q

What is a cause/promotional pressure group?

A

An association whose goal is to promote a particular cause or set of beliefs or values.

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8
Q

What are some examples of sectional/interest groups?

A
  • National Union of Students
  • National Education Union
  • BMA - British Medical Association
  • CBI
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9
Q

What are some examples of cause/promotional groups?

A
  • Insulate Britain
  • Friends of the Earth
  • RSPB
  • Campaign against the arms trade
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10
Q

Define Insider Group

A

A group that has close ties with the government and are routinely consulted on policy making

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11
Q

Define Outsider Pressure Groups

A

Pressure groups that operate outside the formal political system either through choice or because they are excluded by the government of the day

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12
Q

What methods to insider groups use?

A
  • Working with ministers and civil servants
  • working with parliament
  • working with political parties
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13
Q

What are the methods used by outsider groups?

A
  • engaging the public
  • using technology
  • using the courts
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14
Q

How are insider groups legitimate?

A

voice of the people and experts directly voicing and displaying their opinion to government

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15
Q

How are insider groups accountable?

A

They hold the government and ministers to account when they are directly criticising and trying to implement their ideas which if the ministers don’t do they will be subsequently held accountable

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16
Q

How do insider groups uphold representation?

A

They are very retentive as they are representing issues and directly representing the public to the government

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17
Q

How do insider groups lack legitimacy?

A

They are unelected and potentially corrupt and not displaying the true views of the nation

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18
Q

How do insider groups lack accountability?

A

As they are essentially working through the government who are the ones being held accountable not the insiders

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19
Q

How to insider groups lack representation?

A

There could be less groups who represent one part of the UK than the other

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20
Q

How are outsider groups legitimate?

A

When the public participates it makes the pressure groups legitimate

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21
Q

How are Outsider Groups accountable?

A

they are accountable because they use the courts to hold the government accountable

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22
Q

How are outside pressure groups representative?

A

They are able to represent the minority

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23
Q

How do outsider groups lack accountability?

A

nobody votes or elects them and they are willing to break the law

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24
Q

How do outsider pressure groups lack representation?

A

They only represent a minute number of society from one viewpoint

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25
Q

What is a Think Tank?

A

Groups of experts from different backgrounds who are brought together to investigate particular topics and to offer solutions to complicated economic, social or political issues

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26
Q

What are some examples of Government established Think Tanks?

A
  • The Kings Fund
  • The office of Fair Trading
  • The Health and Saftey Executive
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27
Q

What are some neutral Think Tanks?

A
  • Respublica
  • Chatham House
  • Institute for Fiscal studies
  • Electoral reform society
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28
Q

What are some Left Wing Think Tanks

A
  • Fabian Society
  • Insitute for public policy research
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29
Q

What are some Right Wing think tanks?

A
  • Adam Smith Institiue
  • Centre for Policy Studies
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30
Q

What are some Liberal Think Tanks?

A
  • Liberty
  • Reform
31
Q

Why have The Centre for Social Justice been a successful Think Tank?

A
  • Set up by a conservative MP (Ian Duncan Smith)
  • it’s a center right think tank focussing on the poorest and most disadvantaged in the UK
  • 7 billion pounds spent on by the government
  • 43% of recommendations were used
32
Q

What is significant about the Resolution Foundation?

A
  • improving living standard for low - middle class income
  • center left and independent
  • 2015, Tostern Bell = spokes person, government advisory and Labour MP
  • Persuaded the government to introduced covid furlow
33
Q

What is significant about the IFS Think Tank?

A
  • Lead by Paul Johnson - UCL proffessor, civil servant and times newspaper
  • pension non enrolment and inflation measurement
  • government uses a lot of
34
Q

Who is the Centre for Policy Studies and what are their aims

A
  • Develop Policies
  • Free Markets
  • Small Government
  • Lower Tax
35
Q

What methods does the Centre for Policy Studies use?

A

reports to influence people through media, MPs, conferences etc

36
Q

Who are the Centre for Policy Studies associated with?

