democracy and participation: pressure groups and other influences and rights in context evidence

how do governments develop economic, industrial and trade policy

input from corporations, trade associations and business groups, such as the cbi (confederation of british industry representing over 100,000 businesses) and the institute of directors

what other groups are consulted by the government?

The bma and royal college of nursing both visit the department of health and groups representing teachers, schools, colleges and universities often are consulted by the department of education and science.

why is influencing ministers less effective

they have ideologies

why is influencing civil servants less effective

they are meant to be impartial and can’t decide what a government says or feels

how can working with parliament have an impact

asking mps or peers to introduce amendments to legislation, influencing how they vote, drafting private members bills, contributing to public bill committee and select committee reports

private member bill success example

the national autistic society’s ‘i exist’ campaign successfully persuaded mps to back cheryl gillian’s autism act in 2009, which ensures that the govt publishes and regularly reviews a strategy to meet the needs of autistic adults

giving evidence to committee success

In 2020 the runnymede trust, a race equality think tank, gave evidence to the education select committee about concerns over bias against bame and working class students affecting the calculations made for their grades, as covid 19 meant exams didn't happen

why aren’t these methods always successful

private members bills are not usually on political issues, govt doesn't have to listen to select committees, votes and public bill committees are whipped

what kind of group is labour’s biggest source of donations and how much

trade unions - in 2024 labour received £2.4m from 7 trade unions

where do tories get their money

donations from businesses and individuals, particularly in the banking, property and fossil fuels industries

think tank influencing party success

common wealth, which was established in 2019 with ed miliband on its advisory board, a think tank aiming to give workers more say in how businesses are run, led to the labour party adopting their policy of 10% of shares of big businesses being transferred to workers over a 10 year period for the 2019 election.

why is influencing parties less successful

ppera, the party needs to get into government

why was that think tank not very successful

jc never got into government so the policy wasn’t implemented

what is ppera

PPERA (political parties, elections and referendums act 2000)  means that parties have to reveal where their funding came from and bans some kinds of funding (eg from wealthy foreign individuals) altogether. This limits pressure groups ability to influence them with money

what was a widely supported outsider movement under Margaret thatcher

in 1990 the tories introduced the poll tax - a flat rate of council tax. It was in their election manifesto but widely opposed. 100,000 marched. It was hard to enforce the tax - there were public demonstrations and civil disobedience with people refusing to pay. The government used the force of the law and doubled down, which made protests increase. On 31st march 1990 there was a mass demonstration in london which included violent confrontations with the police. It became clear that the poll tax couldnt be enforced so margaret thatcher was removed and john major replaced the poll tax with the community charge

what was a widely supported outsider movement under Tony Blair

Stop the war coalition - at least 1.5m people marched in protest of the iraq war and at the next election tony blair lost 1 million votes and 48 seats

what is the coolest widely supported outsider movement

Pride - lgbtq community marched for various rights and acceptance, and since the first uk pride in 1972, section 28 was repealed, gay marriage was legalised, acceptance is much higher, among other achievements

what is a long lasting, unsuccessful movement with marches

the campaign for nuclear disarmament has held marches every year since the late 1950s but have been unsuccessful.

what is a more recent unsuccessful protest with marches

Protests against trump making a state visit to the uk - tens of thousands marched and petition got 1.8m signatures. He still made a state visit

what is a very important outsider movement that wasn’t initially successful despite wide support

The chartists in the 1840s - campaigned for rights for wc, especially voting. Submitted petitions to parliament in 1839 with 1.3m signatures and in 1842 with 3m but both were rejected. The movement declined but reform was introduced in the next few decades and working class men got the right to vote.

what is the coolest example of direct action and the result

a group of lesbians disrupted a bbc live broadcast in 1988 to protest section 28 - repealed in scotland in 2000 and england and wales in 2003

what very important movement used direct action and how

The suffragettes took part in direct action - attempted to storm parliament in 1908, chained themselves to government buildings, smashed windows, committed arson and went on hunger strikes in prison, and the fear that the movement would grow bigger was one of the reasons women got the vote.

example of direct action being less successful

just stop oil uses direct action tactics like road blockades and disrupting sporting events and are unpopular - only around 18% of people support just stop oils actions even though 65% of brits want to move away from fossil fuels as an energy source

how long did it take for one of the most important direct action groups to be successful?

