Term
| What is a pressure group? |
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Definition
| A pressure group is an organized group of people who do not stand for elections, but hope to influence the government or other decision-makers. Pressure groups tend to have a narrow issue focus and are bound together by shared interests or a common cause. |
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Term
| Explain how Political Parties + Pressure Groups are similar: They are both a type of club. |
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Definition
| Both consist of members who share a broad aim or set of beliefs. They also maintain a united position amongst their members on the basis of a common purpose or ideology. E.g. the Labour party can be described as a club of people who share a set of beliefs relating to socialism, and the Stop The War coalition were a group of people who believed that the UK shouldn't be in Iraq. |
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Term
| Explain how Political Parties + Pressure Groups are similar: They both help to inform and educate the public. |
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Definition
| Pressure groups educate the public by informing them on issues that they are trying to combat and explaining and justifying beliefs which they uphold. Political parties educate the public on policies and issues in their manifestos as to convince the electorate to vote for them by giving justification and explaining these issues, and because British politics is highly adversarial, policies are often well debated. |
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Term
| Explain how Political Parties + Pressure Groups are similar: There are examples of political parties that have emerged from pressure groups which suggests a degree of similarity between the two. |
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Definition
| For example the Respect Party emerged from the Stop The War pressure group which was around in 2004/2005. |
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Term
| Explain how Political Parties + Pressure Groups are similar: There are cases when a political party is very closely related to a political party. |
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Definition
| For example, the Labour Party and trade unions were very closely linked up until Blair's formation of 'New Labour'. |
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Term
| Explain how Political Parties + Pressure Groups are similar: Some political parties seem to be little more than a pressure group. |
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Definition
| For example, the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party which is a party with very narrow aims which only focus, and focus very strongly, on the betterment of the lives of senior citizens in Scotland. All their policies are focused on the single issue of quality of life for Scottish senior citizens. |
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Term
| What are the differences between a pressure group and a political party? |
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Definition
| A pressure group doesn't stand for office, a political party put up candidates for elected office. All parties are obligated to published a manifesto, pressure groups never have to. Pressure groups usually focus on a single issue or a series of narrowly-defined issues, in contrast to political parties who have a very wide range of issues. |
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Term
| What is an insider pressure group? |
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Definition
| Insider pressure groups are pressure groups the government considers respectable and well informed, and with which it likes to be associated. They are seen as having political legitimacy with the government of the day. They are usually given direct and frequent access to ministers and government departments, and when a government is drafting a policy or a new law an insider group would expect to be consulted by the government and have its views taken very seriously. E.g. the NFU (National Farmers Union) The govt. worked very close with them in the foot and mouth crisis of 2001 in order to develop a policy addressing it. |
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Term
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Definition
| An insider pressure group that works closely with government and is consulted regularly across a broad range of policy areas. |
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Term
| What is a Peripheral Insider? |
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Definition
| This an insider pressure group whose area of expertise or interest is so narrow that government would only rarely consult its members. |
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Term
| What is a Specialist Insider? |
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Definition
| This is an insider pressure group that the government consults only across a narrow range of policies. |
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Term
| How does political compatibility with government make an insider group? |
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Definition
| Insider groups often have ideologies that coincide with that of the government of the day. For example, the TUC was a vital part of the Labour party and was a core insider under them until the Labour party started to modify its ideology to fit 'middle England' into their voter base. |
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Term
| How does financial wealth make an insider group? |
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Definition
| Financial wealth often warrants status and respect because lots of money means lots of members. With wealth they can hire lobbyists who are specialists at influencing government. E.g. Devonport getting the 5 billion pound nuclear submarine contract over Rosyth because they spent millions of pounds on hiring lobbyists. |
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Term
| How does the quality of research and information made available to public policy-makers make an insider group? |
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Definition
| This is important because it means that the government knows that they can count on them if they are going to become an insider as this would mean that they'll be consulting the pressure group on policies, and need to know their input is of good quality. E.g. ROSPA the group made up of casualty doctors who did research on the effectiveness of seatbelts, and now we have to wear seatbelts by law. |
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Term
| How does the authority of a pressure groups leading figures make an insider group? |
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Definition
| If a pressure group has leading figures in their field it gives them a good status with the government as again they will have superior expertise and experience in their field and thus consulting them will help the government formulate policies. E.g. the BMA and the NFU have leading figures with a high authority in their fields. |
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Term
| What is an outsider pressure group? |
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Definition