A

Conservatives and the centre right

37
Q

What benefit does the Centre for a policy studies bring to democratic politics?

A
  • Different versions of conservatism based on free markets and not centeral planning
  • Privetisation
  • Sellinf council houses
  • Internal structure
38
Q

What negative impact do Centre for Policy Studies have on democratic Politics?

A

They push agenda on what benefit’s them and who they’re associated with

39
Q

What are the benefits of Think Tanks?

A
  • widen political debate and add to pluralism
  • Offer specialist expertise and advise to ministers
  • they are independent of the government
  • assists politicians with shaping ideas into politics
  • people are free to spend money as they see fit, promoting political ideas
40
Q

What are the Drawbacks of Think Tanks?

A
  • Provide partial information based on their political agenda
  • They are not internally democratic
  • Poor substitute for real academic research
  • Never clear where they are getting their funding
  • opaque funding from those who can’t vote therefore using their money to undermine democracy
  • in close relationships with politicians (assisted Truss becoming PM and Kwartebg becoming chancellor)
41
Q

What is meant by Lobbying?

A

In a professional capacity, attempting to influence or advising those who wish to influence the UK government and other public bodies on any matter within their competence

42
Q

What is the difference between an ‘in house lobbyist’ and ‘PR firms’?

A

In house = payed and plotted by specific companies and don’t have to register as lobbiests

PR firms = have to follow lobbying standards and laws that in house don’t

43
Q

What methods do lobbyists use?

A
  • Put their client or employers case to ministers, MPs and civil servants explaining the effects of a particular policy
  • order up polling to show MPs that a plan is popular/unpopular
  • pay economists to produce studies
  • Try to marshal influential voices by organising op-ed’s or news articles
44
Q

What can Lobbiest can and cannot be payed for? Why is this considered chaotic?

A

CAN’T - take payment in return for trying to influence ministers or legislation

CAN - accept payments for “advice on public policy and current affairs”

CHAOTIC - fine line between advise and influence and they can be payed if they are in hiuse

45
Q

Where had the revolving door in lobbing seen as a threat to democracy?

A
  • 1/5 of new conservative MPs in 2019 previously worked in lobbying
  • ## 2017-2022 29% of 604 past government roles taken up by former ministers and senior officials overlap with their previous brief
46
Q

What benefits can lobbing bring to the UK democracy?

A
  • Provides expert information to MPs and those in government
  • Can give a voice to underrepresented groups
  • More efficient isn’t as they know how to approach situations
47
Q

Why is the lobbying system seen as a threat to UK democracy?

A
  • Often well linked with him income citizens giving them an extra unfair advantage
  • Not well regulated and can be open to abuse
48
Q

What is an example of a Lobbying scandal?

A

Baroness Mone’s PPE scandal

49
Q

What are the key events of Varoness Mone and the PPE scandal?

A

In covid when there was a PPE shortage, Mone said she knew a brand (PPE Medpdo) that could supply
- in panic the government sent the company through high priority and it won 2 deals for £200 million
- After Mone had received £23 million most of the PPE was deemed unusable

50
Q

What is an example of lobbying impacting policy?

A

Henry Dimbleby did an independent review of our food system and in 2019 the government commissioned the report. With the help of civil servants, consults with businesses, NGOs, academics and the public, he recommended that there would be a sugar and salt reformulation tax

51
Q

What are the factors that enable pressure groups to succeed?

A
  • Aims
  • Resouces
  • Methods
  • Status
52
Q

Name two successes of Pressure Groups?

A
  • Snow Drop Campaign and Gun Control (1997)
  • Stonewall and Marriage Equality (2013)
53
Q

Explain the snowdrop and gun control campaign and why it was so successful

A
  • 750,000 siggnatures in support of a handgun ban
  • Firearms Amendment Act 1997 was then passed which banned all carter age ammunition hand guns
54
Q

How and why was the Stinewakk and marriage equality (2013) passed?

