Pressure Groups
Definition: Organized groups whose aim is to influence public policy or
to protect or advance a particular cause or interest.
Pressure groups and political parties – parties seek to win public
office and from the government while groups seek to influence
public policy. Parties focus on the national interest whereas groups
may be concerned may be concerned with sectional issues/single
issues.
Types:
• Sectional or interest – its activities directly benefit its members. An
example, a trade union.
• Promotional or cause – the wider public is likely to benefit from the
issues the group will seek to have addressed.
• Other categories are insider and outsider. An insider group works
closely with the government, its goals are aligned with those of the
authorities. An outsider group are largely excluded from political
consultation and contact because its goals are counter to those of
the government.
Functions
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Representation
Participation
Education
Policy formulation and implementation
Targets of Pressure Groups: Methods
and Strategies
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Ministers and civil servants – these groups are at the center of the policy making
and implementation process. Governments consult groups because, they need
specialised knowledge and advise to inform the policy process; they need
cooperation so that implementation of policy is less problematic; they need a
sense of how the affected group would react.
Political parties - the UK has a system of party government and influencing party
policy can lead to influencing government policy. Parties are influenced through
funding and donations. However, the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum
Act 2000 requires disclosure of contributions from foreigners.
Parliament – groups lobby Parliament if they find it difficult to gain access to the
executive. Parliament is lobbied through private members’ bills, written and oral
questions, writing to MPs and peers, involvement in select committees’ inquiries,
etc.
Public opinion – strategies such as petitions, marches, destruction of property, etc,
are used to influence government indirectly by pushing issues up the political
agenda and to demonstrate the extent of public support for or against a particular
issue. The aim is to get the media attention and thereby gain wider influence.
European Union – lobbying of EU institutions has grown since Britain became a
member of the EU. The EU now extend its policy making in areas once under the
sole control of the British Parliament, e.g. the environment.
Factors Influencing Power
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Wealth – business groups are financially and economically powerful because they
are the main providers of employment and investment, can hire professional
lobbyists, make donations and run advertising campaigns.
Size – the advantages that size gives include, the likelihood of government listening
to the groups because numbers may mean success or failure at the polls; increase
subscriptions/donations can be used to fund causes/candidates (cheque-book
groups); the power to organize campaigns and protests. N.B. size does not always
guarantee success.
Organization and leadership – a well organized group is able to mobilise it human
and financial resources. Quality leadership has a number of advantages: political
skills, good political contacts, media and presentation skills and a high public
profile.
Government’s views – groups are more likely to succeed when government is
broadly in agreement with their goals. Groups’ whose goals are at odds with those
of the government are placed in the position of ideological outsider and likely to
change policy in the long-term rather than short-term.
Effectiveness of Opposition – It is more likely for
a group to fail or succeed because of the
strength or weakness of the forces that
oppose it.
Public support – pressure groups that enjoy high
public support have greater have greater
political influence than those with little
support.
Why have pressure groups become
more important
• The growth of cause groups – the growth of cause groups has been
linked to the idea of ‘new politics’ which has seen more people
becoming involved in political activities. New types of participation
include anti-globalization and cyber-activism. Cyber-activism refers
to political action based on the use of the internet, mobile phones,
etc.
• More access points – new pressure points have emerged in the UK
– Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly and Welsh
Assembly, the passage of the Human Rights Act 2000, EU
institutions.
• Globalisation – Business groups have benefitted greatly in an
environment. They are able to move production and investment
easily across borders thus forcing UK government to cut taxes and
reduce corporate regulation. As government relax their over-sight
of businesses, NGO’s or social movements have been established to
provide monitoring of businesses.
Decline of Pressure Groups
Importance of pressure groups not an idea universally accepted. An
argument for the decline of pressure groups based on two
developments:
• Prior to Thatcher’s administration 1979, there was a close
relationship between government and the key economic groups in
the formulation of public policy. The special relationship ended
because Thatcher was suspicious of trade unions and all organized
interests. In the era of free market ideas all successive
governments have tended to discourage any alliance between
themselves and pressure groups.
• Another explanation is that membership size does not mean group
activity. Many members’ participation is limited to their
contribution. Large numbers of people at marches seldom leads to
long-term political involvement. This condition is referred to as
‘lifestyle politics’.
Pressure Groups and Democracy
Theories of pressure groups: elitism and plurism.
• Elitism – Pareto and Mosca argue that democracy was a myth
because political power was always exercised by a privileged
minority or elite. They extend the argument further by claiming
that resources are unequally distributed and even in a
parliamentary democracy an organized minority will always be able
to manipulate and control the masses.
• Pluralism – a theory of group politics which states that I democratic
political systems various groups of competing interests exist.
Governments listen to the views of all individual groups and all are
able to influence the authorities equally.
The UK is said to have a pluralist political culture. The ensures that
pressure are tolerated and protected from discrimination so long as
they do not break the law, adopt racist ideas, incite others to
commit crimes or threaten the security of the state.
Pressure groups are said to enhance pluralism and make the
democratic system much more effective. Some ways
democracy is enhanced are:
• Groups keep government in touch with public opinion
between elections; they give a political voice to minority
groups and express concerns that are ignored by political
parties, e.g. global poverty, civil liberties, the environment.
• The growing membership of pressure groups helps to
undermine the argument that the UK is suffering from a
‘democratic deficit’. Single issue groups and the newer
cyber-based groups have proved very popular with young
people and grass roots activists.