| They are groups that are not closely associated with government, or are unable to gain any formal recognition from government. They are largely excluded from political consultation and contact. Some outsider pressure groups are ideologically opposed to the political system and exert pressure by bypassing existing political institutions which they regard as lacking credibility e.g. ALF frequently attacking and bombing Huntingdon Life Sciences for using animal testing. E.g. the Countryside Alliance who were against the ban on fox hunting. |
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Term
| Why might some outsider pressure groups want to become insider groups? |
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Definition
| Some outsider pressure groups believe that the insider pressure groups that are in the government might not be representing them adequately and thus they would want to become insiders in order to have more influence and gain more representation in government. E.g. the Countryside Alliance had a campaign which was against the insider status that was given to the NFU as it felt that they didn't adequately represent those who lived in the countryside. |
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Term
| What was the significance of the Countryside Alliance's 1999 protest in London? |
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Definition
| In 1999 the Countryside Alliance opposed the bill on the banning of fox hunting which was going to be going through parliament soon. To combat this they showcased how effective outsider pressure groups can be at influencing government by assembling over 200,000 people to protest. This made the Labour government rethink and delay their bill on the banning of fox hunting. However, this isn't always successful e.g. over 1 million people took to the streets for the protest against the Iraq War and they were not successful. |
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Term
| What is a sectional/interest group? |
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Definition
| A sectional/interest group represents a particular section of society, e.g. teachers, lawyers, patients, students etc. Membership is often restricted in this type of pressure group (E.g. NUT only for teachers). Members of this type of group often stand to gain personally from the success of their campaigns. They aim to look after the interests of that particular group by either stopping things happening that might harm that group (e.g. taking away a patients right to see their medical records) or to make things happen that will benefit that group. (e.g. the NUS protesting against tuition fees) E.g. NUT, TUC, NUS. |
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Term
| What is a promotional/cause pressure group? |
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Definition
| Tend to have altruistic policies, meaning that members may not directly benefit personally from the success of their cause but wider society will. They tend to have an open membership and seek to gain a critical mass of popular support and campaigning strength. Their members are often driven by a very strong desire to initiate change or change society's attitudes. |
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Term
| What are the two types of cause group? |
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Definition
| Those with single, limited objectives: E.g. to stop a motorway going through a particular site. Those with broader, long-term objectives: E.g. the Child Poverty Action Group who campaigns to end child poverty. Many environmental groups fit into this category. |
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Term
| What is an example of a cause group? |
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Definition
| The Snowdrop Campaign followed the appalling massacre of children and their teacher by a gunman at a school in Dunblane, Scotland in 1996. It was formed primarily by parents of the young victims, although it was backed by huge media support and received huge widespread public sympathy. It rapidly achieved the passage of a law to ban all handguns in the UK. |
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Term
| How is pressure groups seeking to influence government directly a pressure group method? |
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Definition
| This essentially means that pressure groups may try to get access to key decision makers such as the PM, Cabinet and Civil Servants. This is what the Snowdrop Campaign managed through acquiring widespread public sympathy. |
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Term
| How is seeking to influence MP's a pressure group method? |
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Definition
| This is when a pressure group attempts to influence MP's either individually, collectively or target members of specific standing or select committees or political parties. E.g. Charter 88 was a pressure group that wanted major constitutional reform and targeted Labour MP's candidates and party members in 1996-7 to get constitutional reform into the 1997 manifesto. |
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Term
| How is seeking to influence members of the House of Lords a pressure group method? |
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Definition
| This is a common happening when the Lords are debating or revising bills from the Commons. An example of the effectiveness of this method is how the Countryside Alliance targeted the House of Lords to delay the ban on fox hunting bill, which was successful as they delayed it for one year. |
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Term
| How is seeking to influence key local officials a method of pressure groups? |
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Definition
| This is a method usually used by pressure groups that target very local and narrow issues as local officials are often able to be very responsive to local issues. |
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Term
| How is hiring professional lobbyists a pressure group method? |
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Definition
| Lobbyists are people or companies that specialize in the influencing of the government. E.g. Devonport v. Rosyth how Devonport was suspected to have won the government's 5 billion pound nuclear submarine contract due to the millions they spent on hiring professional lobbyists. |
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Term
| Why and what type of illegal activities to pressure groups participate in? |
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Definition
| Some outsider pressure groups often take part in illegal activities as a way of showing the government how much they disagree with some existing political institutions. This may take form in simple civil disobedience, and could range into violent acts such as the ALF against Huntingdon Life Sciences. |
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Term
| What are considered pressure groups 'legal methods' of protest? |
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Definition
| This includes things such as marches and demonstrations. E.g. the countryside alliance demonstration in London. Forceful legal tactics are things such as strikes and boycotts. |
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Term
| Why might pressure groups use different methods at different times? |
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Definition
| New pressure groups might need to launch large publicity stunts to draw attention to their cause. Pressure groups also tend to be much more active when there is a government with a small majority. This is because they are more vulnerable and can't afford to ignore the public. |
