Discuss why pressure groups are sometimes criticised
Many people criticise pressure groups because they feel that they are too selfish, only worrying about their own issue rather than that of what the rest of the population might want or need. The putting forward of an agenda that looks good, but is costly to implement when there is an easier solution and would allow a greater number of people to benefit for a long is something that many feel is not responsible way to deal with issues. Many people feel that the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the subsequent occupy London movement which is has closed St Paul's, is ill placed, and that there are larger issues, such as the environment, which need the attention of the public more. This is truer of single-issue pressure groups than of larger groups, which have a wider view. The government tends to think for a longer term when planning their policies, but this is not always easy as policies are often hijacked and turned into something else. The recent allegations of phone hacking at The News of the World was turned by pressure groups such as Accuracy in Media, into a campaign for total reform of the media within the UK
Another key criticism of pressure groups is the power, which they hold. Due to the break down of trust for politicians after events such as the expenses scandal, people are looking towards other places to get their information on how the world is working. They feel that because pressure groups are not seeking power that they will give opinions that are free from bias and spin, such as that which political parties. And yet pressure groups do often present biased opinions. Unlike political parties, pressure groups are able to focus on a single issue to the point where they exclude other issues that will have an influence. Groups such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament often overlook that the fact that, in many cases, it is necessary for countries to have nuclear arms for defense against other countries where there is no chance that disarmament could ever happen. Much of the western world is for disarmament, and indeed, since the end of the old war, a great deal of nuclear arms has been removed from service. CND however, does not see how far the western world has come in relation to the disarmament of nuclear weapons, but in sated it sees how far this is left to go. While members of CND feel uncomfortable with the creation and ownership of nuclear weapons, on a practical level, most people feel that they are necessary. This shows how groups such as CND are representing the voice of the minority over that of the majority. Often the numbers that are used by pressure groups are incorrect, as they are missing out parts data and are done to prove a point rather than to show the truth. They are there to promote the causes of the group and the views of its' members. The campaign for rural England is another example. It has just 60,000 members, less than 1 in 1000 of the British population, and it still it feels that the issue that it represents is more important than the need for more housing. In 2007, the Guardian predicted that the UK needed 5 million more homes, and without using rural areas, such as those the Campaign for Rural England want to see protected, there is no way that these houses can be built. This single mindedness does however enable the groups to do more than if they were focusing on a wider picture. They are not running for office, all they are trying to do is represent this people that are members of the group, who are members because the think that what the group is doing is right, and so to this end, pressure groups, despite the heavy criticism that they get, are doing exactly what it is that they are meant to be doing.