A

The pressure group Stonewall lobbied and campaigned for equal marriage rights for same sex couples

55
Q

What are some times when pressure groups have failed?

A
  • Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and National Nuclear Disarmament
  • Pro life groups snd abortion rights
56
Q

How did the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament fail?

A

Despite massive rallies and public support, the UK has maintained and even updated times nuclear arsenal. The Trident program was also renewed in 2016 despite opposition

57
Q

How did the Pro-Life and Abortion rights pressure groups fail?

A

The general trend has been towards maintaining or even expanding abortion rights. 1967 abortion act legalized abortions and have remained intact

58
Q

Define Pluralism

A

A theory of the distribution of power that holds that power is widely dispersed rather than concentrated in the hands of an elite or ruling class

59
Q

Define Elitism

A

The theory that political power is concentrated in the hands of the few, sometimes called a ‘power elite’

60
Q

What evidence is there that the UK is a pluralist democracy?

A
  • numerous varied pressured groups
  • pressure groups educate the public
  • digital democracy
61
Q

What evidence is there for the UK not being a pluralist democracy?

A
  • financial power and large memberships give groups more influence than others
  • governments favor groups who share their philosophy
  • pressure groups are internally corrupt
62
Q

What methods does the BMA use?

A
  • strikes (2016, 6 5-day strikes)
  • insider access to senior officials
  • surveys
63
Q

Why is the BMA successful?

A
  • public need healthcare - it is achievable
  • large membership (190,000+ members)
  • expert lobbyists
  • insider
64
Q

Why could the BMA be limited in success?

A

NHS is already under massive amounts of pressure and restraint

65
Q

How has the BMA succeeded?

A

Health Care Act - negotiated a pay rise

66
Q

How has the BMA failed?

A

Campaigns in opposition to the NHS in 2012 were unsuccessful

67
Q

Is Extinction Rebellion insider or outsider and cause or sectional

A
  • Cause
  • Outsider
68
Q

What methods does Extinction Rebellion use?

A
  • backed by 100+ academics
  • Public stunts (2019 - fake blood on downing street (‘Blood of our Nation’))
  • Non violent disobedience (April & October 2019) blocked roads in central London
69
Q

What factors does Extinction Rebellion contribute to success?

A
  • 100+ academics
  • Greta Thumburg
  • 250,000+ members
70
Q

What are factors that can limit Extinction Rebellions Success?

A
  • not fully backed by the public
  • government already struggling to maintain goals
  • great economic cost with no positive impact to the economy
71
Q

What are examples of Extinction Rebellion Succeeding?

A
  • by 2020, 460 local councils and both the Scottish and Welsh parliaments had declared a climate emergency
  • 2019 - house of commons adopted climate emergency motion (not legally binding)
  • New registration that required UK to reduce greenhouse gasses to 1990 levels by 2050 (already not on track to meet)
72
Q

What are examples of failures to achieve aims and goals or to influence government policy?

A
  • Many more policies are needed that just free
  • 2019 Labour reduce additions by 2030 but at the time then got kicked out
  • No widespread support
73
Q

What evidence is there for pressure groups having a positive influence on UK democracy?

A
  • Education and participation (480,000 Labour and 180,000 members)
  • Protection of Minorities (August 2021 protests which resulted in the Gender Recognition act when only 1% of population identifies as non-binary or transgender) and (2010 Equalities Act due to pressure groups)
  • Accountability (2020, Johnson pledged to ban conversion therapy - a year later nothing happened so 250,000 people signed a petition holding him accountable)
74
Q

What evidence is there that pressure groups do not enhance democracy?

A
  • Tyranny of the minority (2012 BBA held meetings with government officials)
  • Empowers the Powerful (Bias of NFU over XR due to their links with conservative government and wealthy people having more opportunities)
  • Revolving Door - (2017 former chancellor George Osborne accepted job role as editor for the evening standard)
  • Lack of internal democracy
  • alienates from participating traditionally

Politics (4 decks)

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