The Role of Pressure Groups in the Political System

In the exam… Questions might ask you about “unelected bodies”. The unelected bodies we will look at are pressure groups and the media. You will probably be asked how influential “unelected bodies” are in decision-making. In other words – do pressure group and/or the media have an impact on decision-making? Yes or no?

In the exam… So if a 20 marker comes up in the exam, it might be: Unelected bodies can influence decision making in parliament. Discuss. Structure for this essay???? Pressure groups – influential Pressure groups – not influential The media – influential The media – not influential

In the exam… You may also be asked about pressure groups or the media separately, e.g.: Evaluate the influence pressure groups have over decision-making. (12 marks) As you read through the information about pressure groups and the media, remember that questions in the exam will be focused on the extent to which these bodies can influence decision-making.

The Impact of Pressure Groups Background Knowledge - The founding principles of the Scottish Parliament give pressure groups an opportunity to directly influence government policy. Pressure groups covering devolved issues such as health, education and justice will have a very strong focus in the parliament. Many UK based pressure groups have a designated Scottish branch which would deal with Scottish issues (e.g. Scottish CND)

The rise of Pressure Groups Background Knowledge - Today more people are joining pressure groups rather than political parties “The Power Inquiry”, published in March 2006, claims that people are just as interested in politics as they have been in the past BUT: They feel disengaged with conventional politics in the form of parties and elections They believe more in direct action through pressure groups Pressure groups have engaged more young people 6

Pressure Group methods Background Knowledge - Pressure groups will use different methods to try and get public support or to influence the government. E.g.: Protest/demonstrate Organise a petition Boycott Use social media Website Poster/leaflet/letter campaigns Get a celebrity member Get political support – MSPs/MPs Pay a professional lobbyist Sometimes these legal methods fail and some pressure groups will break the law as a result. This can be risky, as groups risk losing public support

Pressure Groups in Scotland and the UK Background Knowledge Freedom to Choose Scotland Electoral Reform Society The Fawcett Society The Taxpayers’ Alliance Britain in Europe Wings Over Scotland Reform Child Poverty Action Group

Different Types of Pressure Groups Knowledge - Interest groups exist to advance the economic or professional interests of their members. Trade Unions and employers association constitute a significant influence on policy shaping. These groups have a vested interest in a particular section of society and they strive to recruit these people. Examples include teachers, doctors, lawyers. Pressure Groups Cause Interest

Knowledge - Types of Pressure Groups Insider Pressure Group Outsider Pressure Group Usually have expert knowledge on an issue Have access to government and are often consulted and listened to by government when deciding on policies, new laws/changes to laws. Work within the law. Are on the ‘outside’ of the decision making process and have less influence on government. Government does not consult with them. Usually use methods that they hope will gain lots of media attention. Sometimes this involves illegal methods. Mass demonstration on its own may or may not work in the long term, several effective mass demonstrations against the Government may move public opinion against the Government and lose it votes in future elections.

INSIDER GROUPS Knowledge - The amount of power a pressure group will have will depend largely on the status of the group. “Insider” groups wield the most. They are regarded by the government as potentially helpful and therefore they are very often consulted on issues at the earliest stages. Some of the Insider groups are essential to how policy is formed as they have expertise in their field. BMA are well equipped to give advice to policy makers on health issues and The Police Federation are a vital part of policy on crime. Insider groups have the advantage that they are needed for their knowledge and they can therefore use this expert influence. They will never break the law. Insider group can often provide evidence in support of government policy. This helps ministers if they need to give evidence to committees Analysis – Since the government often consults insider pressure groups like the BMA when making policy, it is clear that these groups do have in influence on decision-making.

INSIDER GROUPS Knowledge - Depending on who is government, insider pressure groups can change. For example, the Countryside Alliance were not used when Labour were in power because they wanted to ban fox hunting. This meant that the Countryside Alliance were an outsider group and had to use more extreme methods. The Conservatives are now in power and therefore the status of this group has shifted again. Within the Scottish Government, SNP will take advice from the Business for Scotland group rather than CBI as they gave money to the Better Together campaign. Analysis – Governments still have the ultimate say when it comes to policy and therefore they can pick and choose which pressure groups become “insider” groups. This suggests that pressure group power is limited somewhat.

