Pressure GroupsHow much influence do they

have?

What are Pressure Groups?

Pressure groups are informal political institutions that seek to influence the making and the implementation of public policy

What do they do?

They cover a broad spectrum from the large business with high level contacts at national and European level to the smallest local group

Can you name any Pressure Groups based on this information?

How do they influence?

Secret behind the scenes lobbying of politicians and influential figures Wynn Transport

Or

Highly visible protests Fathers for Justice Make Poverty History

Did you know…..

More people belong to Pressure Groups than political parties?

The study of Pressure Groups and influence is essential in understanding how the system works

Can you think of any ways PG’s are similar or ways they are different to Political parties?

Pressure Groups are different from political parties becauseThey do not normally contest electionsWhen they do, they do not aim to form a

GovernmentTheir campaigns are based on single

issue policies

Pressure Groups are similar to political parties becauseThey are based on representation and

participationThey form a mechanism for the expression

of people’s interestsThey influence Government and

Government policyProvide fundsSponsor candidatesInfluence the shaping of policies

Types of Pressure Group

Sectional Groups Based on the performance of an economic

function i.e. CBI, BMA, Law Society, NUT

Cause Groups Based on shared attitudes and values

i.e. Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Shelter Charter 88 etc.

Differences explained

Membership Purpose Extras

SectionalGroups

Limited to a shared background

To protect interests of members

May pursue other causes i.e. BMA – Ban Smoking

Cause Groups

Those sharing same background

Advance public welfare as perceived by members

Owns premises and employs staff

Insider vs Outsider groups

Insider Groups – Consulted on a regular basis by Government

Outsider Groups – Either do not want to be closely involved or are unable to gain Government recognition

Insider Groups

High Profile – Re-inforce contacts with Government through media contact

Low Profile – Behind the scenes contact with Government

Prisoner Groups – Unable to break free as either dependent on Government or public sector

Outsider Groups

Potential Insider – Groups seeking insider status, a change of Government can change status – i.e. Countryside Alliance

Outsider by necessity – Lack the political skills to succeed

Ideological outsiders – Objectives are at a varaince to social and political norms i.e. CND, ALF etc.

Political Relations with PGs

1979-1997 Conservative Govts, saw PGs as “Strangling Serpants” – Douglas Hurd

Curtailed TU powers Won great industrial battles such as 1984 Miners

Strike Professionals groups such as Doctors and

Teachers were seen as in need of radical reform therefore influence denied

Independent Schools, Private Health suppliers and housing associations flourished

Blair

The exemption of F1 from tobacco advertising had nothing to do with Bernie Ecclestones £1 million donation

ASH, BMA and several charities were in uproar

Links with the TU’s have weakened, despite Minimum wage and increased public spending on education and health

The Countryside Alliance

My Heroes!Marched on London in 1998, 2002 and

2004Marched against the ban on fox hunting,

loss of farmland to urban development, falling incomes, declining rural services

Supported by NFU, Clay Pigeon Assoc, Timber Growers Assoc and the British Field Sports Society

Direct Action

May Day Riots 2002…boo hiss…. Soap dodgers marching against capitalism and

the march of poverty Marched through City, destroying buildings, such

as McDonalds and defacing statues such as Churchill’s

City workers photocopied £50 notes and threw them out the windows to the protestors

Fuel Protestors 2000 – Hooray!.....blockading petrol stations

A new Social Movement

Wider focus than a single issue, national or even global in it’s outlook

No HQ, no staff, just groups linked by the Internet, global, anarchic and chaotic

Environmentalism is an example Pressure Groups i.e. Greenpeace Political Parties i.e. The Green Party Action – Protest and Direct, i.e. Rainbow Warrior They include a wide variety of ecologists,

conservationists, eco-warriors etc..

Victims of Social Movements

Iron Triangle of Global Capitalism

WTO IMF World Bank

Multi nationals

McDonald’s Coca-Cola Nike Texaco GAP Microsoft Disney

Core targets for all PG types

The Core Executive PM, Ministers, Civil Servants

ParliamentPublic OpinionLocal Institutions

So do PGs make the UK democratic?YES! Participation and Political access Improvement of Government

Information provided affects quality Pluralism – Freedom of Association

PGs serve as vital links between Govt. and Soc Assist in the dispersal of political power

Social Progress New issues to be debated, i.e. environmentalism

Social Cohesion Safety valve for grievances

Opposition Expose information, improving accountability

So do PGs make the UK democratic?Errr….No! Sectionalism and Selfishness

Only favour the well organised Anti-Parliamentary democracy

Insider groups may not work in public interest Elitism

Re-inforces existing class and power structure Pluralistic stagnation

Too many groups, lots of contrasting aims, can immobilise the system

Social disharmony and dislocation Intensifies feeling of injustice by highlighted groups

Failure of opposition