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Term
| Why is seeking to influence the govt. directly a primarily insider method? |
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Definition
| Core insiders use this method. It is mainly insider because it is a lot easier for insiders as they are closer with the govt. E.g. MENCAP who are a group representing people with mental disabilities, are always consulted when the govt. needs help on mental health issues or policies. |
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Term
| Why is seeking to influence MP's a primarily insider method? |
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Definition
| The same reason for why influencing the govt. directly is a primarily insider method, insider status warrants much more respect from the govt., and since MP's are in the govt., there is a much higher chance to successfully influence the govt. as an insider. Although, this is still very open to outsider groups. E.g. Liberty, the pro-human rights group, tried to make the govt. vote against the anti-terror legislation. |
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Term
| Is seeking to influence the HoL an insider method? |
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Definition
| Yes, it can be both insider and outsider though. |
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Term
| What makes launching a major media campaign a primarily outsider group method? |
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Definition
| Outsider groups need to do much more to influence the government than insider groups do, and media campaigns help to raise huge amounts of attention to the cause. Although again it is usable by insider groups too. e.g. the Snowdrop Campaign and WWF with their 'Earth Hour' campaign. |
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Term
| What makes hiring professional lobbyists a primarily outsider group method? |
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Definition
| Again this is linked to why launching a major media campaign is a primarily outsider group method. Outsider groups need much more help to influence the govt. and this is where professional lobbyists come in who specialize in influencing the govt. Although, they can be very expensive. |
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Term
| Benefits of Pressure Groups on Democracy: Ensuring the govt. is responsive to the public + paying attention to the views of the people? |
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Definition
| This means that government is much more FOR the people. Pressure groups help ensure accountability between elections as they represent the views of sections of the public, which they often won't deny in the threat of losing power. |
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Term
| Benefits of Pressure Groups on Democracy: Encourages public participation in politics? |
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Definition
| This makes government more BY the people. Pressure groups encourage voters to vote by convincing them sometimes to vote against or for policies/parties that the government is trying to put through. This in turn makes the government more legitimate, as more turnout usually means more consent from the people. E.g. the StopTheWar coalition may have stopped some people from voting for Labour due to their support of the Iraq war. |
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Term
| Benefits of Pressure Groups on Democracy: Pluralism through choice? |
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Definition
| A pluralist society is one where there are lots of groups in society, all of which would have power and influence. Pressure groups make it so the government don't have all the power, that it is dispersed. Pressure groups essentially ensure that there isn't a concentration of power in government. This is because people have the option to oppose the government by joining and campaigning with pressure groups, which allow them a wide range of opinions some of which won't be facilitated by political parties. |
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Term
| Benefits of Pressure Groups on Democracy: Encourages Scrutiny of Government? |
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Definition
| Pressure groups act as a check on government power because they are not affiliated with the government. They expose issues and encourage open discussion of controversial issues (e.g. the CND, campaign for nuclear disarmament). This is good for democracy as it doesn't let the government go unchallenged even if they have a large majority as they would have to listen to the public in the fear of losing power at the next election. However, some pressure groups have selfish agendas such as NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) opposes the building of a new runway for the Heathrow Airport for selfish reasons (noise pollution, traffic etc.) whereas it would actually be very good for the economy. |
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Term
| Pressure groups as a hindrance to Democracy: They tend to have too much influence and are not accountable to the people. |
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Definition
| The government may have priorities with Pressure Groups rather than with the people, particularly with insider groups. e.g. the NFU in the foot and mouth crisis, the government ensured the economic safety of the farmers and the NFU however lacked focus on the health of the electorate. |
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Term
| Pressure groups as a hindrance to Democracy: Lack of Political Equality with Pressure Groups? |
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Definition
| Economically wealthy pressure groups tend to have the most influence in the government. In the UK, democratic political equality manifests itself as one person one vote, and all votes of equal value. Money however shouldn't determine the amount of influence that a group of people have on the government. However, again there is evidence that you don't need lots of money to be effective, for example the Snowdrop Campaign which was a small group with mainly parents of victims. |
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Term
| Pressure groups as a hindrance to Democracy: Some pressure groups being sectional and selfish? |
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Definition
| Sectional pressure groups are pressure groups which campaign for their own personal benefit. This can be a hindrance to democracy because their selfish activities may have an effect on the economy of the country and the people of the country. E.g. the TUC caused the London Underground tube services to shut down due to their strikes on Boxing Day for better pay. |
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Term
| Pressure groups as a hindrance to Democracy: Insider Groups are too conservative? |
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Definition
| Insider groups don't want to compromise their status with the government of the day, so it is unlikely that they'll be radical or oppose the government even if they might have otherwise disagreed. Making government less FOR the people as they wouldn't want to jeopardize their status with the government of the day. E.g. the TUC striked less when they had insider status (from the 1945-1970's) however when they were revoked of their insider status their amount of strikes increased considerably. |
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