INSIDER GROUPS Methods Knowledge - Insider groups give expert advice and knowledge in return for their views to be taken on board. They also lobby MPs and Departments. Lobbying is a form of persuasion. Insider groups often hire professional lobbyists to do the job. While insider groups are in a very good position to shape policy at the earliest stages they also have limitations because of their close relationship with the government. They are expected to respect and observe confidentiality. This would mean that they would not be able to drum up support for their views with the public. Insider groups will rarely organise demonstrations or marches. Instead, they will rely on regular meetings with Government, often behind the scenes away from the cameras to influence decision making. Analysis – Insider pressure groups can be limited in terms of methods but the fact that their main methods involve direct contact with decision-makers highlights their influence.

Insider Pressure Group Case Study Knowledge The Electoral Reform Society Cause Group Insider Group Their aim is to build a better democracy for Britain. ‘Making politics fit for the 21st century’ Areas of focus: Votes at 16 Change the voting system from FPTP to a more proportional system Lack of diversity in politics - lack of women and the dominance of a political class Introduction on STV in England and Wales for local council elections Failed with attempt to introduce AV system for UK elections – nation voted against it in referendum (68% voted No to it in 2011) Analysis – The Electoral Reform Society have had success in influencing decision-making. Through their insider campaigning they have been instrumental in changing the voting system in councils to STV and in pressuring the government to introduce votes at 16 in Scotland. However, their campaign to replace FPTP with a more proportional system for UK elections failed in 2011 so their influence on decision-making is still limited to an extent.

Insider Pressure Group Case Study Knowledge Child Poverty Action Group Works to raise awareness on the devastating impact that poverty can have a on a child’s life. They “seek out every opportunity to raise the profile of child poverty in Scotland in the media, the political arena, the public consciousness and relevant professional contexts”. Areas of focus: Free School meals (which has now been introduced in Scotland for P1-P3) Scottish Campaign on welfare reform Solutions and end to child poverty in the UK and Scotland Analysis – Have had some success in that some of the issues they support including free school meals have been introduced in Scotland although difficult to say whether this was a direct result of their lobbying. Child poverty is certainly high on the political agenda in Scotland and the UK and so it could be arguable that this is in part due to the efforts of groups such as CPAG.

Insider Pressure Group Case Study Knowledge – what have they achieved? Preventing more benefit cuts: A number of key benefits rose by 5.2% in April 2012 in line with the Consumer Price Index. CPAG was vocal in persuading ministers that these benefits should not be cut again. £500m a year more childcare: As families have been hit hard by the Coalition Government’s spending cuts, CPAG has played a leading role in securing this extra money to help working parents on low incomes. A legal duty to end child poverty by 2020: CPAG worked with members of the End Child Poverty campaign to call for the Child Poverty Act (2010) which places legal duties on central and local government to work to end child poverty by 2020. Analysis – CPAG campaigned tirelessly for the policies which would benefit children and lower poverty levels and have had some success. This suggests that pressure groups do have an influence over decision-making.

OUTSIDER PRESSURE GROUPS Knowledge – Outsider groups rely on using other methods to try to exert influence. Fathers 4 Justice (F4J) is a pressure group which campaign for the rights of fathers to have access to their children. Their methods have included interrupting meetings and events dressed as superheroes, throwing purple flour bombs in the House of Commons etc. The use of high-profile and disruptive stunts has gained F4J significant UK media coverage, but the political aims of the group are as yet unachieved. The group has been accused of missing the opportunity to change legislation when it refused to table amendments to the Children and Families Bill in 2013 after being invited to by MPs. Analysis – The tactics used by outsider groups such as F4J has gained them media attention but none of their aims have been achieved. This suggests that such pressure groups have little influence on decision-making.

OUTSIDER PRESSURE GROUPS Knowledge – The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND and Scottish CND) is an outsider pressure group which campaigns for Britain and other countries to give up its nuclear weapons. They advocate the abolition of all weapons of mass destruction. Tactics include mass demonstrations and marches. The Scottish CND oppose the existence of Trident nuclear weapons at the Faslane naval base on the Clyde. They support the permanent peace camp near the base. Opinion polls suggest that the Scottish public are against nuclear weapons and more would support the removal of the weapons that object. However given that this is a defence issue it falls within the UK Government’s remit, with British opinion being largely in favour of the weapons. The SNP and Green Parties are strongly against the Faslane base and therefore the Scottish CND supported the independence movement. As of yet there are no UK plans to remove or scale down the base, in fact Parliament recently approved plans to upgrade the missile system at a cost of billions of pounds. Analysis – In spite of huge support, the CND has been unable to influence government policy which suggests that they have little impact on decision-making. They have however kept the issue of nuclear disarmament on the political agenda for decades.

