Influences on law making

Question 1

Public

Answer 1

-government will only stay in favour/power if they maintain support of the public
-eg Sarah’s law

Question 2

Media

Answer 2

-a conduit to highlight public opinion to the government - also help to influence public opinion
-can criticise the government

Question 3

Pressure groups

Answer 3

-groups of people who campaign as they have a special interest in a subject
-sectional- represent interests of groups of people
-cause- promote a particular cause eg human rights
-may make government reconsider areas of law eg hunting act 2004

Question 4

Lobbyists

Answer 4

-try to persuade government ministers or individual mps to support a cause
-influence parliament to highlight their concerns

Question 5

Law commission

Answer 5

-team of experts who review laws to see if they need to be updated or improved
-suggest changes to make laws clearer, fairer easier to understand

Question 6

Advantages and disadvantages

Answer 6

Advantages:
-can highlight need for legal change after terrible or shocking incident eg snowdrop appeal after dunblane massacre leading to firearms act 1997
-able to raise public awareness of issues impacting large numbers of people
Disadvantages:
-members can be very passionate, may resort to violence or criminal behaviour eg animal activists damaged animal testing labs