Suffragettes formed in 1903 and didn't get votes for any women until 1918 or equal voting rights until 1928

successful judicial review for human rights related to terrorism

liberty, a pressure group advocating for human rights and civil liberties, has successfully used judicial review. 2003 - challenged a law that said anyone could be stopped and searched in an area for items that could be used for terrorism, even without reasonable suspicion. Echr ruled against it

successful judicial review for the environment

Clientearth brought a case to the high court alleging that the govt failed to tackle air pollution in 2016 - successful and theresa may committed the govt to taking meaningful action

failed environmental judicial review

case in 2014 against a high speed rail scheme HS2 - argued govt failed to follow rules assessing environmental impact, lost

failed judicial review for animals

2014 - the badger trust judicial review to stop culling badgers to prevent bovine tb failed

how successful is judicial review

in 2022 only 26% of cases that reached a final hearing were successful

widely supported but unsuccessful outsider movement under David Cameron

The March for the Alternative in 2011 had between 250,000 and 500,000 protestors, marching against spending cuts and austerity, but had limited impact on the cameron govt’s policy because they were elected on their promise to tackle debt and reduce the deficit, believing that would improve the economy after the financial crisis

what think tank was successful at influencing the Cameron government

the institute of directors (group representing business leaders) and the taxpayers alliance (think tank and lobbying group that campaigns for low tax) published a report called how to save £50bn, arguing for public spending cuts, and some of their proposals became part of govt policy - shifting funding of free tv licences to the bbc and reducing benefit cap from £26,000 to £20,000

what outsider movement was successful at influencing the govt in 2020

Marcus rashford spearheaded the campaign to get free school meals for children during holidays in the pandemic in 2020. He used an open letter to MPs, tv appearances and his 2.7 million twitter followers to force boris johnson to u turn on his policy and extend the use of vouchers to summer holidays.

why do governments listen to corporations

they have big impacts on the economy - provide a lot of employment and tax money, and they have expertise on certain areas

how much do corporations lobby govt

transparency international found that between april and june 2014, 8 out of the 10 most frequent lobbyists of uk ministers were from FTSE 100 corporations

revolving door example

facebook hired nick clegg as head of global affairs

successful think tank with money and good leadership

cps influenced thatchers policies of curbing inflation and privatising industries, and a cps pamphlet was the origin of the 2010 tory policy of raising the personal allowance for income tax (amount you can earn before paying tax).

successful lobbying firm with money and good leadership

hanbury strategy - cofounders both worked with Dominic Cummings

act to limit lobbying

The lobbying act 2014 ensures that professional lobbyists sign up to a register and disclose a list of clients 4 times a year.

how can more people influence the govt

social media

boris johnson unusual tax decision

in 2019, boris johnson said he was shelving the reduction of corporation tax from 17% to 19% because it was unpopular with the public. In 2021 the tories announced they would increase corporation tax to 25% in 2023 to help pay for the costs of the pandemic

failed group with good organisation and money

The bma is a well organised and fairly wealthy group due to membership fees, but were unsuccessful at protesting a new contract for junior doctors. Talks with the govt broke down in 2014, and junior doctors held six five day strikes in 2016, including a&e units in the last one (the first all out nhs strike). A compromise deal was created but rejected by junior doctors and they planned to strike, but they dropped those plans, therefore accepting the defeat and the contract.

how do governments decide whether to listen to a group

calculating possible electoral losses

child welfare successful campaign

The NSPCC’s flaw in the law campaign in 2014 led to the government making sending sexual messages to a child a criminal offence in the 2015 serious crime act.

NSPCC wealth

the NSPCC had an income of £117.9 million in 2018 - 19 - allows them to hire full time professionals to carry out campaigns

unsuccessful type of group under tories

The trade union movement has the largest membership base (6.4 million) and a substantial income and is able to organise protests, but wasn’t very successful under conservative governments from 2010 - 2024

small but successful pressure group

the howard league, a penal reform pressure group,  in 2019 had only 19 employees but was regularly consulted by the govt and the media, and was quoted by 500 media companies in one day.

how do pressure groups help minorities

when fighting elections, parties tailor their manifestos to attract the biggest groups who vote the most - both pledged to help the nhs in diff ways. Minorities are often too small for parties to focus on attracting their vote - underrepresented or may not be able to vote, such as children or ethnic minorities. Pressure groups supplement this

successful campaign for a small minority

Gurkha justice campaign got gurkhas (mostly nepali soldiers who fought in the british army) right to live in uk in 2004

problem with lobbying legislation

ignores in house lobbying, doesn’t regulate gift giving or use of the revolving door

problem with think tank legitimacy

hidden funding

two other problems with groups

many groups, excluding trade unions, don’t have internal democracy. some groups use direct action, such as blockades and violence - holding the public to ransom

how engaged do bame people feel

2022 yougov survey found that only 45% of BAME people feel engaged in politics

changing power balance example

The tobacco lobby was influential before 1997, but its power waned after an effective campaign from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and the health professionals’ community.

groups as source of research example

Groups can be important sources of polling and research - the polling and science of ASH helped to inform the 2006 Health Act, which was passed despite corporate lobbying from the tobacco industry.

two kinds of groups created to combat power of another group

Trade unions formed to combat the growing power of businesses, environmental groups now combat the power of fossil fuel corporations.

