Politics - UK Pressure groups

How have the British Medical Association (BMA) been acting recently?

Been a part of strikes to increase pay for junior doctors

What have the National farmers union (NFU) been fighting against recently?

The increase in inheritance tax on farms

What does BF stand for?

British Finance

What does BBA stand for?

British Bankers association

What department gives funding to historic England (HE)?

Department for digital culture, media and sport (DCMS)

What is the function of pressure groups?

Seek to influence policy-making and decisions

What do groups with longer term objectives seek to do?

Influence political agenda

Examples of trade unions which are close with labour?

Unite and unison

In 2015 what group chained themselves together against climate change?

Plane stupid

What groups have a close relationship with government departments and civil servants?

National farmers union and British medical association

What group successfully campaigned for short-term seasonal work visas for fruit growers could continue to hire seasonal labour from East Europe?

National farmers union (NFU)

What group have broken into labs against animal testing?

Animal liberation

What is a severe example of pressure group action?

Manchester Arena terrorism

Until Brexit what group had an important presence in Brussels?

National farmers union (NFU)

What insider group lobbied the government?

British bankers association

What group moved closer to political mainstream in the 1980s when protesting against illegality of homosexuality?

Stonewall

What groups have a bilateral relationship with policy-makers over a range of issues?

Core insiders e.g national political union (NPU)

What are periphal insiders?

Groups which focus on a nieche policy area

Example of a periphal insider and their impact?

SANDS got definition of stillbirth lowered from 28 to 24 weeks via stillbirth act 1992

What are specialist insiders?

Groups which focus on a narrow area of policy

Examples of specialist insiders?

British Meat and Poultry Fed

What are prisoner groups?

Groups which find it impossible to break away from insider status due to reliance on gov funding or because they are a public body

Why is it good for insider groups to have a close proximity to the government?

They have good channels of communication with the gov enabling informal lobbying to ensure their views are incorporated

Advantages of insider groups?

Usually well funded, often invited to take part in select or public bill committees

In 2013 what group give evidence to the health select committee inquiry into emergency services and care?

The King’s Fund

Disadvantages of insider groups?

Close relationship can diminish a groups independence, well funded doesn’t guarantee success

In March 2020 what outsider group provided evidence to the communities select committee on the cladding in the Grenfell Tower?

UK Cladding action group

What are potential insiders?

Groups which seek to be insiders but lack the experience and connections to achieve this

Example of outsider group that gained insider via a peaceful high-profile campaign?

The Gurkha Justice Campaign, celeb Joanna Lumley joined campaign

What are outsiders by necessity?

Groups which are forced to be outsiders due to cause or have violent actions or hard to achieve outcomes

Example of an outsider by necessity group whose objectives include stopping the costly replacement of the Trident nuclear submarine?

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

What are outsiders by choice?

Groups that don’t want a close relationship to the government as it could jeopardise their neutrality and objectivity

Advantages of outsider groups?

High-profile and illegal protests may increase awareness, imprisonment can show commitment, not restricted by the gov

Disadvantages of outsider groups?

Illegal protests may lead to negative publicity, some activists may face prosecution, can lack influence on gov

How have the actions of Just Stop Oil had a negative impact?

Their actions spurred the government to include anti-protest legislation in the Public Order Act 2023

How did River Action have a positive impact?

Their research was featured in a House of Lords report on river pollution and the Labour Party featured cleaning up rivers in its 2024 manifesto

Thanks to what pressure group did the Labour Party free early almost 3,000 prisoners by Oct 2024?

Prison Governor’s Association

What proportion of MPs though e-petitions had an impact on policymaking?

23%

How many people attended a pro-Palestinian rally in London in 2023?

300,000

How do pressure groups promote elitism?

Through insider status, some groups in society lack any pressure group with influence, some pressure groups are up democratic in structure

How do pressure groups promote pluralism?

Through social media, select committee often take evidence from a wide range of groups, many new pressure groups loosely structured, there are checks on powerful pressure groups

How do pressure groups help democracy?

Increase political participation, representative especially between elections, contribute positively to public awareness and knowledge

How do pressure groups hinder democracy?

they have no direct democratic mandate, many members barely contribute and membership may not be truly representative of public opinion

What type of people do pressure groups help to give a voice to?

Prisoners and asylum seekers

What type of pressure groups have become more democratic since the 1980 reforms?

Trade unions

Groups with what type of aims are usually successful?

Groups with popular aims

What campaign in 2000 with plenty of public support got the government to drop plans?

Raising the fuel duty

What insider group was the establishment of a Police Covenant party due to?

The Police Federation

What pressure group listened to public opinion and put pressure on politicians to change the law and ban the private ownership of all handguns by passing Firarms Act 1997?

The Snowdrop Campaign

What group has a large membership?

