Pressure Groups Flashcards
define pressure group
a pressure group is a group advocating for social or political change by influencing and pressuring the government to make such changes
the means they use to do this may include their status (insider or outsider), wealth and resources as well as public backing
arguments that it is pressure groups with the greatest means that achieve their objectives
it is usually pressure groups with insider status and access to government, a large amount of wealth and resources and public support that achieve their objectives
arguments that it is not pressure groups with the greatest means that achieve their objectives
insider status is often meaningless if the pressure group contradicts government policy
wealth does not always ensure accomplishment of goals
the government can ignore demands for change, even from groups with public support
conclusion
having the ‘greatest means’ does not always guarantee success, but it does significantly increase the likelihood of being successful
therefore, it can be argued that it is the pressure groups with the greatest means that achieve their objectives
why do pressure groups with insider status tend to be most successful?
insider groups have better access to the government through contacts with government ministers and civil servants, and such access means that it is easier for them to get the government’s attention and push their aims
this, therefore, allows them to have far more influence than outsider groups as they do not have to spend time protesting and raising awareness as they already have useful contacts that can help them
example of successful insider pressure group
the National Farmers Union – an insider group with links to DEFRA – successfully helped bring about the badger cull in 2013 as they spoke to ministers directly and were able to give specialist information regarding the dangers of badgers spreading tuberculosis to cattle
example of not having insider status leading to failure
the outsider status of the Occupy movement was one of the reasons why it failed to achieve long lasting results – it had limited access to those in power and did not possess the same means as insider groups
why is insider status often meaningless?
insider status is often meaningless if the pressure group contradicts government policy, indicating that it is not always the pressure groups with the greatest means that achieve their objectives
example of insider pressure group failing due to contradicting government policy
the failure of the British Medical Association (BMA), an insider group, to influence the government to abandon its proposals for a seven day NHS
the Conservative Party has been determined to introduce such policies, so the BMA campaign against the proposals has largely failed because it directly contradicts government policy
this demonstrates that if the goals of a group contradict government policy then it will be very difficult for them to persuade the government to change its mind, especially if the government is determined to follow that particular policy, no matter what ‘means’ they have access to or whether they are an insider or outsider group
example of an outsider group being successful
even those with outsider status can still be highly successful in achieving their objectives
Greenpeace is an outsider cause group aiming to protect and conserve the environment, but despite its limited access to government, it has still been rather successful
for instance, as a result of its Microbeads Campaign, the UK government proposed the strongest ban on microbeads in the world and declared that all personal-care and cosmetic products containing microbeads would be off the shelves by 2018
how does having wealth and resources enable a pressure group to be successful? where does wealth come from?
pressure groups with the most wealth and resources are also more likely to be able to exert genuine influence over the government, suggesting that it is in fact the pressure groups with the greatest means that achieve their objectives
wealth enables the group to have access to a wider range of resources and means that they can run offices, pay permanent staff, organise publicity as well as fund campaigns and advertisements
such wealth usually comes from having a large membership as members pay subscriptions and so provide the group with more financial resources
example of successful pressure group with large membership and wealth: RSPCA
the RSPCA is supported by thousands of volunteers and members, which means that they can afford to take out full-page ads in national newspapers to raise awareness and obtain even more further support
example of successful pressure group with large membership and wealth: Greenpeace
Greenpeace also has a large membership, with around 2.9 million individual supporters from around 40 different countries who are all very passionate about the group
it is perhaps the financial resources that come from this large membership that enables them to remain one of the biggest and most well known pressure groups that is able to exert influence over those in power
why does wealth not guarantee success?
having the ‘greatest means’ in terms of wealth does not always guarantee success
wealth and resources can be meaningless if many wealthy pressure groups are all competing against one another
having a large membership (and the resources that come from it) does not always lead a pressure group to be successful in achieving their objectives
example of pressure groups competing against eachother, which leads to failure even if they have wealth and resources
the pro-smoking group Forrest have failed to prevent restrictions on smoking in the UK, largely because it has lost out to other groups of similar standing and resources such as ASH
example of pressure group with large membership and resources still being unsuccessful
the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament had over 110,000 members in the mid-1980s and many resources that came along with such a large following
yet the government ignored the large demonstrations and the group was not ultimately successful
how does having public support enable a pressure group to be successful?
having public support provides pressure groups with the means of pressuring the government to adopt the changes they are advocating for, which illustrates that pressure groups with the greatest means are far more likely achieve their objectives
public support gives more publicity to pressure group campaigns and helps inform others in order to raise further awareness
pressure groups reflecting public opinion are more likely to be successful as the government is more likely to listen and take them seriously if they have the backing of the public, who they rely on for votes in order to secure electoral victories
examples of groups with public support being successful: Snowdrop Campaign
the Snowdrop Campaign was established following the Dunblane primary school massacre of 1996
the public were outraged with the events and heavily supported the campaign, leading to the successful ban on the use of handguns
examples of groups with public support being successful: BMA
the BMA successfully influenced the government to ban smoking in cars carrying children as they appealed to the public and gained widespread support, winning over popular opinion as the public wants to protect children from harm
why is public support often meaningless?
even if a group has public support, it can still be ignored and dismissed by the government
this is especially likely if the government has a large majority, which will allow them to resist pressures from the group
examples of pressure groups with public support being unsuccessful: Stop the War Coalition
the Stop the War Coalition organised mass rallies and protests to stop the invasion of Iraq in 2003, with huge amounts of people supporting and participating in the campaign
however, with a large majority and cross-party support in Parliament, the Blair government was able to resist the pressure and ignore the group’s demands
examples of pressure groups with public support being unsuccessful: Greenpeace
Greenpeace also has a lot of public support, especially with the growing sense that something immediate needs to be done to tackle climate change and environmental issues
yet many of their campaigns are still unsuccessful and do not result in change
