Pressure groups

Question 1

4 types of pressure groups and their purpose

Answer 1

1. insider groups - close ties with Gov
2. Outsider Groups - bad ties with Gov
3. Interest Groups - designed to defend specific interests of their members e.g trade unions
4. promotional Groups - aim to achieve specific aims like nuclear disarmament

Question 2

example of an insider Group

Answer 2

‘Unite’ donated £4 Million to Labour - led to Labour Repealing anti-trade union legislation in their manifesto (2019)

Question 3

Significance of the National Trust

Answer 3

• Membership of 5 Million, owned over 600,000 acres of land
• allowed to declare land ‘inalienable’, meaning land isn’t allowed to be built upon or purchased without Gov approval

Question 4

Example of outsider Groups + why they insiders

Answer 4

Animal Liberation Front: broke into Labs used for animal testing

Question 5

outsiders by necessity

Answer 5

outsiders by necessity are outsiders due to the nature of their tactics

Question 6

3 - Pressure Groups are elitist

Answer 6

• Powerful and wealthy Groups ‘have the ear’ of Government
• Many Groups are undemocratic
• Most Marginalised in societies lack pressure groups to rep them

Question 7

3 - pressure Groups are Pluralist

Answer 7

• No one group has a monopoly on power
• social media
• most groups in Britain have a pressure group

Question 8

3 - Pressure Groups = pro democracy

Answer 8

• pressure groups allow for active political campaigning (2003 stop the war coalition rallies)
• Pressure groups represent (cut across party divides)
• enables representation in between elections
• promote public education

Question 9

3- Pressure Groups Anti democratic

Answer 9

• members are passive (chequebook members)
• No direct democratic mandate
• info put out is one sided and selective

Question 10

example of Gov Lobbying in Britain

Answer 10

During Covid, Businesses lobbied for a freeze on VAT and National Insurance payments

Question 11

significance of Think Tanks evidence

Answer 11

Lord Sainsbury donated £260,000 in 2016 to ‘Progress’, a centrist think tank

Question 12

3 Examples of think tanks

Answer 12

IEA - Free market (liz Truss)
Fabian Society - left wing
Centre for social justice - Focused on social policy

Question 13

who dubbed pluralist theory + its significance

Answer 13

Dahl - allow electors the ability to express independent views and have a constant/dynamic interplay between government and groups

Question 14

The lobbying act

Answer 14

(2014) attempted to get to grips with the problem. It didn’t.

Question 15

revolving door scandal

Answer 15

MPs Jobs in big business after Parliament for lobbying

Question 16

anti-war campaign 2001

Answer 16

government egnored

Question 17

role of the media - surfers against sewage

Answer 17

used media to draw attention to their movements - gained 20k members=

Question 18

risk of politicians not addressing the concerns of pressure groups

Answer 18

Bad publicity from the media - can result in policy U-turns

• (e.g) Cameron’s U-turn on selling Britain’s
  national forests (2011)
• (grassroots group) 38 Degrees started a petition - attracted
  530,000 signatures + National Trust mobilised its 5 million members