Pressure Groups Essay Flashcards
What are the factors for pressure groups.
- Government views
- Public opinion
- Corporate interests
- Media coverage
What is background information for pressure groups.
- They use various forms of advocacy/lobbying to influence public opinion and policy
- They play an important role in the development of political and social systems
- They highlight issues the government aren’t always focused on
What is your knowledge for government views.
- They are more successful when they are aligned with government views
- They may have differing success in Scotland due to different views of the Scottish Parliament and their elected party
What are examples for government views.
- Taxpayers alliance was more successful in influence when the Conservatives were in power
What is your analysis for government views.
- Their success depends on the governing party and what their views and priorities are as they may be ignored if they do not align
- Their success in Scotland may be limited as some powers in Scotland are reserved
What is your evaluation for government views.
The government have the power to allow issues to be ignored depending on where they want to lie their focus.
What is your knowledge for public opinion.
- Having the support of the public can influence their success
- The opinion of the public changes over time and so it is difficult for a PG to maintain success for a prolonged period of time
What are examples for public opinion.
- ASH is against smoking whilst FOREST was smokers rights but they have lost support due to the public becoming more anti-smoking
What is your analysis for public opinion.
- The government must consider the damage to their reputation and support if they ignore a PG with lots of public support
What is your evaluation for public opinion.
The public evolves and changes so it is difficult to keep everlasting support and so although their support is vital, they must also change their aims to keep this.
What is your knowledge for corporate interests.
- They will achieve more success by supporting corporations than the disadvantaged in society
What are examples for corporate interests.
- In 2023 the government abandoned their ‘net-zero’ commitment and instead announced that they would be permitting more oil and gas licences for the North Sea
What is your analysis for corporate interests.
- Insider groups can afford lobbyists and seen as corporations play such a big part of the British economy, the government will seek the help of PGs.
What is your evaluation for corporate interests.
The support those who are already advantaged and leave the disadvantaged poorly supported meaning corporations are the priority and pressure groups ineffective and social change.
What is your knowledge for media coverage.
- Support of a PG can relate to the type of media coverage they get
- Negative media coverage typically will decrease their support and lead them to be unsuccessful
What are examples for media coverage.
- The government u-turned on free school meals during school holidays due to Rashford’s task forces positive media attention
- Just Stop Oil have lost support after their negative media coverage
What is your analysis for media coverage.
- The negative media coverage of a PG allows the government to ignore the topics with ease and avoid the tough topics they may be raising
What is your evaluation for media coverage.
The media can alter the perspective they report from due to their own views and so hand the reports to the public through a tinted glass.
