Evaluate The View That Pressure Groups Are Successful Due To Their Ability To Generate Mass Support.

Question 1

P1: Agree Generating Mass Support Is Highly Important To Pressure Group Success

Answer 1

1. Governments are more likely to change policy when large public support is demonstrated to avoid alienating voters. Marcus Rashford’s 2020 campaign to extend free school meals during holidays gained massive support, leading to a government U-turn.
2. High-profile protests (e.g., 2024 Gaza ceasefire protests), the Labour Government’s suspension of arms export licences to Israel.
3. A large membership provides financial stability, helps with organizing campaigns, and boosts credibility. Example: The RSPCA, with its large membership, employs thousands and runs high-budget advertising campaigns.
4. Disruptive Methods Can Backfire:
   Disruptive outsider tactics (e.g., Just Stop Oil) can backfire if they alienate the public, as seen when their actions led to a government decision to approve new North Sea oil licences.

Question 2

P1: Disagree Limitations of Mass Support

Answer 2

1. Governments are often reluctant to change policy because doing so may require admitting they were wrong.
2. Despite over 700,000 participants in the 2003 anti-Iraq War protests and the 2019 People’s Vote march, the government did not change its policy and did not grant a second Brexit ref.
3. U-turns are more likely when the government is weak or has a small majority. Governments with a strong majority can disregard mass protests and still maintain public support.
4. Occupy London (2011) had mass support but lacked clear, attainable goals and leadership, leading to its failure to overthrow capitalism.

Question 3

P2: Disagree Government Attitudes are more Important

Answer 3

1. Insider groups whose goals are often aligned with government views, making it more likely for their voices to be heard.
2. Stonewall (LGBT+ Rights) had success under New Labour through lobbying and influencing policy like the equalisation of the age of consent.National Farmers’ Union (NFU) had influence under the Conservative government, helping secure the badger cull and safeguarding British farming in 2024.
3. Lose influence, when they lose insider status. Stonewall struggled to convince the Conservative government on issues like banning trans conversion therapy. Similarly, after the 2024 Labour victory, the NFU lost insider status and saw a decrease in influence, with policies like the tax on inherited farming assets being enacted despite farmer protests.

Question 4

P2: Agree Cannot overstate the importance of government attitudes

Answer 4

1. Insider pressure groups are highly dependent on government attitudes and contacts with ministers and civil servants.Their success is temporary and can disappear overnight if the government changes or shifts priorities.
2. Insider groups struggle to influence policies that significantly deviate from the government’s current agenda. WASPI campaigned for compensation for women affected by changes to the state pension age but failed to convince the Labour government to act, primarily due to the cost and policy alignment issue.

Question 5

P3: Disagree Strategy and Leadership

Answer 5

1. Marcus Rashford in the campaign for free school meals, can use their public profile to lead successful campaigns. Rashford’s open letter to the government was key to the government’s decision to U-turn in June 2020.Clear leadership can even prove more impactful than traditional political opposition (e.g., Keir Starmer).
2. The (BMA) successfully campaigned for a smoking ban in cars with children by adjusting their goal (from a blanket ban to targeting cars with children) and using online lobbying. Strategic re-framing allowed them to gain broader support, leading to the ban in 2015.
3. Care4Calais, a human rights group, successfully halted the first deportation flight to Rwanda due to legal challenges that argued the policy violated human rights laws.

Question 6

P3: Counter Strat and Leadership

Answer 6

1. Liberty’s efforts to stop the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Act (2021) failed due to public opposition to disruptive protests (e.g., Just Stop Oil), and the government’s determination to pass the bill.
2. Farmers’ Protests (2024-2025) failed to convince the Labour Government to reverse its inheritance tax changes, despite having celebrity support from Jeremy Clarkson and a strong organisational presence from the National Farmers Union.
   3.Countryside Alliance failed to overturn the fox hunting ban in 2004 despite its high-profile legal challenge in the High Court.