pressure groups Flashcards
define pressure group
- organisations that attempt to influence public policy on a single issue or range of related issues
what do sectional/interest/protective pressure groups do?
- aim to protect the interest of their membership e.g. trade unions
- tend to be well-resourced and well-staffed. They carry clout with government as they represent a substantial section of the population
- e.g. BMA (british medical association) stands up mainly for young doctor’s rights
what do cause/promotional/issue pressure groups aim to do?
- promote a particular idea or cause (animal welfare, relief of child poverty)
- some are long lasting, some appear and disappear within a short time
- few/little full time staff, heavily rely on volunteers and lack resources
- emotional campaigns can be effective in influencing government and the public
corporatist model
- idea pressure groups strengthen democracy best when they are formally incorporated into the decision making process
pluralist model
- idea pressure groups strengthen democracy best when they act as a check on governmental power
cause pressure groups
- promote a particular cause or objective
- membership is unlimited
sectional pressure groups
- promote the interests of a particular section of society
- membership tends therefore to be limited
insider pressure groups
- groups that government respects because they abide by the ‘rules of the game’
- have strong links with decision makers and are regularly consulted
internal insider groups and examples
- very close links to the government
- gov will always approach them with relevant policies for their opinion
- cause: Anti-Smoking (ASH), National Trust, Law society
- sectional: BMA
external insider pressure groups and examples
- have formal links to the government, but their status us not so secure, their influence at a governmental level tends to change depending on the party in power
- high profile cause: WWF, Oxfam
- sectional external insider: NEU (national education union), Stonewall and CBI
outsider pressure groups
- work outside the governmental decision making process ad therefore have fewer opportunities to determine the direction of policy
unwilling outsider groups and examples
- pressure groups would like to be insiders, but the gov does not give them this status because they do not believe their cause is just/important enough
- cause: unite against facism
- sectional: fathers for justice, NFU
willing outsider groups and examples
- regard parliamentary procedures with disdain and feel that they would lose credibility by entering into negotiations with the government
- they prefer to put pressure on the system from the outside
differences between insider and outsider groups
- insiders are inside government whereas outsiders are outside of government influence
- insiders have access to policy makers whereas outsiders don’t/have limited access
- insiders are often low profile whereas outsiders are high profile
- insiders have main stream goals whereas outsiders have radical goals
- insiders have strong leadership whereas outsiders have strong grassroots
policy community
- small, stable groups of pressure group representatives and public officials who are in close contact with and agree on many main issues in particular policy area
policy network
- are larger, more loosely knit, and have more conflicting sets of interest formed around particular policy areas
think tanks
‘a research institute or other organisation providing advice and ideas on national or commercial problems’
- criticised as unelected and are unsure where funding comes from. Essentially a political party and not an academic group but are consulted during policy making
dark money
money where it’s source is unclear
two lobbying companies examples
- burnson-martseller = former tory minister andrew mckay joined as an international consultant in 2010
- political lobbying and media relations = lobbying firm, clients such as sky, charities and universities. campaigned for standardised cigarette packets on behalf of cancer research UK
examples of lack of participation in political parties (quotes and percentages)
- ‘i trust govs most of the time’
1986 = 38% agree
2014 = 17% agree
union member stats
1970s = over 13m members
2015 = around 6.4m members
five examples of think tanks
policy exchange = small gov think tank influential with conservatives
chatham house = a centre for policy research on international affairs
fabian society = affliated to labour party
demos = a leading cross-party think-tank with a mission to bring politics closer to people
resPublica = independent, non-partisan public policy think-tank
what is the gagging law
- transparency of lobbying, non-party campaigning and trade unions administration act 2014
- cut amount groups can spend influencing elections by 60%
- introduced ‘constituency spending limits’, campaign spending limits on constituencies of £9750
- broadens activities regulated by spending limits to include market research, public meetings, press events and transport costs
what were the arguments surrounding the gagging act?
- gov argued it wanted to prevent the wealthiest groups from having unfair levels of influence
- critics argued by cutting spending, law makes it harder for pressure groups to raise awareness and to inform voters of where each party and candidate stands