(8) How do pressure groups become more powerful continued

(8) How do pressure groups become more powerful continued

1. Public Support

   • Pressure groups that enjoy high levels of public support have greater political influence than ones with only minority support
   • Crudely, government calculate how much eletoral damage maybe caused by not acceding to a groups demands.
   • Certainly groups may enjoy wider public support than others because of the nature of groups itself
   • Example groups with a wide public support:
     • Snow drop campain, stop hand gun ownership
     • 38 degree campaign, aimed to stop privatising England forests

2. Effectiveness of Oppositions

   • Pressure groups may succeed or fail, less because of their own resiurces, and more because of the strengh or weakness of the forces that oppose them.
   • Groups invariably confront other groups, and interest clash with rival interests. Very few pressure groups have it all their own way.
   • Examples of effective opposition groups
     • Action in smoking and health (ASH) was coutered in through the 1980's and 1990's by well funded tobacco lobby that made major donations to the Conservative party
     • The anti-hunting groups efforts to persuade the Labour government in 1997 to carry out its commitment to ban hunting with dogs led to resistance through the formation of the Countryside Alliance in 1998. Although the Countryside Alliance failed to prevent a ban being introduced, it nevertheless succeeded in delaying it and in modifying it how it has worked in practise