influential economic think tank

the Institute for Fiscal Studies - think tank for economic and tax policy, has been cited over 300 times in 2024 by government policy documents - known for rigorous and respected research

successful tory think tank

Centre for policy studies - research influenced margaret thatcher’s policies of curbing inflation, privatising industries, and curbing trade union power. Founded by Keith Joseph, a tory minister, in 1974

successful labour think tank

The fabian society, a think tank affiliated with labour, recommended making the bank of england independent, gordon brown did that as chancellor and it has kept inflation relatively low and prices relatively stable since. 

think tanks that don’t disclose funding

the Adam Smith Institute and the centre for social justice

think tank bad recommendations

Despite being backed by research, think tanks’ recommendations aren't always good or reliable. Liz truss implemented economic policies recommended by think tanks, like scrapping a planned rise in corporation tax (recommended by the institute of economic affairs) and scrapping green levies on energy (recommended by the centre for policy studies) and the uk stock market lost £300 billion in her first 30 days in office. 

examples of corporations that are influential

tesco, shell

effective corporation bloc example

British Bankers Association - tagline is ‘the voice of banking’, they have built up strong ties with government and expertise

what percentage of private sector workers are unionised

12.3% in 2023

two successful lobbying groups

the hansard society was influential in getting parliament televised, the national farmers’ union successfully lobbied the eu to have mandatory country of origin labelling on food

lobbyist scandal example

in 1998 lobbyist derek draper was caught by the observer bragging about links to 17 labour government members

overly powerful lobby

The alcohol industry is very powerful, winning health battles over advertising rules, minimum pricing and labelling with regards to health risks. In 2020 lobbying by UK Spirits Alliance and Scotch Whisky Association led to a continued freeze on taxes on spirits

recent successful judicial review

Courts prevented the Rwanda plan - the ECHR said it couldn't happen until British judges had time to examine it and the Supreme court unanimously ruled that it was unlawful - it violated the refugee convention

silly judicial review success

Civil partnerships were allowed for opposite sex couples following judicial review - freedom from discrimination and equalities act - 2019

policing judicial review

Police stopped from keeping dna and fingerprints of innocent people on file - right to private life - 2011

how good is the uk at complying with echr judicial review

good

argument against echr

many feel that its decisions bind the hands of parliament and have put the country at risk by making it harder to tackle terrorism and and deport foreign criminals and extremists

judicial review where the govt was defeated on terrorism

the law lords ruled that the labour policy of detaining foreign terror suspects indefinitely without change, from the anti terrorism, crime and security act 2001, violated the human rights act - belmarsh case

how did tories try to limit judicial review

31st july 2020 conservative government established an independent panel to see if the judicial review process should be reformed, pledged in 2019 to update the hra and administrative law to ensure proper balance

argument against foreign laws

There is a belief that the echr doesn't understand british thinking and traditions and that it has too much influence over british politics and rights.

how does parliament support human rights

joint committee on human rights - lords and mps, scrutinises govt decisions on compatibility with hra. 19th march 2020 - had an inquiry into govt response to covid

how have public bodies supported human rights

Public organisations like Mersey Care NHS Trust (developed safe spaces in severe mental  settings for for relatives to visit children) want to protect and respect rights

ehrc example

Equality and human rights commission protects and upholds equality and human rights. 2020 - investigations into antisemitism in the labour party and pay discrimination against women in the BBC

how did labour contravene human rights

anti terrorism, crime and security act 2001 (labour) indefinite detention for foreign terrorist suspects, ruled incompatible with the HRA in belmarsh case. prevention of terrorism act 2005 - introduced control orders, suffered two defeats, in 2007 because of 18 hour curfews and in 2009 because use of secret evidence to impose control orders denied right to a fair trial

how have tories contravened human rights

Investigatory powers act 2016 (tory) - detailed powers of law enforcement and intelligence and security agencies to obtain communications and data about communications. Ruled in 2017 that the government unlawfully obtained data from communications companies and didn't put in place operational safeguards, new law introduced in 2018 to improve safeguarding

how has the government more recently contravened human rights

Coronavirus act 2020 has been criticised for human rights violations such as liberty and the british institute of human rights, especially concerning rights of older adults, disabled adults, children, carers and those detained in mental health hospitals, because the government didn't provide enough explanations for every part of the act.

prisoners voting rights

howard league and prison reform trust campaign for human rights of prisoners, and helped to achieve the eventual removal blanket ban on prisoners voting after the echr ruled it was unlawful in hirst v uk in 2005

what has liberty done

protested terrorism acts and discrimination in policing

success of families of victims protesting human rights violations

Families and survivors of hillsborough stadium tragedy proved hr violations - state failed to adequately protect life, 96 deaths were unlawful.

human rights overly protecting suspected terrorist

othman (abu qatada) v uk (2012) decision - prevented him from being deported to jordan because the evidence against him was found using torture because right to a fair trial - received strong criticism in the media