Pressure Groups: Other Influences On Parliament And Government Aside From Pressure Groups Flashcards
What is pressure participants?
A loose term that covers many groups that seek to influence policy but are not necessarily old-style pressure groups
What is an example of corporations as pressure participations?
During brevet, motor manufactures lobbied the government for a trade deal that would retain most elements of the single market and during the COVID-19, business groups lobbied the government for a freeze on tax payments including national insurance and VAT
What is an example of corporations unsuccessfully lobbying government?
In March 2020 Google and Amazon opposed the governments budget for its 2% digital sales tax on UK revenues of search engines
What are lobbyists?
These are firms hired ti help target a group’s message between their clients and relevant ministers and officials
Who do former ministers who decide to work for lobbyist firms have to seek permission from?
ACOBA (the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments)
What is an example of a former MP working for a lobby firm?
In 2017, veteran Labour MP, Barry Sherman, became the chair of the not-for-profit lobbying firm Policy Connect
What do think tanks do?
They are specifically set up to undertake policy research and development, which in turn is published and used to push certain policy positions, which is often used by pressure groups with similar priorities
What is an example of think tanks being privately funded?
Lord Sainsbury donated £260,000 in 2016 to Progress, a centrist Labour think tanks
What are some famous think tanks?
The pro-free market Institute of Economic Affairs and on the left the Fabian Society, formally affiliated with Labour
What did the Policy Exchange claim credit for policy idea later taken by the government?
The policy ideas like elected police commissioners and the policy premium
Who did the Sun boast after the 1992 general election?
‘It’s The Sun Wot Won It’ after campaigning relentlessly against Neil Kinnock
Why is the traditional media more problematic than might be first assumed at being a pressure participant?
The circulation of national newspapers has roughly halved between 1992 and 2019
A change in ownership and editor can bring about shifts in political stance
There is evidence that newspapers often prefer to back winners
