Pressure Group Notes

                          The Nature and Function of Pressure Groups

• Seek to influence government policy and decision making 
• Do not aspire to be government or make decisions themselves 

NATURE: 

1.

• Trying to influence decisions 
• Not make them themselves 

2. 

• Want to influence decisions and their details
• So how they're implemented and the finer details of them 

• E.g. = Health and Social Care Act, from 2011-2012, British medical society couldn't stop it being passed, but campaigned for amendments to Bill, to ensure it maintained principles of free NHS.

3.  

• Focus on small range of issues (most)
• Some are single issued

• e.g. 'Plane stupid' emerged in 2005, campaign against airport expansion 
• E.g. 'Justice for Gurkhas' in 2010, natives of Nepal who have fought for British army. Wanted right to settle in Britain after retirement. 

• Multi-issue groups, look at a range of policies. E.g trade unions-campaign for workers for, conditions, pension, wages and health & safety.

4. Pressure groups work at different levels of government : 

• They need to identify where decisions are being made and then Apply pressure there:

1. Level of policy bodies, ministers and civil servants.

• This is done at early stages of policy development (many govt. policies take years to develop) 
• As they begin to shape ministers and civil servants get involved 
• Once details are published, MP's, peers and media give their opinions to debate
• Public opinion also considered 
• All this happens before any legislation appears at Westminster 

2.  The Westminster parliament 

• This is when national policy is being passed at Parliament, as legislation 
• Pressure groups operate in both Houses of Parliament (and their legislative committees) 

3. The Welsh, Scottish, Northern Ireland, or London governments 

• When the issue is regional 

4. Local government 

• When issues are local 

5. Issues that are resolved at European Union level 

• Eg, agriculture, fisheries and trade, force pressure groups to work with European institutions 
• Such as: European Commission, European Parliament, Council Of Ministers 

Some examples of pressure group activity in courts:

• November 2009 in Supreme Court, 'Office of fair trading versus Barclay Banks and others' 
• Seven banks, backed by British bankers association , successfully overturned ruling that Office of Fair Trading could investigate their systems of charging customers for unauthorised overdrafts. 
• Office of Fair Trading were representing interests of customers 
• This was example of pressure groups against each other in courts.

March 2010 in the High Court. 'Hillingdon versus Secretary of State for transport' 

• A coalition of environmental groups (including green leave and the campaign to protect rural England) successfully forced the govt. to review its decision to build a third runway at Heathrow 
• Saying plans conflicted with official carbon-emissions control targets 
• They were successful 

February 2012 in Supreme Court. 'Ravat versus Haliburton' 

• Various trade unions wanted British workers employed abroad to be protected from unfair dismissal 
• They were successful 

FUNCTIONS OF PRESSURE GROUPS:

• They play a key part in government process, they're involved at all stages of policy and decision making…