Zusammenfassung der Ressource
(8) How do pressure groups
become more powerful continued
- 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
- 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