the influence of pressure groups

Question 1

factor that affects pressure group influence - M

Answer 1

-membership
-large membership = more influence with gov.
-PGs with highly regarded membership are likely to have more influence on politicians, the public and the media e.g. BMA is made up of doctors whose professional expertise is widely respected

Question 2

factor that affects pressure group influence - R

Answer 2

-resources
-money funds offices, equipment, staff etc
-CBI has 13 offices across the UK which helps them to lobby government in the interests of british influence

Question 3

factor that affects pressure group influence - A

Answer 3

-aims
-limited and achievable aims are more likely to be met
-e.g. snowdrop campaign set up after dunblane massacre in 1996 and aimed to ban private ownership of handguns, and this was easily achieved by an act of parliament being passed a year later

Question 4

factor that affects pressure group influence - PS

Answer 4

-public support
-public support helps to convince politicians to support a PG’s cause
-e.g. there has been a growing public concern of climate change, which led to all major parties committing to mske the UK carbon neutral in their 2019 election manifestos

Question 5

factor that affects pressure group influence - M+S

Answer 5

-methods and strategy
-violent direct action is likely to alienate decision makers and the public
-e.g. SHAC group had used illegal methods such as falsely exposing staff of an animal testing comopany as paedophiles

Question 6

factor that affects pressure group influence - CE

Answer 6

-celebrity endorsement
-can bring publicity to an issue
-e.g. Marcus Rashford became an ambassador for FareShare (food distributors) and convinced the gov. to make a u-turn and provide more support for children from low income families by giving them free school meals

Question 7

factor that affects pressure group influence - LWPP

Answer 7

-links with political parties
-trade unions are very important to labour, and provided the majority of its funding for the 2019 election, but don’t always have guaranteed influence
-endorsement from a respected pressure group can boost a policy’s credibility e.g. in 2007 BMA supported labour’s smoking ban (indoors)

Question 8

factor that affects pressure group influence - LWG

Answer 8

-links with government
-PGs are expertise in their area which is helpful to government
-different gov.s are influenced by different PGs - e.g. labour are more influenced by trade unions than the tories

Question 9

factor that affects pressure group influence - RWTM

Answer 9

-relationship with the media
-PGs inform the media what they are planning so journalists can document it

Question 10

factor that affects pressure group influence - LV

Answer 10

-legal victories
-judicial review can force the gov. to change policy
-e.g. the stonehenge alliance took the gov. to court over its planned road and tunnel project at stonehenge, and in 2021 the high court ruled the development unlawful