Access to expert information
Certain groups enjoy success as a result of their unique status which allows them significant influence over the government by necessity. Insider groups such as the BMA, the AA and ACPO (the Association of Chief Police Officers) have specialist knowledge on certain issues and so are trusted by the government and able to present their cases. These groups are taken seriously by ministers and are successful due to their acceptable strategies, tolerable nature and moderate methods. The Institute of Directors were instrumental in allowing Margaret Thatcher to push through her radical economic policies in the 1980s - their expertise in financial and economic matters ensured a close and successful relationship with the government.
Finance
Being wealthy is no guarantee of a group's success, as the tobacco lobby has discovered over smoking curbs, but it can yield positive results. The Electoral Commission, in its report on the 2005 general election, noted that some £20 million had been donated to political parties towards their election expenses. Clearly the groups that spent this money felt that it could lead to favourable outcomes. Donations to political parties do not represent the only use of money, however. Those groups that have considerable funds can mount expensive campaigns to press their cause. Many industries, such as farming, oil, tobacco, supermarkets and banks, spend large sums on lobbying behind the scenes and on public campaigning. This is not to say however, that wealthy groups will be successful automatically. Large trade unions, for example, have considerable funds available for political purposes, but with an unsympathetic government, even this can be futile.
Size
We have seen above how large some groups have become. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (1 million members), Friends of the Earth (200,000) and the Countryside Alliance (100,000) all claim influence through the weight of public opinion. If we consider the two major motoring organisations - the AA and RAC - as pressure groups, we can see how much leverage they have, since both have several million members. The private motoring lobby has a considerable advantage as so many of us are motorists.
Size often translates itself into finance and also voting power. The recent success of groups which represent the elderly - Age Concern and Help the Aged - can largely be put down to the fact that this age group votes in much larger numbers than the rest of the population. Turnout among pensioners is usually 70-80 per cent, compared with less than 40 per cent among the under-thirties.
Of course, there is no guarantee that a large pressure group will be successful. As we have seen, trade unions have fallen out of favour with governments from both parties, so even the biggest unions, such as UNISON (1.2 million members working in the public services) and AMACUS (1.1 million general workers), do not 'punch their weight' in political circles as they used to do before the 1980s.
Organisation, leadership and membership
The ability of a group to organise successful demonstrations, to raise its public profile and to persuade its members to take visible action, can replace both size and finance as factors in success. The Countryside Alliance, Fathers4Justice and Live Aid are all examples of movements that have been successful because they have been well led and have captured the imagination of the public and the media. Images of these and other similar groups appear regularly on our TV screens. Careful planning and organisation are behind their successes.
The quality of a pressure group's organisation and leadership is clearly an important factor. Pressure groups with a strong and logical organisational structure tend to be more effective, and it is often those that take advantage of an issue gaining sudden prominence that are then able to achieve success. An example of this is the Snowdrop Appeal group, which mobilised itself very quickly to take advantage of the anti-gun sentiment that swept the country in the months that followed the massacre of school children in Dunblane in 1996. They were able to use the pressure of the upcoming general election to ensure one of the parties took up the cause, and Labour was keen to exploit what was seen as an inadequate response from John Major's government. Also, as with any organisation, leadership is central. Leaders provide direction and focus and act as figureheads in the media.
In addition, the nature of the membership of a group can influence its success. Friends of the Earth has a solid middle-class support base: it has an acceptable, moderate face uses restrained methods of persuasion. Greenpeace has a much more radical, uncompromising and grassroots support base: it uses extreme, militant or excessive methods. Friends of the Earth find themselves regularly consulted on environmental issues, Greenpeace does not.
It is also worth noting that professions represented by a multitude of different groups all vying for influence can find the overall message being diluted. Teachers have several different, often conflicting unions, and this weakens their ability to campaign effectively. GPs have only one union - the British Medical Association - and this unity makes them more likely to be taken seriously.
Opposition groups
It is often the case that groups are faced by adversaries who are arguing the opposite case. When this happens, pressure group activity becomes battle of wills and the result is uncertain. (Where a group is lucky enough to have no serious opposition, such as old-age pensioners, poor families and financial establishments, there is a greater chance of success.) The table below shows some examples of how such groups line up against each other.
Group Opposing force(s)
Action on Smoking and Health The tobacco industry
Private Motoring Lobby Environmentalists / Pro-public transport campaigns
Trade Unions Employers/Business groups
Farming Industry Free trade campaigners
Countryside Alliance Anti-hunt lobby
Animal Rights Groups Pharmaceutical industry
These groups which face powerful opposition have to hope they can capture the attention of government and attract the support of public opinion. But they do have special problems that are not faced by other groups.
Insider status
There is no certainty that insider groups will be more successful than outsiders, and it would be a mistake to assume that insiders are always treated favourably. However, a key factor affecting the power of a pressure group is whether they are campaigning within the government system or whether it is an external campaign. There is no doubt that those groups that have regular contact with government and Parliament do enjoy some advantage. Being an insider group allows regular access to ministers, MP's and civil servants. It can be argued that this closeness with the political establishment gives them an advantage and therefore a higher chance of success. However, this inside status does not come without a cost. To maintain a relationship like this, a group needs to conduct itself in a way that prevents any embarrassment of politicians, which puts into perspective how independent such groups really are. Many pressure groups avoid becoming to close to politicians for this very reason allowing them to keep the integrity of their cause.
Celebrity involvement
Most groups attempt to gain endorsements from well-known celebrity. One well-placed individual or one useful photo opportunity, can replant huge amounts of finance and public support in terms of influence. Indeed, in 2004-05 celebrity chef Jamie Oliver single-handedly won a commitment from government to provide more funding for school meals. Elton John has campaigned for many years on behalf of AIDS charities, Princess Diana raised awareness of the victims of landmines and Bob Geldof has become a legendary leader of various campaigns on behalf the world's poor and disadvantaged. What lies behind the success of the groups with celebrity support is the fact that such success can be achieved by any movement which is able to capture the public imagination.
Timing
Timing can also be very important as a well-supported pressure group putting pressure on the government in the run up to a general election might be hard for the competing political parties to resist. Sectional interests such as motorists or parents are, therefore, likely to receive more attention, simply because the government feels it is unable to ignore the interests of such a large group of society at that particular time (see previous note on pensioners). This is not always the case though, as shown in the 1980s when despite rising unemployment the trade unions, representing millions of workers, did not serve as effective pressure groups amidst appalling manufacturing decline. Liberty, however, has only 5,000 members but has successfully campaigned for the European Convention on Human Rights to be included in British law.
