Some pressure groups and The methods they use, are more successful than others. Discuss Flashcards
Intro
There are many methods pressure groups may use to gain attention from the government. This essay will provide a detailed analysis on similar government views, expert knowledge, public opinion and media coverage. Although all of these methods can be successful to some extent in gaining attention from the govt in this essay it will be argued that the most successful method is having similar views to the government, this is because both insider and outsider PGs are more successful when having similar views to the govt.
Similar government views
The first method pressure groups can use is to have similar views to the government. PGS can be more successful at influencing the government’s decision making if their views are more similar to govt. therefore the success of a PG will often depend on which party is in the govt. E.g. the Taxpayers Alliance have successfully lobbied the UK Govt. on key economic policies such as to cut corporation tax, as the Conservatives Govt. have been more sympathetic to their views than the previous Labour Govt. PGs whose aims are strongly opposed by the govt have much lower chances of success. Eg. CND, who want the UK to disarm its nuclear weapons, have had very little success because their aims have been opposed by successive UK governments, and have had to resort to ‘direct action’ to have their voices heard. Another factor which can play a part in this is that different governments have different views so some PGS may be more successful than others in a certain country. E.g. Alcohol Focus’ campaign for Minimum Unit Pricing was successful in Scotland but not in England which may be due to SNP’s more collectivist approach to tackling health inequalities. The view of the government is important in determining the success of a PG because government ministers don’t need to consult PGS when making laws so being asked to consult the government will largely depend on if the pressure groups views are in agreement or disagreement with the government’s views. Overall having similar views to the government are very important to the successfulness of PGS because if pressure groups don’t have the same views as the government, then the government can just ignore them and not take Action.
Expert knowledge
Another method pressure groups can use to gain attention from the government is expert knowledge. A PG with a high level of knowledge in a particular policy area is more likely to be an ‘insider group’ and tends to be more successful at lobbying the govt. these groups can be beneficial to the government as the government is often reliant on them to access information when making policies.BMA, which represents doctors, is regularly consulted by the govt. on health policy. However, having expert knowledge does not necessarily guarantee success for all PGS. This example of the BMA shows that despite having experts it still may not be enough to influence a government successfully. Especially in areas like the NHS where a govt minister (or the govt) already knows / has strong views on the topic. The govt is less likely to be persuaded by the experts in more politically divisive issues as the govt has already made up their mind on the issue. Eg. in 2012 the Health and Social Care Act which made significant reforms to the NHS was passed despite the BMA’s opposition to some of the reforms. This is important because it means you are more likely to be an insider group but being an insider doesn’t mean you are always listened to especially when it goes against the government views. There is no guarantee they will be successful all of the time as other factors may be more important such as the strength of the govts views. Pressure groups can be successful because they have expert knowledge on an area where a minister not meaning they would have to listen to the pressure groups which can influence the government minister to do something they otherwise wouldn’t have done.Having expert knowledge is a benefit as the government effectively need something from a pressure group creating an opportunity to influence them.
Public support
Another method pressure groups may use to attain attention from the government is having public support. A PG which has a high level of public support tends to be more successful, even if they are outsider and the govt opposes its views. This can often be successful as having public support will cause the govt to judge how much damage they may possibly face to their reputation if they don’t act upon a pressure groups demands. E.g. the Hillsborough justice campaign was eventually successful in its campaign for police documents relating to the Hillsborough disaster to be released following a petition with over 140,000 signatures and huge public support. However, despite having public support a PGS actions may not always influence change on govt policy as other factors such as the strength of the govts opinions on the issue can ultimately be more important. In 2019 a petition to stop Brexit was signed by 6 million people – the largest ever in the uk however this was unsuccessful as brexit still went ahead due to govts. fixed mindset on what they wanted. Public support for your PG. is helpful as it means there is a larger potential of the government taking action as way more people are pressuring the government. However, if the govt. has strong opinions on an issue, it is unlikely that they will consider the public’s views because they only care about their Own.
Media coverage
Another method pressure groups may use to attain attention from the government is media coverage. Having high levels of positive media coverage can gain strong public support and in turn influence the government especially if it gains celebrity endorsement. For example, the UK government made a U-turn on providing free school meals during the holidays after footballer Marcus Rashford’s child food poverty task force gained substantial media attention. At the same time pressure groups with negative media coverage are usually not as successful in influencing the government. Despite the media attention extinction rebellion gained helping to push climate change further up the political agendamore importantly it received negative coverage for resorting to direct action to be heard which caused a huge loss in public support as they blocked some of Londons busiest roads and distributed flights at Heathrow. This hugely impacted the success of the pressure group as it then gave the government a perfect reason to largely ignore the XRs aims. And as a result, XR have now been placed on the UK’s counter terrorism list massively impacting their image as a pressure group. It is important to remember that positive media coverage can also very often have little effect as other factors can be more important. For example, BLM has received High levels of positive media coverage and is supported by many celebrities, most notably footballers – but it has failed to have significant impact on government policy. Overall positive media coverage is important because if more people agree on an issue, it can collectively put more pressure on the government whereas negative media coverage will cause the government to possibly argue that if even the media cannot cover a pressure groups argument why should the government consider it
Conclusion
In conclusion all of the factors listed above can be beneficial to a pressure groups efforts to be recognised by the government. Having expert knowledge is a benefit as the government needs to rely on the pressure groups information to affect policy decisions. Having positive public support will mean more people are standing against the government whereas negative public supports create a poor impression on the public of a pressure group. Having positive media coverage means the government are being held accountable and so have to take action. However, having similar government views is most important as no matter how many other factors a pressure group has if the government don’t even share the same view as the pressure group, they will not be considered in the first place resulting in no change
