Pressure Groups

Pressure Groups

What are Pressure Groups?
1. They do not seek election
2. They usually have a narrow range of issues that they focus on
3. they don't have to be held accountable for what they do
4. They do not have to behave in a responsible way
Classification by Aims
1. Sectional groups
  1. These are groups that cover the ideas or needs of a certain section of soceity
    1. Also known as 'interest' or 'protectionist' groups
  2. These groups' members are usually restricted to people that the group represents
    1. Eg a teachers union like NUS is made up of predominantly teachers/teaching staff
2. Cause groups
  1. These groups seek to promote a particular cause
    1. Also known as 'promotional' groups
  2. Much less exclusive membership than sectional groups, therefore they are more inclusive
  3. There are 3 sub-categories
    1. Attitude cause groups
      1. Aim to change people's attitudes on certain matters
        Eg Greenpeace
    2. Political cause groups
      1. Aim to change certain aspects of politics
        Eg Electoral Reform Soceity
    3. Sectional cause groups
      1. These are groups that aim to protect a section of scoeity
        Eg the NSPCC works to prevent child abuse but none of its members are children
Classification by status (AKA Grant's Classification)
1. Insider groups
  1. These groups have very strong links with, and access to, the government and are able to hold them accountable
    1. 3 main types
      1. Core insder groups
        Have a strong 2-way relationship with the government
        Eg the BMA
      2. Specialist insiders
        Those that are granted insider roles but with a lot narrower a field to affect
        Eg the WWF
      3. Peripheral insiders
        Those that have insider status but are rarely needed by the government due to the nature of their cause
        Eg the RSPCA or RSPB
2. Problems with grants classification
  1. Some groups pursue insider and outsider status at the same time
    1. Eg Greenpeace- they are happy to pull publicity stunts and negotiate with the government
  2. It exaggerates the barriers to insider status
    1. There are more insider groups than outsider groups
  3. It ignores the idea of new social movements
    1. New Social Movements
      1. They can be defined as informal movements that grow rapidly over a certain issue and then die down after a while.
        They usually use mass demonstrations or massive media campaigns- new technology like the internet makes this easier than ever before
        The first example was the Anti Poll Tax Federation which was formed due to discontent at the poll tax
        Protests took the form of not paying the poll tax and a massive London demonstration that turned (infamously) to violence in Trafalgar Square
        Another example was The Peoples Fuel lobby which instigated an oil blockade when the government was going to raise oil taxes- they backed down and have been wary since
Why are people joining Pressure Groups?
1. A growth in the extent of government involvement has led to many groups forming to display the interests of the poor and handicapped
2. Complexity of modern life- there are groups for anything nowadays
3. Surge of interest in single issue politics
  1. Emergence of new pressure groups
4. Improvements in communication allow them to operate better and stay better connected
Methods of Pressure Groups

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	Created by Robert Hunt about 9 years ago