pressure groups/think tanks have little influence

Question 1

select committees

Answer 1

-the results of these cross-party investigations are public and usually require a response from government (60 days to respond)
-these are a key access point for pressure groups to influence legislation
-e.g. 2015, Fawcett Society, submitted briefings to the Women and Equalities Committee on the gender pay gap influencing the committees recommendations and eventually government policy

Question 2

select committees evaluation

Answer 2

• Only 40% of Select Committee recommendations are accepted the government,select committee recommendations are not binding. Real power lies with the government, not Parliament. e.g. Liberty’s evidence on bulk data collection in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 was ignored by the government.
• Ideological outsiders stand no chance of influencing the legislative process. Viva – a vegan charity – are unlikely to influence a right-wing Conservative government placing a strong emphasis on the importance of meat and dairy farming

Question 3

judicial review

Answer 3

-pressure groups play a key role in protecting civil liberties in the UK, liberty for example uses judicial review as its main method of influence
-2022, liberty challenged the investigatory powers act 2016 arguing bulk data collection violates HRA 1998
-other groups e.g. public interest lawyers use judicial review, they helped Catherine Reilly with the legal fees for the poundland case

Question 4

judicial review evaluation

Answer 4

The UK judiciary is in a weak position to protect civil liberties. This is because it can only interpret the law – which is set by Parliament. Tony Blair often responded to rulings against his government by simply introducing new anti-terrorist laws such as the Terrorism Act 2006 that expanded detention without trial for terrorist suspects to 28 days. In turn, this means that pressure groups that utilise judicial review such as Liberty are often powerless once the government amends the law.

Question 5

corporate ‘capture’

Answer 5

-corporations seek to capture government to maximise profits
-Cameron-Greensil affair highlights revolving door in british politics, cameron was paid a substantial amount by a private firm to use his connections as former PM to lobby chancellor Sunak via Whatsapp
-this is important as it gives corporations an elite degree of influence and access, non-elite do not have
-a quarter of tory MPs have second jobs worth more than £4mil a year

Question 6

corporate ‘capture’ evaluation

Answer 6

• Despite high-profile cases such as David Cameron and Owen Patterson, most MPs refuse to take a second job and reject corporate money. There
  is a misconception that the entire political class of MPs are on the take.not true: 200 of the 650 MPs hold second jobs.scandals such as the Expenses Scandal of 2009 and the Second Jobs Scandal of 2021 have made MPs more wary of taking corporate roles. What’s more, the law states that those that do are strictly forbidden from getting paid in return for advocating a particular matter in Parliament.

Question 7

influencing policy and leadership

Answer 7

-big business offers support to the Conservatives, £5.6 mil in donations in 2019, unite donated £3 mil to Labour in 2019
-pressure groups expect policy concessions in return for their support
-conservatives cut corporate tax from 28-18% during the 2010s
-lobbying can also be effective to influence policy e.g. 1997-2001 lobbying by liberty led to HRA 1998

Question 8

influencing policy and leadership evaluation

Answer 8

• Prime Ministers prioritise their own political survival or the national interest over pleasing pressure groups. e.g. Blair became less receptive to lobbying by the civil liberties pressure group Liberty during the era of terrorism.
• Opposition leaders don’t hold significant power in the UK system. Hence,if your endorsed leader is in the minority in Parliament, they can’t influence legislation e.g. Corbyn’s 2015 was largely down to support from pressure groups such as Unite,nevertheless,Corbyn’s influence in Westminster from 2015-20 was minimal.