Pressure groups revison notes

• Attitude cause groups- Aim to change people's attitudes on a particular issue- eg: Greenpeace seeks to change attitudes on the environment
• Political Cause groups- Aim to achieve certain political goals- eg: The Chartists put forward their People's Charter in the 19th century- Charter 88 (Electoral Reform Society) campaign for PR (proportional representation)
• Sectional Cause Groups- Protect a section of society- eg: Shelter works on behalf of the homeless, but its members are not all homeless

Classification by typology- strategy/status:

• Developed by Wyn Grant in the 1990s
• PROBLEM- both types of classification are not perfect- eg: insider/outside model addresses some of these weaknesses but ignores that fact that many groups operate as both- eg: Amnesty International (Ideological outsider) have influenced the gov and UN, therefore they have changed from insiders to outsiders and back

• Insiders:

• Core insiders- Have a two way relationship with policy makers (eg: politicians, MPs, MEPs, PM, civil servants) over a broad range of issues, and are consulted regularly eg: BMA NFU
• Specialist insiders- More focused and have a large input of expertise, they are trusted by the government and provide reliable and authoritative expertise, consulted less frequently, narrower area of expertise eg: WWF, MIND, Shelter
• Pherical insiders- Edge of insider status, they have the insider status but have little real influence due to the nature of their interest/cause eg: the Canine Defence League

• Outsiders:

• Potential insiders- Groups that would like to achieve insider status but have not achieved it due to the nature of their cause or inexperience, find it more difficult to reach decision makers eg: Charter 88 before 1997 (nature of cause)- Electoral Reform Society insider in 1997 as Labour consulted them over electoral reform for proportional representation
• Outsiders by necessity- They have no gov attention and have narrows aims, not seen as significant and include single issue groups and local groups who do not seek insider status and those not afforded insider status eg: CND, Fathers4Justice
• Ideological outsiders- Want to be impartial, do not want to become part of the system, their objectives require outsider status and with it full independence and freedom of action eg: Amnesty International, anti-globalisation groups , Occupy Movement- use direct action rather than lobbying

Similarities- PGs and Political Parties

• Formal organisations with specific goals
• Use campaigns to achieve their goals
• Use similar methods
• Seek to influence the existing system

Differences- PGs and Political Parties

• Attitude to government office
• Breadth of aims
• Legal status

Attitude to Gov Office:

• Political parties seek government office
• PGs seek to influence specific areas of gov policy
• Sometime put candidates up for election to seek publicity eg: the Referendum Party
• Can confuse their status eg: the Green Party are divided about whether they should be a political party or a pressure group

Breadth of Aims:

• Political parties hope to gain office so need to adopt policies to cover a whole range of national concerns
• PGs have narrower aims and don't concern themselves with the full extent of their proposals
• This can cause confusion between PGs and factions (common political purpose) within parties who seem to have narrow aims eg: the Bruges group (pro Europe) in the Conservative Party and TUC links with Labour

Success or failure?

1. Size:

• Govs more likely to respond to larger groups- more potential votes to be won/lost
• Sectional groups such as motorists or home owners are more likely to receive favourable treatment
• However- government attitude also plays a part eg: in 1980s gov should little sympathy to TUs (8 million members) or pensioners (approx 25% of population) but were sympathetic to homeowners
• Size on its own won't get you noticed

2. Government support/attitude:

• Govs are more likely to be influenced by large numbers of their own potential voters and to be less sympathetic to those who don't support them eg: 1980s Conservatives were unsympathetic to the unions but more sympathetic to homeowners
• PGs which can expect better treatment from one party than the other:

• Success/failure depends on gov in power
• Some groups likely to gain sympathy from the Lib Dems eg: groups supporting constitutional reform, those who campaign for the protection of individual rights, open gov or environmental protection and can be disadvantaged by the two main parties

3. Finance:

• Crucial factor- but controversial
• The availability of funds doesn't necessarily reflect the numbers of members or the justice of a particular argument eg: the worry over the financial muscle of large companies, such as the tobacco industry, gas and electricity companies, brewers and car manufacturers
• Use of funds-
• To finance political parties in return for sympathetic treatment
• To mount expensive campaigns to win public support ie: it is often claimed that gov refusal to ban all cigarette advertising or to end the brewers' virtual monopoly on public houses is because of lobbying by tobacco companies and brewers
• Raise awareness eg: ASH changes in attitudes
• Less money- lower profile

4. Organisation:

• New PGs have no public profile, usually lack funds and have yet to establish links with gov bodies
• They therefore need a strong organisation to achieve these, before they can present their case properly
• PGs that build u a strong organisation have an advantage over less formal, less organised movements
• Important features of a well organised PG are:

• A network to recruit members
• An organised system to raise funds
• Research facilities and staff
• Decision making procedures established and accepted
• Strong management structure to give direction
• Establish methods for creating publicity
• Formal links with governing bodies/Parliament

• eg: the fuel lobby- opposed to high petrol duties in Autumn 2000- used impressive logistical organisation using the internet to enable them to organise a large number of protestors across the country in a very short time

5. Strategic Position:

• Some sectional groups are in a special position because the community relies on them eg: the emergency services, gas and electricity producers, food producers
• Others are relied on by the government to implement key polices eg: large businesses, commercial enterprises, banks, financial institutions and the City are all important in the success/failure of financial policies. Similarly, the co-operation of the farming community is vital to policies related to food supply/pricing and the preservation of the countryside
• If the government relies on you eg: farmers you are more likely to be listened to

