Pressure Group Effectiveness

There are a number of factors that can be seen as important to the success or ultimate failure of the goals of a PG: Resources – membership, income, staff and organisation Access Sanctions Economic and political circumstances

Resources Size and quality of membership: A necessary, if not, sufficient, condition of effectiveness is having a large membership base (Grant, 1995) The size of the membership shows gov’t that the PG has wide public support

For example, the TUC is still the UK’s largest PG The CBI has in its membership most large manufacturing companies Environmental PG’s have been very successful in the large increase in their membership

However, the quality of a PG’s membership is perhaps more important than its quantity In any large PG, most of the work in developing policy is done in committees The central policy-making body of the TUC in the period between its annual conferences is the General Council, which is dominated by the leaders of the largest TU’s

This ensures that the quality of the General Council is high, and means that decisions taken by the council have more chance of being accepted by the largest individual unions

Cause groups in the UK tend to attract a disproportionate number of well-educated, middle class members A study by Jordan and Maloney showed that 35% of FoE members had a 1 st degree and 19% had a postgraduate degree, and that 10% were still in higher education

However, any large PG is likely to be a more or less strong federation of divergent interests It is all a matter of how the views of such differing interests upon a certain policy line, unite or ultimately do not that aims can be met

For example environmental PG’s have been spilt by their objectives and methods Objectives range from broad-based ecological concerns, e.g. Greenpeace, to the protection of a particular species Environmental groups are also divided about objectives at the European level

For example, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) has a varied range of members, and this makes it difficult to coordinate their views effectively While the EEB is a recognised and est. part of the lobbying scene in Brussels, its effectiveness is, in practice, limited

Some of the greatest successes have been achieved by PG’s with narrow and clearly defined objectives For example the RSPB was closely involved with the European Commission in the formation of the EC Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds (Garner, 1993)

The intensity of feeling among the PG’s membership can be a key factor A numerically small but intense group can often exert more influence than a large, less committed one Small intense groups are usually more active at the local level, attempting to prevent development, which they believe, affects their community in an adverse way, for example Not In My Back Yard groups

Income A large membership base provides income However, the level of the financial resources of the TUC is more accurately seen as a weakness rather than strength

The Countryside Alliance, which on March 1 st 1998 organised the protest march in London against the banning of fox hunts, foreshadowed by the lighting of 5,500 beacons across the country, all under the slogan ‘Let the country voice be heard’, was financially guaranteed by the Duke of Westminster through a £1.3 million loan

Staff Income enables the PG’s to employ professional staff that can lobby decsion- makers The staffs of the TUC are often skilled and knowledgeable Some of the documents produced by the TUC, notably the annual Economics Review, are of a high standard

However, the staff is not really large enough to perform the wide range of tasks with which they are involved Lowe and Goyder’s (1983) study of environmental groups found that around a fifth had no permanent staff at all By contrast, the European Council of Chemical Manufacturers Federation alone had a staff of 80 and 4,000 company reps. Involved in its committee work

Organisation The Snowdrop campaign showed the almost inevitable need for organisation in successful protest Starting as an apolitical, anonymous, unprofessional and amateur grouping, Snowdrop built itself a public profile with a competent leader

Good organisation was crucial to both the Druridge Bay campaigns We will speak about this more in the case study at the end of class

Access Before any PG can have influence over gov’t policy; it must normally have access to the decision-making process As mentioned in earlier classes the main goal of any PG is to gain access to decision- makers. It is only then that they can influence the policy making process.

Sanctions Non – Cooperation with the Administration: The main sanction that most PG’s have is non-cooperation with government in the consultation process, which leads to legislation, and more especially in the administration of such legislation.

The cost of administering legislation is high and becomes even higher if there is no cooperation forthcoming from the people or organisations to which the legislation is to be applied. E.G. the non-payment campaign promoted by the Anti-Poll Tax Federation.

Striking, or the threat of striking Obviously, some T.U’s particularly are in key strategic positions within the economy, and as such can put pressure on employers and indirectly on gov’t economic policy.

For example, the NUM strike in 1974 succeeded when the Conservative PM Edward Heath called an election that the Conservative party lost.

Economic and Political Circumstances Economic Circumstances Especially in relation to public expenditure, have an impact on the government’s willingness to meet the demands of PG’s. A background of continued pressure on public expenditure, changes in policy requiring more expenditure are unlikely to be met.

Political Circumstances The political party in office can make a considerable difference to the effectiveness of a PG Some PG’s perceived an improvement in their relationships with the gov’t during the 1980’s

This was either because they supported the ideas and policies of the Thatcher gov’t, or because they could assist their development in some way. They included business organisations, rightwing think-tanks and conservative moral groups

Local campaigns can also benefit from favourable political circumstances E.G. The Duridge Bay campaigns drew strength from a national shift in public opinion, forming part of a groundswell of concern that forced environmental and nuclear power issues onto the political agenda in the 1980s and 1990s

The political climate can assist some local groups and not others. No matter how favourable the political climate, some schemes cannot be halted by protest Too much political and financial capital has been invested in them, making abandonment virtually impossible.

Main Points Evaluation of effectiveness depends on: (1) the responsiveness of decision makers (2) what happens in private (3) how many groups are involved (4) whether decision makers are worried about losing face (5) what tactics decision makers use (6) how much compromise is involved