Law Reform Flashcards
What are the four influences on Parliament?
-Government policy or manifesto promise
-Media
-Pressure Groups
-Emergency situations
What are two examples of government promises?
-The EU Act 2020 fulfilled the conservative parties 2019 election manifesto promise to ‘get brexit done’
-Safety of Rwanda Bill is being enacted to fulfill the current prime ministers priority policy to ‘stop the boats’
Why is media an influence of parliament?
The media has a wide range of viewers and can increase the public awareness and engagement in the legislative process. They are in a position to collate public opinions through letter pages or forums and when an issues is given a large profile it will be brought to the attention of the public and politicians
What are three example of media influences on parliament?
-The XL bully ban - the number of attacks on people was highlighted by the press which lead to the breed being banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
-The Daily Mail led the Snowdrop campaign, after the Dunblane massacre, leading to tighter gun control law in the Firearm Act 1997
-School dinners - Jamie Oliver led a campaign to improve food served to children at schools. He s
used the media to produce a political climate for change by saturated coverage
Why are pressure groups and lobbying an influence on parliament?
Pressure groups are a body of people with a shared interest in getting parliament to change an area of law to benefit a cause or section of society. They do this by lobbying MPs, creating petitions and working with the media to gain as much publicity as possible. The larger and wealthier the pressure group the more pressure they can exert
What are the two types of pressure groups and what do they do?
-Sectional pressure groups - Represents the interests of a group of people
-Cause Pressure groups - Promote a particular cause
What are two examples of emergency situations as an influence on parliament?
-Covid: the government amended the Public Health Act 1984 and enacted the Coronavirus Act 2020
-Response to the potential threat posed by the attacks on the twin towers in 2001 which led to the anti-terrorism, crime and security Act 2001
