The availability of access points is determined by the structure of government, party strength and government openness. The structure of the British political system, with its unitary state and limited separation of powers, is relatively closed, with restricted access available for pressure groups to obtain. This is in direct contrast to the USA, with strong federal and state governments, as well as a strict separation of powers. This creates numerous access points, and allows pressure groups to form Political Action Committees (PACs), to influence policy through donating money to a candidates campaign. Despite some well-exploited loopholes, these funds are limited to avoid one particular group, organisation or company obtaining excessive influence. This practice, however, is not the orthodoxy in Britain. Although large donations must be declared, there is no specific upper limit to the extent of a group or individuals generosity to a political party. Evidence of this was apparent in the run-up to the 1997 General Election, when the Labour party was offered £1 million from Bernie Ecclestone, the Chief Executive of the FIA. Thus, when the issue of tobacco sponsorship legislation was addressed in the Commons after the election, it was little surprise that its abolition was set back five years.
Local government in Britain is very dependent on central government, due to its reliance on central government for financial support, and its statutory powers being derived from Parliament. This means that at local level, pressure group activity will be directed at the way authorities implement central policy. Therefore, issues such as local transport and land development will be directed at local level. However, former Environment Minister Nicholas Ridley once referred to British localised pressure groups as having ‘NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) syndrome´, suggesting that these localised groups are only trying to restrict development in their area, rather than concerning themselves with the issue as a whole.
Although Parliament is bicameral, the usefulness of the House of Lords to a pressure group is minimal, due to its vastly diminished power. Private members bills, however, can often be very effective in promoting the aims of a pressure group. An example of effective pressure group activity behind a private members´ bill was the Abortion Law Reform Association, who campaigned for the liberalisation of abortion law in 1967. It is also possible for pressure groups to gain access to the executive and the judicial branches of government, yet this is less common. A radical example of judicial pressure was exerted by the Anti-Poll Tax movement between 1989 and 1991, through the adoption of a civil disobedience policy, culminating in a refusal to pay the community charge. They were taken to court and imprisoned, yet received huge publicity and support for their cause.
The relationship politicians have with the media is ambiguous at best. It has been used to both enhance and destroy political careers which gives a strong indication of just how powerful and dangerous a tool it has become. The media plays an extensive role in disseminating political ideology to the electorate and as a result newspapers, television and radio have become the predominant means of accessing such information. The growth of the media is synonymous with the growth of technology in modern Britain. As the interest of people in television has grown so too has the interest of politicians in the influential powers of the media. The media decides what is newsworthy and furthermore, the media controls the way in which news items are presented. As a result of this politicians today are becoming increasingly concerned with the image they present to the media. It could be said that they are giving media presentation precedence over their policies. The media has grown as a result of a democracy, and freedom of speech, which is conventionally a liberty of the British people. However, the general public has no means of validating media information, which is generally edited, simplified and often subtly biased. This re-edited information is, for many people, their only access to important issues that can shape their view of the world. Also politicians have encouraged the media in their use of 'spin doctors', 'sound bites' and the 'photo opportunity'. The use of the media has fast become an integral part of our political system. In recent years the role of the media has grown extensively. Since the introduction of cameras into the Commons in 1989 when Margaret Thatcher categorically stated that they would 'Damage the reputation' of the House, there has been a growing concern with the media's affect on politics. (Paradoxically, Thatcher sought the advice of an image consultant, employing Sir David Bell as her image-maker.) Many critics fear the influence of the media on political policy, in particular the way in which favourable election results can be gained through complimentary media presentation. The media is an influential force on the electorate and as a result politicians are utilising it as a means of accessing the constituents and gaining much-needed votes. During election campaigns newspapers are more obvious in their party alliances. Notably in the 1997 general election The Sun (18 March 1997) stated 'The Sun Backs Blair' as its headline. At other times this would have been an unacceptable display of bias because of the unwritten understanding that newspapers are not allowed to state their political affiliations. Newspapers generally portray their views through their editorials, comic strips and the way that they present a story, not with a large partisan headline. Effective political communications has always relied on easily understood slogans and phrases aimed at promoting and justifying the policy decisions of governments and their opponents. As a result of this politicians have become adept at manipulating the media for their own purposes. One of the more recent results of this manipulation is the greater use of the 'spin doctor' and the admission of the word 'spin' into our everyday language. Although politicians have long been accused of using popular language to curry the nation's flavours, it has been the Blair administration which has projected it into a new and powerful being. Nicholas Jones claims that the current government are the 'Sultans of Spin'. Select pieces of political information are announced with the objective of gaining the most public support. The attempt to manage the news has become more professional and more important as news coverage has grown and become more immediate.
It is clear from the development of pressure groups that they seek only to influence policy rather than control it. Pressure groups are forced to use different methods depending on who they are and what kind of status they have. This can occasionally lead to certain pressure groups obtaining a bad press, such as the IRA, who have attempted to influence policy through violence and terrorism. These acts are usually committed out of desperation, when influence has become almost impossible to obtain. However nowadays groups such as the IRA and the ALF are best known for their use of violent behaviour and in many cases terrorism rather than for the beliefs for which they stand. Whilst violence and acts of terrorism are sure to capture the medias attention it does not endear them or their cause to the public as a whole, nor does it in any way further their cause in political circles. It is arguable that pressure groups, particularly outsiders, create media attention out of weakness rather than strength, as they are unable to exert influence effectively with their existing level of support. Greenpeace, through their highly publicised demolition of fields of genetically modified crops in September 2000, have accentuated this notion, after being initially unable to persuade the government to suspend such production. Insider groups, which win acceptance by the government, have a privileged position over the outsiders on the periphery. Despite the attempts of Thatcherism to diminish the activities of pressure groups (particularly those from the economic and socio-economic genres), contemporary post-modernist Britain is providing a healthy catalyst for increased pressure group activity within democracy, specifically allowing environmental groups to flourish in both influence and popularity. Furthermore, with the European Parliament´s ever-increasing role as a decision-making institution, the scope for the development of ‘eurogroup´ activity is equally promising.
Bibliography
Budge I, Crewe I, McKay D and Newton K, The New British Politics Second Edition, Pearson Education Ltd, 2001
Forman F N and Baldwin N D J, Mastering British Politics Fourth Edition, MacMillan Press Ltd, 1999
Held D, Models of Democracy, Polity Press, 1987
Politics class notes
