Influences on Law making and Law reform

Question 1

Political influences - Manifesto

Answer 1

The ideas that political parties have are set out in a documents called manifestos, and people will consider these, alongside other factors, when deciding who to vote for.

The political party that wins a majority of seats in the house of commons and forms the government will set out their legislative agenda each year in the King’s speech.

The government will then introduce Bills into the House of Parliament, many of which will be designed to deliver on their manifesto commitments.

E.g- The Academies Act 2010 was passed so the conservative government could deliver their manifesto pledge to establish free schools.

Question 2

Why is manifesto pledge an advantage of political influences?

Answer 2

If the manifesto pledge are followed, the people know which law will be passed, which reflects the will of the electorate. If the government has a large majority, proposed laws are even more likely to be passed.

Manifesto pledges are a way in which the people can see if the government is fulfilling its promises, and so increase the accountability of politicians to the electorate

Electing MPs who represent a constituency enables accountability on a local level, as constituents can lobby their MPs to vote for or against proposed legislation.

Question 3

Why is it a disadvantage if the governments majority is small?

Answer 3

If the government’s majority is small, it can be difficult for them to pass legislation. It can be argued that this is undemocratic as the will of the electorate is not being reflected.

Laws can sometimes change between one parliament and the next as a new government seeks to reverse changes made by the previous one. This is expensive and time-consuming.

There may be insufficient Parliamentary time available to implement all suggestions in a party’s manifesto and ‘‘pure’’ law reform is often set to one side as a result. This arguably restricts the proper development of the law.

Question 4

Public Opinion

Answer 4

Where there is strong public opinion about a change to the law, the government may bow to such an
opinion. This is more likely to occur towards the end of a term of government when a general election is
approaching. For example, following the Dunblane school shooting in 1996 a public campaign resulted in
Parliament introducing new laws in relation to private ownership of handguns. However, Government may
respond too quickly to high profile incidents. This can lead to a law being created too quickly and not
thought through properly so that the law is poorly drafted, e.g. the wording of the Dangerous Dogs Act
1991 has led to many disputed cases before the courts and the act was amended 5 years later.

Question 5

Why is democratic an advantage of public opinions?

Answer 5

If laws are passed due to public opinion this can be argued to be democratic, and reflects the will of the people, meaning that the government is ultimately answerable to the public. If the law is altered in response to public opinion, it can ensure the law remains up to date with changing societal values. One example is Marriage(same sex couples) Act 2013.

If public opinion is overwhelming, it can overcome any political resistance to change the law. For example, the Snowdrop campaign following the Dunblane massacre led to the banning of fire arms in the uk

Question 6

Why is undemocratic a disadvantage of public opinions?

Answer 6

If laws are passed due to the opinions of a vocal minority, then the law will not truly reflects the views of the public, which is undemocratic.

Equally, if public opinion is manipulated by campaigns run by the media, then it can be argued that this is not truly representative either. For example, some people have argued that the EU Referendum campaign featured factually inaccurate claims by both sides.

Some people may resort to violence t promote their particular cause. For example, the protests against introduction of Tuition fees in 2015 became violent.

Question 7

What are cause groups?

Answer 7

Cause pressure groups – also known as issue groups.

These groups promote a particular cause and are based on shared values or attitudes rather than the
common interests of their members. They seek to advance various causes such charity activities, poverty
reduction, education, the environment and human rights. Membership of these groups is open to all and
members are motivated by moral issues rather than self-interest.

Liberty’s campaigning led to the passing of the Identity Documents Act 2010

Question 8

What are interest groups?

Answer 8

Sectional pressure groups – also known as interest groups.
They represent the interests of a particular section of society. They often represent work groups or
professions. Membership of these groups is limited to those in a particular occupation, career or economic
position. Members of interest groups are often motivated by self-interest. Interest groups tend to be
influential in the development of the law and are often consulted by Parliament in the early stages of law
making.

Eg. Pressure from Trades unions led to the Minimum Wage act 1988

Question 9

Give an example of how pressure groups have influenced changes in the law.

Answer 9

League against Cruel Sports campaigned for the banning of hunting foxes with dogs and as a result, the
Hunting Act 2004 was passed.

Question 10

Why is it an advantage of pressure groups with large members?

Answer 10

Pressure groups with large numbers of members, such as trade union Unite, are able to raise concerns that affect many people. This is to an extent democratic.

Question 11

Why is it an advantage of pressure groups raising high profile cases?

Answer 11

Pressure groups can play an important role in raising the profile of important issues. For example, the pressure group Stonewall have played an important role in raising awareness around LGBT rights

Question 12

Why is wealth and influence an advantage of pressure groups?

