Pressure Groups

Question 1

What is a pressure group?

Answer 1

A group that tries to influence public policy in the interest of a particular cause

They don’t usually enter candidates or seek to exercise power themselves

Question 2

What does a sectional (interest) pressure group do?

Answer 2

Promote interests of an occupation/societal group

i.e. Trade Unions representing their members in negotiations with employers

Question 3

Case study of sectional pressure group?

Answer 3

National Farmers’ Union - goal is to achieve agricultural policies which bring security of income to farm families

Slogan - ‘Back British Farming’

Question 4

Recent NFU campaign?

Answer 4

Trying to ensure free trade in agricultural goods with the EU market after Brexit

Question 5

Successful NFU campaign?

Answer 5

Lobbied to obtain funding for Anaerobic Digestion plants on farms as it saves famers money on energy and has positive environmental outcomes

Question 6

Example of NFU acting as an insider group?

Answer 6

Worked closely with MP Dr Luke Evans to call for supermarkets to add ‘buy British’ tabs to their websites

Question 7

What does a cause group do?

Answer 7

Promote a particular goal or draw attention to a particular issue

Question 8

Membership of sectional groups?

Answer 8

Restricted membership to those who meet specific requirements (e.g. BMA is open to those working in medicine)

Question 9

Membership of cause groups?

Answer 9

Open to anyone who sympathises with their aims (e.g. Client Earth is made up of lawyers, environmental experts and activists to fight climate change by changing the law)

Question 10

Client Earth recent campaign?

Answer 10

Trying to ensure government maintains strong legal protections for the environment post-Brexit

Question 11

Client Earth successful campaign?

Answer 11

2009 - Lobbied EU commission to reject the UK’s government’s request for an extension on improving air quality in the most polluted areas

Question 12

What does a social movement do?

Answer 12

Seek to achieve a particular objective, usually more loosely structured than cause

Often have radical objectives

e.g. Occupy, Just Stop Oil

Question 13

What are outsider groups?

Answer 13

PGs that are not consulted by the government, usually because their objectives are far from the political mainstream

e.g. Extinction Rebellion

Question 14

Examples of Extinction Rebellion’s radical methods

Answer 14

2018 - blockaded 5 major bridges in London

2020 - blocked roads outside printing presses for several national newspapers

2022 - protested outside Downing Street

Question 15

What are insider groups?

Answer 15

Relies on contact with ministers and civil servants to achieve their aims

e.g. NFU have close contact with DEFRA

Question 16

Evidence that insider PGs have waning influence?

Answer 16

National Trust complained that they did not get the audience with a minister that they had expected at the start of Liz Truss’ premiership

Question 17

Pressure group methods

Answer 17

Negotiations/ talks with government - NFU/DEFRA

Strikes - sectional groups coordinate strike action, e.g. BMA - 2023/4 Junior doctors’ strike

Radical action - e.g. XR, Just Stop Oil

Question 18

Downsides of radical PG action

Answer 18

Can hinder group’s progress (e.g. Feb 2024, 3 Greenpeace protestors charged with criminal damage after a protest at Rishi Sunak’s home)

Can damage public opinion with divisive methods (e.g. Just Stop Oil ridiculed for soup protest, XR caused huge disruptions by blockading roads and bridges)

Question 19

Functions of PGs

Answer 19

Keeps the government responsive to the people

Represent groups in society (e.g. WASPI, Stonewall)

Provide government with knowledge and expertise (e.g. Action on Smoking and Health)

Citizen education (e.g. Greenpeace sends speakers into schools)

Pressuring companies into social change (e.g. PETA throwing paint on models wearing fur for their anti-fur campaign)

Question 20

Examples of insider group methods

Answer 20

Human rights group Liberty gave evidence to the Justice Select Committee in 2021 about how the proposed Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill would curtail protest rights.

e.g. proposed amendment to remove the increase in sentencing for those involved in non-violent protests

Question 21

Causes of varying PG influence

Answer 21

Practical achievability

Changing political circumstance

Human and material resources

Group status

Group methods

Question 22

How does practical achievability affect PG influence?

Answer 22

Those with smaller, more practical aims (e.g. Gurkha Justice Campaign aiming to gain the right for all Gurkhas who served in British army to settle in the UK) are likely to have more success.

Those with long term/larger goals (e.g. Make Poverty History) less likely to be achieved in the short term.

Question 23

How does public support affect PG influence?

Answer 23

Groups in line with public opinion more likely to be successful (e.g. Jamie Oliver’s ‘Feed Me Better’ campaign to improve the quality of school meals.

Celebrity endorsement is also helpful (e.g. Marcus Rashford worked closely with Fare Share in a free school meals campaign over the Covid period)

Mermaids has less favourable public opinion as it is centred around a controversial topic (e.g. came under fire for offering trans children chest binders without parental consent)

Question 24

How does changing political circumstance affect PG influence?

Answer 24

Different governments prioritise different things (e.g. campaigns for gay rights only gained headway under Tony Blair’s government - groups like Stonewall became far more influential)

Question 25

How does human and material resources affect PG influence?

Answer 25

Groups with large membership have greater legitimacy and funds (e.g. National Trust have almost 5.4 million members)

Trade unions more influential against employers if they have a larger membership

Question 26

How does group status affect PG influence?

