Pressure Groups

Question 1

Think Tanks: Finances

Answer 1

Normally privately funded: e.g. Lord Sainsbury donated £260,000 in 2016 to Progress a centre left Labour think tank
Income tends to be fairly balanced across the political spectrum
The bulk of the income goes to neutral groups
In 2022 a third of the largest think tanks had not publicly stated where their income came from which raises the ‘dark money’ debate

Question 2

Think Tanks

Answer 2

Integral part of the policy-influencing network
Undertake policy research and development
Research often helps pressure groups
Typically have very strong viewpoints: e.g. the Institute of Economic Affairs which are very pro-free market
Hold conferences and release magazines to spread their word
Some are non political: e.g. Centre for Social Justice (2004) which fights for effective solutions to end poverty
Have connections with particular parties: Fabian Society with Labour and Adam Smith Institute with the Conservatives

Question 3

Evaluations of Think Tanks

Answer 3

+Work well when the party that they are closely linked to have government
-If their party is not in power they have almost no influence
+Often consulted by the government on key policy
-Many policies tend to be ignored due to the highly ideological style of research
-Have become less important as parties become less ideological and more pragmatic especially since the 1970s
+Members can appear in the next governments: e.g Iain Duncan Smith with the Centre for Social Justice when he became Work and Pensions minister in 2004
Overall the power of a think tank is dependent of who is in government, however their power is limited and continually diminishing

Question 4

Successes of insider pressure groups

Answer 4

In 2021, BMA has pushed the government to increase NHS spending by 3.4% per annum between 2019 and 2024
The CBI has worked by pressuring the government to devolve more powers to devolved governments

Question 5

Media

Answer 5

Highly influential with elections: e.g. in 1992 with the surprise Tory victory the Sun boasted ‘It’s The Sun Wot Won It’
Influence of traditional media has been very problematic
Circulation of newspapers has roughly halved between 1992 and 2019
Rise in social media which is far less controlled: during the 2019 campaign Twitter accused the Conservatives of misleading the public as they temporarily changed the name of their account of CCHQPress to factcheckUK

Question 6

Lobbyists

Answer 6

Firms hired to help target a group’s messages as effectively as possible
Provide professional advice about campaign and communicative strategies
A number of former ministers go on to work for lobbying firms known as the ‘revolving door’ but they have to seek permission from the ACOBA. Usually have a cooling off period before they take up the role. Caused lots of scandals like Stephen Byers, a former transport secretary, was filmed saying he was like a “cab for hire” who would work for up to £5,000 a day.
Lobbyists often work at a more low profile
Example of success was the Morgan Roberts firm who helped the government pass a policy which protected young women from the leading cause of cervical cancer in 2008

Question 7

Do Pressure Groups harm or help democracy?

Answer 7

+Provide year round political participation
-Take away from the votes of elections and authority of government
+Allows the public to keep constant checks on the power of the government
+Allow representation for those who are not fairly represented through FPTP
+Focus on single issues so can have more specific support
+Raise awareness on a national scale
-Can put a negative light on issues if they use harmful pressure tactics
-No democratic mandate and can be said to lack politcal legitimacy
-Has lots of ‘chequebook membership’ as members are not actively interacting with politics