Evaluate The View That Think-Tanks, Lobbyists And Pressure Groups Have Little Impact On Government Decision.

Introduction

• Pressure Group = a group of individuals that try to persuade corporations/government to their point of view 

• eg. Just Stop Oil who aim to convince the government to commit to environmentally friendly policies

• Think Tanks = A body of experts brought together to collectively focus on a certain topics and to offer solutions

• eg. the right wing think tank, Reform

• Lobbyists = paid by clients to try to influence the government to act in their clients’ interests

Paragraph Focus

• Para 1 = Insider Pressure Group

• Para 2 = Outsider Pressure Group

• Para 3 = Think Tanks and Lobbyists

Para 1 - Weaker Argument = Have Significant impact

• Insider Pressure Groups exert influence on UK politics through the close contacts they have with . government departments, MPs and civil servants.

• Due to being aligned with the government politically, they often have close links with government departments

• therefore, they can directly lobby the government in order to try and achieve their aims.

• The National Farmersʼ Union, for example, had close links with the DEFRA under the Conservative Party

Para 1 - Stronger Argument = Overstated Impact

• eg. The National Farmers Union had very close ties with DEFRA under the last Conservative government

• However, since the Labour Government has been in office, their influence over policy has declined

• This shows how a pressure group's status, and alignment with government direction, is crucial to allow them to exert influence over policy

• This also makes Insider Pressure Groups very dependent on the political leanings of the . government of the day and can quickly become outsider groups and lose their influence

Para 2 - Weaker Argument = Have Significant Impact

• Outsider Pressure Groups seek to exert over government policy by mobilising public opinion and support through the use of the media, public protests and other non-discrete methods.

• They are able to raise the salience of an issue in UK politics and put pressure on the government to change policy.

• This can be seen in the success of protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza that took place consistently in London throughout 2024, with over 100,000 attendees.

• The public pressure and anger demonstrated by this social movement played a key role in the Labour Governmentʼs decision in September 2024 to suspend some of its arms export licences to Israel

Para 2 - Stronger Argument = Limited Impact

• Eg. January 2025, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the Government would support a 3rd runway to be built at Heathrow Airport. 

• This comes despite sustained opposition and campaigning from environmental pressure groups since 2003, such as the "No Third Runway Coalition".

• This shows how pressure groups only have influence on policy if they align with the Government's aims, despite having large membership and many resources.

• In this case, their views don’t align with the government’s attempt to boost growth in the UK economy.

Para 3 - Weaker Argument = Think Tanks and Lobbyists

• Eg. In December 2024, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed that the government would consult on weakening or reversing the Electric Vehicle mandate

• Elon Musk's corporation Tesla lobbied the newly-elected labour government in the summer to keep the EV mandate and extend it to lorries

• This shows how corporations on either side of the debate lobby the government to try and ensure that policy helps their business interests

• Eg. (think tanks) In late 2023 and early 2024, it has been reported that the Tony Blair Institute For Global Change, has been consulted and had considerable influence on Labour Party Policy under Keir Starmer

• they can influence the policies of parties and the actions of government, particularly as they have strong political leanings and party allegiances

Para 3 - Stronger Argument = Less Significant Impact

• eg. 2024, the UK Parliament passed the Tobacco and Vapes Act, with 383 MPs voting in favour and just 67 voting against, despite intense lobbying by the tobacco industry for MPs to vote down the bill

• This shows the limits of lobbying’s success if it goes against clear government intentions and popular policies.