Answer 12

The wealth and influence of some sectional groups such as the Confederation of British Industry means that they are frequently consulted before a law is passed affecting them

Question 13

Why is it a disadvantage if pressure groups a represent a minority?

Answer 13

Pressure groups may actually represent a minority of people seeking to impose their views on the majority, who may not actually want such change.

Question 14

Why is directly opposing aims an disadvantage of pressure groups?

Answer 14

Pressure groups can have directly opposing aims, e.g. the Eu referendum- Britain Stronger in Europe vs Leave. EU.

Question 15

Why is pressure groups being passionate a disadvantage?

Answer 15

Pressure groups are often passionate about their causes, but this may mean that they can not always remain objective in their views

Question 16

How does the media have a influence on law making?

Answer 16

Through the media, issues of public concern can be highlighted. Campaigns can be run through the tabloids
to put pressure on Parliament. For example, the News of the World ran a campaign in 2000 following the murder of Sarah Payne by a known pedophile. As a result, “Sarah’s Law” was introduced in s.327 of the
Criminal Justice Act 2003. This places a duty on authorities to consider the disclosure of information about convicted sex offenders to parents in an area if they consider that the offender presents a risk of serious harm to their children. Another example is “Clare’s Law” which was introduced after a media campaign led by the father of Clare Wood. This gives anyone a right to ask the police if they believe that they or someone they know is in a relationship with an individual that could be abusive towards them.

Question 17

Why is it an advantage if the media helps bring important issues to light?

Answer 17

Media pressure can help bring important issues to prominence. For example, following Stephen Lawrence’s murder, newspapers campaigned for the removal of the ‘‘double jeopardy’’ law, which states that a person cannot be tried twice for the same offence, in murder cases when significant new evidence comes to light. This led to Part 10 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003

Question 18

Why is a rushed response a disadvantage of media influences?

Answer 18

If laws are rushed through in response to media pressure, the quality of law making may suffer. The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 was rushed through in large part due to media pressure, although arguably unnecessary as the threat from such attacks was no different to its usual level. The Act was very difficult to apply in practice, leading to uncertainty, which is contrary to the rule of law’s requirement that the law be ascertainable

Question 19

What is lobbying

Answer 19

Some people try to persuade individual MPs to support their cause. This is called lobbying because
members of the public can meet MPs in the lobbies (hallways) through which MPs go to get to the House of
Commons. Lobbying is also used by pressure groups to highlight their concerns. Most lobbying is done by
professional lobbyists on behalf of businesses, trade associations and large charities. This type of lobbying
can have a significant impact on legislation. The usual form of lobbying is to persuade an MP to ask a
question in the House of Commons so that it gets publicity or to persuade an MP to introduce a Private
Members’ Bill.

Question 20

Why is awareness of issues an advantage of lobbying?

Answer 20

Lobbyists play an important role in ensuring that MPs and government are aware of issues and that they are good at presenting the case to politicians

Question 21

Why is it an advantage if anyone can use lobbying?

Answer 21

Anyone else can use the lobbying system- individuals, for example, can write to their MP or attend a constituency surgery

Question 22

Why is abuse a disadvantage of lobbying?

Answer 22

The process of lobbying may be subject to abuse where professional lobbyists and big business are concerned as those with more money may be able to exert a disproportionate influence over the law making process.
For example, in 2015 two former Foreign Secretaries were caught offering lobbying service in return for thousands of pounds offered to them by undercover journalists, and as a result the rules on lobbying had to be changed.

Question 23

What is the law Commission?

Answer 23

The law commission is an independent body created under the Law Commissions Act 1965

Its remit is to keep England and wales under review and to recommend reforms where needed

For example, the Law commission’s recommendation for a new offence for jurors who conducted prohibited research was implemented by the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015.

Question 24

What is a e-petition and how does it influence law making?

Answer 24

This is often how public opinion influences law making. Anyone can start an e-petition on the government
website - https://petition.parliament.uk/. If the petition gets 10,000 signatures, the House of Commons
must respond to it. If the petition has 100,000 signatures the issue must be debated in the House of
Commons. Some examples of petitions include reform to sentencing for knife crime, petitions for more
support for the arts during Covid-19

Question 25

What are private members bills and how do they influence the law?

Answer 25

Members of the public can contact their local MP about an issue and if the MP agrees they can introduce
the proposal to Parliament via a Private Members’ Bill. Although this is rarely a successful method, some
changes to the law have been introduced in this way. For example, the Abortion Act 1965 and the Animal
Welfare (Service Animals) Act 2019 (“Finn’s Law”) were introduced in this way.