Answer 26

Insider groups benefit from regular consultation with the government with possible involvement in draft legislation.

Groups with financial/economic leverage have advantage (e.g. CBI represents 190,000 businesses) - their values align heavily with government

Question 27

How do group methods affect PG influence?

Answer 27

PGs using more conventional methods such as lobbying ministers more successful (e.g. Liberty)

Groups with extreme methods alienate the public (e.g. XR caused public outrage with its disruptive methods, such as blockading 5 major bridges in London in 2018)

Question 28

What constitutes success for PGs?

Answer 28

Legislation being passed (e.g. Wild animals have been banned from circuses since 2020 due to PG activity)

Legislation being prevented (e.g. in 2016, HoL blocked the government’s proposed cuts to disability benefits due to PG activity)

Legislation being amended (e.g. the Lords forced a number of amendments to the 2012 Health and Social Care Act due to PG activity)

Question 29

What are think tanks?

Answer 29

Groups of experts who investigate topics and offer solutions to complicated economic, political or social issues (e.g. Institute of Economic Affairs, Fabian Society - represent diversity of opinion)

Question 30

What are lobbyists?

Answer 30

Members of professional organisations who are paid by clients seeking access to the government

Fairer system now? - in 2014 it was made a legal requirement for lobbyists on behalf of a third party to register their activities (still unfair system - David Cameron (the man who set up this register) failed to register his lobbying activities for Greensill Capital)

Question 31

What are corporations?

Answer 31

Large businesses with significant sway in government policy.

Close links between politicians and business due to ‘revolving door’ process.

Question 32

Arguments that PGs enhance democracy in the UK?

Answer 32

Education and participation argument

Protection of minorities argument

Accountability of government argument

Question 33

Explain the education and participation argument that PGs enhance democracy

Answer 33

Represent diversity of opinion so people can reach informed conclusions (e.g. BPAS and Right to Life UK)

PG activity offer political participation, something which is desperately low in the UK (e.g. 2019 election has only 67.3% turnout)

PGs offer participation without having to align to a party (e.g. Labour/Conservative party membership used to be in the millions and was only 485,000 and 180,000 in 2019)

Question 34

Explain the protection of minorities argument that PGs enhance democracy

Answer 34

Pressure groups can defend the rights of the marginalised (e.g. in 2021, protests were held outside Downing Street due to trans people’s experiences of feeling failed by the healthcare system)

Groups like Stonewall and Mermaids push for equality.

Question 35

Explain the accountability of government argument that PGs enhance democracy

Answer 35

PGs help highlight the government’s shortcomings and encourage change (e.g. in 2020, PM Boris Johnson pledged to ban conversion therapy. A year later, a petition was signed by 250,000 people to put pressure on him to stick to the promise)

National Trust started online campaign against Liz Truss’s government when they did not get the audience with the DEFRA minister that they had expected.

Question 36

Arguments that PGs do NOT enhance democracy in the UK?

Answer 36

Tyranny of the minority

Empower the powerful

A revolving door

Question 37

Explain the tyranny of the majority argument that PGs do not enhance democracy

Answer 37

Certain PGs/corporations dominate the system (e.g. Shell, BP, Barclays, Tesco and other large corporations have strong political influence)

In 2012, the British Bankers’ Association held meetings with government officials, such as Nick Clegg’s political adviser, which were not required to be recorded - this hinders democracy

Question 38

Explain the argument that pressure groups empower the powerful

Answer 38

Insider groups, who already have the eyes and ears of government, have an undue amount of influence (e.g. NFU and XR, who have competing aims regarding meat consumption, are treated very differently by government. The NFU is far more likely to influence policy and XR is likely to be ignored).

Corporations also have vast funds to pay for lobbying and campaigns, which is not the case for grassroots PGs. Therefore, it is the wealthy whose voices are strengthened while some marginalised groups are unable to participate.

Question 39

Explain the revolving door argument that PGs do not enhance democracy

Answer 39

Key criticism of the lobbying and pressure group system is the ‘revolving door’ between Parliament and big business - former ministers are able to use their close connections with government to enhance the standing of their new company. (e.g. David Cameron/Greensill scandal)

Question 40

Recent example of successful social movement

Answer 40

Throughout the first half of 2024, there have been large protests putting pressure on the government to stop supporting Israel.

This has been quite successful as it led to Labour supporting an ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’ and the conservative foreign secretary David Cameron calling for a de-escalation

Question 41

Explain how the Public Order Act bans certain outside group methods

Answer 41

Enacts legal repercussions for highly disruptive protests

‘Locking on’ is now punishable by imprisonment

October 2023 - the Metropolitan Police arrested over 60 activists participating in a Just Stop Oil ‘slow march’

Question 42

Explain Scott Benton lobbying scandal

Answer 42

Former conservative MP Scott Benton was caught offering to lobby (and leak policy documents) on behalf of a gambling company in exchange for payments of up to £4,000 per month

Shows how damaging lobbying is for UK democracy

Question 43

Recent ‘revolving door’ example

Answer 43

Over 170 ex-ministers and senior officials since 2017 have taken up jobs that relate to policy areas they previously managed. This raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest as these individuals may leverage their insider knowledge and connections to lobby on behalf of provocateur companies