Pressure Groups and Other Influences Essays

Question 1

Do Pressure Groups promote democracy and participation - YES 1

Answer 1

Encourage participation in between elections, especially in the prevention of tyranny of the majority - Disability Discrimination Act 1995 100,000 protesters.

Question 2

Do Pressure Groups promote democracy? YES 2

Answer 2

Informing policy and educating public on the activities of government - strengthens the social contract - RSPCA influential in programmes which inform the public, and is also influential with links to government - 2006 Animal Welfare Act

Question 3

Do Pressure Groups promote democracy? NO 1

Answer 3

Unlikely to influence policy if directly opposes government aims e.g. Occupy London, which raised attention inequality caused by the coalition government. Iraq War protests were unsuccessful despite magnitude

Also, if the pressure group doesn’t have the support of the public, they are unlikely to be successful - Countryside Alliance failed to prevent passage of the 2004 Hunting Act

Question 4

Do Pressure Groups promote democracy? NO 2

Answer 4

There are numerous factors that make most pressure groups unsuccessful e.g. Resources (money). The RSPCA employs 1,600 members of staff and are more likely to be successful because of their large membership

Question 5

To what extent is pressure group success down to large membership? YES 1

Answer 5

Larger membership generally means more money - Groups like the RSPCA are able to fund their 1600 payed members of staff, but are also able to spend money on more influential campaigns

Question 6

To what extent is pressure group success down to large membership? YES 2

Answer 6

Pressure groups with bigger membership can put more pressure on the government if they have more public backing e.g 100,000 protesters aimed to introduce the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act

Question 7

To what extent is pressure group success down to large membership? NO 1

Answer 7

Their wealth is more important - the CBI, despite less members than the Trade Union Congress, is more powerful as it has more funding. Some people speculate that government want to be seen as on the side of big pressure groups, but don’t necessarily act on their demands

Question 8

To what extent is pressure group success down to large membership? NO 2

Answer 8

Groups are more likely to have influence if they have good links with the government - the NFU, who have close links with DEFRA were able to influence the introduction of the badger cull in 2013. Iraq War protest, despite magnitude, was not successful as it directly opposed government policy.