UK Pressure Groups Flashcards
How did Cameron lobby for Law firm Greenshil
Cameron texted Sunak asking him to send emergency funding to Greenshill capital which was a firm Mr Sunak had interest in before.
Cameron was set to earn as much as 60m from shareholdings
Which pressure group is based around not paying for energy bills
Don’t Pay UK
How did Rashford lobby?
Marcus rashford free school meals lobbying had lead to tory MPs critiquing the government who had not spent on the poorest who cannot afford meals and therefore they had lobbied to make sure that others can buy meals and feed themselvecs - caused bipartisan agreement
Which thinktank proposed the 4 day working week by Labour
Autonomy - 2019
Why are thinktanks often not always accurate?
The research is always made up of fresh university graduates such as Ed Milliband who had just joined the centre-left institute jsut after graduating
2 billion a year is spent on lobbying
f
Why do MPs try and estabilish good relationship with lobbyists?
Contact building for when they end their political career and join firms
Why do outsider groups choose to remain outside?
To remain ideologically pure
Are insider groups listened to mostly?
It depends, the Dog’s trust for example will not be largely acknowledged due to the niche but the WWF is specicialist knowledge and therefore they would listen to this group as well as the BMA.
What direct action did Plane Stupid do
At heathrow they glued themself to the floor
DO pressure groups enhance democracy?
Pressure groups often represent groups and causes that have been ignored by political parties.
They help to educate and inform the public about important issues.
They can act as a control mechanism against overmighty government.
They help to educate and inform the public about important issues.
How do pressure groups seem useless in terms of supporting democracy?
Pressure groups may undermine the authority of elected officials and Parliament.
If they are too powerful they may create so-called hyperpluralism, which can hold up the process of government by being too obstructive.
Pressure groups lack elective legitimacy and are not democratically accountable.
Some wealthy or influential pressure groups may have more influence than can be justified. The leadership of some elitist groups may not reflect accurately the views of their members
Do younger people engage with pressure groups more or less than political parties?
More - youth turnout is low at 47% in 2019.
What are chequebook members
Members who simply are apart of pressure groups just for the sake of financial contribution - typically older supporters.
Evidence would be nice here
Example of a waste of time of a petition
In January 2017, over 1.8 million people signed an e-petition attempting to stop US President Donald Trump from meeting with the Queen during an official State Visit. Critics argued that the ensuing debate was a waste of Parliament’s time.