6. Public opinion:

• Public opinion can swing towards or against a particular issue
• Can swing due to successful campaigns by PGs
• Politicians are sensitive to such movements
• The combination of effective campaigning and sympathetic public can be a powerful combination leading to change in policy/legislation
• eg:
• Equal pay for women
• Controls over experiments on animals
• Poll Tax 1990- mass support BUT didn't win
• Reduction of the age of consent for homosexuals to 18
• Incentives to reduce harmful exhaust fumes
• Reduction in fuel duties
• Relaxation of alcohol licensing

7. Strength of opposition:

• Two or more groups often have opposing views and act as a counter balance to each other
• The role of the gov is then to act as an negotiator between competing claims
• Recent examples:

• Animal rights vs. the fur trade
• Anti-smoking vs. the tobacco industry
• Campaign for Real Ale vs. the brewers
• League against Cruel Sports (anti-hunting) vs. the Countryside Alliance (NFU support)

• The result of such struggles depend on the effectiveness of the campaign and the attitude of the gov
• In some cases the dice are loaded heavily in favour of one side

8. Achievability:

• eg: (a) local group campaigning for a pedestrian crossing outside primary school OR (b) CND putting an end to nuclear weapons- (a) is more achievable
• The more focused, specific and realistic the aims are the more achievable they are

Pluralism and Elitism:

Theories of P&E provide us with democratic models to explain how govs and groups interact with each other in the decision making process. Both P&E theories believe that groups are central to the decision-making process

Pluralism:

• Pluralist theories see power as being dispersed in society as a consequence of the existence of a large number of organised groups
• Groups and causes compete and compromise for resources and gov influence on policy
• Their collective weight requires gov to be highly responsive to citizens' needs
• Stress the significance of diverse social groups in the creation of public policy

• Groups compete with one another for influence and policy decisions made within well-functioning pluralist democracies are the product of a wide array of organised groups influences
• Many conflicting groups in society
• Different views
• Parties/PGs/Public opinion
• Govs decide on the policy after listening to the views of a wide range of these groups
• Power shared by large numbers of population
• PGs important- try to make views have impact on gov policy

Elitism:

• Instead of vast prolife of organised groups eliminating the chance of a few becoming dominant, those in an elite theory of democracy believe that a small number of powerful 'elite' groups heavily and disproportionately influence the decision-making process
• According to "The Power Elites" elite groups work to exclude others from the decision making process
• Challenges any notion that there is equality in the decision making process
• New technology can be seen as eroding the grip that power elites have traditionally held over the power in the UK- increasingly coordinated 'bottom-up' group activity in the form of online petitions, social network forums and successful direct action tactics challenge traditional decision-making processes
• Elite theories of democracy stress the importance of a small number of powerful groups that are referred to in the decision-making process
• Elite groups seek to preserve their hold on power at the expense of other groups

• Gov only takes notice/consults a few influential groups in society eg: industrialists/bankers/groups with real influence
• Views of ordinary people- little impact
• eg: Charles Wright Mills 1950s- "The Power Elites" which said certain groups influence policy decisions such as politicians, financers, military, police force- they work together to maintain the established order in society and the majority of the population have very little influence on decision making

Practice questions:

(a) Explain the term outsider groups used in the extract. (5 marks)

(b) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, identify and explain two reasons why

direct action has been on the increase in recent years. (10 marks)

(c) Evaluate the factors that can result in some pressure groups being more successful than

others. (25 marks)

(a) Explain the term access points used in the extract. (5 marks)

(b)Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, identify and explain two reasons why

pressure groups might wish to lobby at the European level. (10 marks)

(c) Pressure group activity in the UK presents a major threat to democracy.  Evaluate the

arguments in favour of this view. (25 marks)

(a) Explain the term lobbying used in the extract. (5 marks)

(b) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, identify and explain two

ways in which pressure group activity has changed in recent years. (10 marks)

(c) ‘Only wealthy insider groups can ever hope to achieve their main aims and objectives.’

Assess this view. (25 marks)

(a)  Explain the term mass media used in the extract. (5 marks)

(b)  Using your own knowledge as well as the passage, identify and explain two ways in

which pressure groups make use of the media. (10 marks)

(c) Despite widespread interest in their activities, pressure groups rarely have any

significant influence over government policy. Discuss. (25 marks)

(a)  Explain the term direct action used in the extract. (5 marks)

(b) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, explain why insider groups were

traditionally seen as having a greater influence over policy than outsider groups.

(10 marks)

(c) ‘Pressure groups are a vital part of democracy in the UK because they ensure that all

citizens have a political voice.’  Discuss. (25 marks)

(a) Explain the term cause groups used in the extract. (5 marks)

(b) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, consider why direct action could be

said to undermine UK democracy. (10 marks)

(c) ‘The most successful UK pressure groups still tend to focus on lobbying the Westminster

Parliament, despite the availability of numerous other access points.’  Discuss.

(25 marks)

(a) Explain the term pluralism as used in the extract. (5 marks)

(b) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, consider why issues of internal

democracy can affect a pressure group’s legitimacy. (10 marks)

(c) ‘Serpents that strangle efficient government.’  To what extent is this an accurate view of

pressure groups in the UK? (25 marks)