The national trust

What professional lobbying firm tried to deflect the debate about HS2 away from the environmental impact and onto the economic benefits?

The campaign for high speed rail hired Westbourne communications

In the COVID-19 crisp what celebrity led a successful campaign to secure free school meal vouchers for children in low-income families?

Marcus Rashford

What group helped to overturn the ban of sending books to prisoners with support from media and bestselling authors e.g Philip Pullman?

Howard League for Penal Reform

What group won a case against the UK gov to end the ‘right to rent’ scheme which required landlords to check the immigration status of tenants in 2019?

The Joint council for the welfare of immigrants

How are insider groups more likely to succeed?

Due to low-profile approach or lobbying and meetings with ministers and officials

What group found it easier to exercise influence under the Blair government as he prioritised tacking the issue of child poverty?

Child poverty action group

What groups struggled during the hostile political and cultural atmosphere under the 1997-2010 labour government?

Pro-hunting groups

What other factors can influence pressure group success?

Celebrity endorsement, eye-catching publicity stunts, collaboration with other groups

In the current political climate what type of groups are unlikely to succeed?

Anti-capitalist groups like Occupy movement

What approach can generate publicity but is also seen as counterproductive?

Violence and disorder

What group organised huge rallies against the 2005 invasion of Iraq was unsuccessful due to the governments commitment to current policy?

Stop the war

What group faced strong opposition from gay rights groups like Stonewall?

The coalition for marriage

Pressure participants definition?

Groups that seek to influence policy but aren’t necessarily pressure groups with formal structures and members

Examples of pressure participants?

Lobbyists, think tanks, media and corporations

Why are think tanks set up?

To undertake policy research and development which is published and used to push certain policy positions

Who are think tanks research used by?

Pressure groups with similar priorities

Who are think tanks funded by?

Privately fu Dee by businesses or wealthy individuals

In 2016 who donated £260,000 to Progress (a centrist Labour think tank)?

Lord Salisbury

A report in 2019 found that 11 right-leaning think tanks received how much?

£15.5 million

How much went to 8 neutral think tanks?

£35 million

Example of a left think tank?

Fabian society

What neutral think tank specialise in policy research in international relations?

Chatham House

What think tank claimed credit for many policy ideas taken up by the gov e.g pupil premium?

Policy Exchange

In 2018 what think tank published a report ‘A woman-cantered approach’ which called on the gov to scrap 5 new plans for women’s prisons and replace with community-based alternatives?

The centre for social justice

How do corporations have influence over the government?

Pay large amount of tax to the government and they can threaten to move abroad

What lobbying carried out by corporations was successful?

Freezes on tax and VAT

What tax did the government implement in 2020 despite opposition from powerful firms such as google and Amazon?

A 2% digital sales tax

What is the role of lobbyists?

Firms hire them to give advice from professionals with experience in a field

What are lobbyists successful in?

low profile work

What low profile lobbying firm worked with charity Jo’s Cervical cancer trust from 2006-8 to implement a human papilloma virus immunisation programme?

Morgan Roberts

What is a failure amongst lobbyists?

The revolving door syndrome due to potential for corruption

What labour MP became chair of lobbying firm, Policy Connect?

Barry Sheerman

What happened after the ‘cash for access’ scandal?

A registered for MP’s who double up as lobbyists

What was the Sun’s headline after Labour’s victory in 1992?

‘The Sun Wot Won It’

What did the Sun say about Corbyn in 2019?

‘Here’s why Corbyn is unfit for No.10’

What can change the political stance of a newspaper?

A change in ownership

Example of newspapers backing winners?

Blair in 1997-2010

When had the circulation of national newspapers roughly halved due to a rise of social media and the internet?

Between 1992 and 2019

Whose ownership of Express in 2015 led them to be eurosceptic and back UKIP?

Richard Desmond

Why did Twitter accuse the Tory’s of misleading the public?

As they changed their twitter account to factcheckUK

Pluralism definition?

Where all groups have equal opportunities to campaign and be heard

What is elitism?

Where pressure groups hinder democracy as groups with the best resources and connections have disproportionate influence

Quango definition?

A semi-public administrative body outside the civil service but receiving financial support from the government

Examples of Quangos?

BFI, public health England

Access point definition?

Places pressure groups go to exert influence

Countervailing forces definition?

Equally powerful groups that work against the cause and objective of another pressure group

How many acres of land does the national trust own in the UK (minus Scotland)?

600,000 acres

Key objectives of the national trust?

Preserving the nations countryside and historical properties, promoting nature conservation and lobbying the gov on issues like climate change

Example of a senior official in the national trust who was previously a senior civil servant in the home office?

Dame Helen Ghosh

How does the national trust have ties with political establishment?

As it has rights to declare its land unalienable under various acts of parliament