Limitations of Pressure Groups Knowledge – Although pressure groups can undoubtedly have an influence on decision-making they are limited. Ultimately decisions are made by politicians in Edinburgh and London and even if pressure groups have large support there is no compulsion for representatives to listen to them. The CND today has 32,000 members but in 1985 it had 110,000 members. Perhaps this suggests that people have realised that the group has been unable to achieve its aims. Pressure groups can gain media attention and put issues on the agenda but in many cases this is the extent of their influence. Analysis – It could be argued that pressure groups (especially outsider groups) have little influence in decision-making and do nothing more than raise awareness of issues. In many cases, pressure groups’ aims are never achieved.

Are Pressure Groups Good or Bad for Democracy? Allow participation in democratic process Can raise awareness between elections Give minority groups a voice Raise issues of importance Make decision makers aware For each of these you would need to illustrate with examples Bad Some groups more powerful than others Money talks Insider groups have privileged access Secret deals are bad for democracy No pressure group represents over 50% of public Should not hold government to ransom Should not break the law Again illustrate with examples 20

The Electoral Reform Society Successes Failures/ On-going campaigns   Fair Votes in Scotland Led the campaign that brought an end to First Past the Post in Scottish local elections. They established the cross-party campaign Fair Share, which successfully lobbied the Scottish government to introduce elections using the Single Transferable Vote in 2007. This brought an end to one-party domination that was once the norm across Scotland. Alternative Vote In a UK-wide referendum in 2011 the British public were asked if they wanted to replace First Past the Post (FPTP) with the Alternative Vote system for electing members of parliament. The referendum produced a definitive no vote against AV. However the ERS have argued that the majority of the population do want to see the voting system changed but the referendum question was too restrictive as it only asked about AV. It was a ‘take it or leave it approach’. Votes at 16 As the founding member of the Votes at 16 coalition ERS have seized the opportunity presented by the fact that for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum 16 and 17 year-olds will be allowed the vote. They are making the case for a lasting investment in the political education of all Britain’s young people. They emerged as the lead media commentator on votes at 16. Closing the Gender Gap Women’s representation is declining at all levels of government. The society is working as part of the Counting Women in coalition. Working to ‘Make David Cameron keep his promise’ which he pledged that 1/3 of his Ministers would be women by the end of his first term as Prime Minister. They have an on-going petition. ERS believes that at the current rate of change, a child born today will be drawing her pension before she has an equal say in the government of her country.

Child Poverty Action Group Successes Failures/ On-going campaigns Preventing more benefit cuts A number of key benefits rose by 5.2% in April 2012. CPAG was vocal in persuading ministers that these benefits should not be cut again   £500m a year more childcare As families have been hit hard by the Coalition Government’s spending cuts, CPAG has played a leading role in securing this extra money to help working parents on low incomes CPAG still faces many challenges One in five of Scotland’s children live in poverty. In some areas one in three children lives in poverty. Poverty rates are higher in Scotland than in some other countries that have comparable wealth. In Denmark and Norway less than 10% of children live in poverty. Ending Child Poverty by 2020 In 1999 the government made a pledge to half child poverty by 2010 and end it by 2020. When this pledge was made, governments implemented different policies to tackle child poverty, including increases to benefits. In 2010 David Cameron committed the Conservatives to ending child poverty. As a result the 2010 Child Poverty Act was passed. Child Poverty projected to increase Recent reports suggest that if Government welfare cuts continue as planned. CPAG itself predicts that there will be 4.7 more children living in poverty in the UK by 2020.

Possible Exam Questions Questions 1 and 2 could include pressure groups and other methods of participation: Analyse the ways in which citizens can influence decision making – 12 marks Evaluate the influence citizens have on the political system and decision making – 12 marks Question 3 would be on pressure groups and the media: Unelected bodies can influence decision making in parliament. Discuss – 20 marks

Evaluate the influence pressure groups have over decision-making Evaluate the influence pressure groups have over decision-making. (12 marks) One way to write this essay would be to do paragraphs on how pressure groups ARE INFLUENTIAL and on how they ARE NOT INFLUENTIAL…as below: Influential – Raise awareness of issues – may eventually put pressure on government to change laws, examples of pressure group success. E.g. CPAG Not influential – Ultimately unable to force changes to law – therefore not as influential as parliament/government, examples of pressure group failure – e.g. CND. Influential – Insider groups, see case studies (Electoral Reform Society) Not influential – Outsider Groups, see case studies (Fathers for Justice) However, you can structure this any way you like. Key is to give plenty of relevant knowledge points and reach mini-conclusions at the end of each paragraph. (8K and 4E)