methods and tactics

Copyright © 2015 Active Educationpeped.org/politicalinvestigations

Methods and TacticsHow do pressure groups influence government?


Lesson Objectives

• To describe how pressure groups ‘access’ government

• To explain the different methods used by pressure groups


Question Time

1. Explain what is meant by the term ‘points of access’?

2. Why might a pressure group wish to influence thefollowing ‘points of access’:

(a)Ministers and civil servants

(b)Parliament

(c)Political parties


Access points to government

Civil servants

• Efficient effective pg’s try to start with top cs’s

• Detailed tech matters usually concern pg which are dealt with by Whitehall!. They draft doc and implement policy decisions

Ministers and the Cabinet

• Obviously best but v pol sensitive. Politicians don’t like to appear to be influenced by PG’s why?

Westminster

• MP’s get mts of letters / huge no of potential delegations. Some Pg’semploy prof lobbyists.

• Not a lot of power tho. Private Members Bills. (abortion/Homosexuality)

• Could air views at Select Comtte

• Egs Ann Clwyd “I chose this bill over the many 100s that were suggested to me”



European Union

• Increasingly important. EU Commission recog over 1000 Eurogroups. Again easier to influence officials than Pol

Political Parties

• Some grps have strong links to parties. TU’s obvious. Though now “distancing” was very effective in the past. “Beer and Sandwiches” and Corporatism. League against Cruel Sports = Fox hunting laws

• Elec Reform Soc & Lib Dems

• However. Problems? Lose/members

Using the Courts

• Often aims to challenge the legality of gov’t action. Recent Countryside alliance claimed use Of Parl Act was illegal

• Often last resort!



Using the Media

• Pg’s esp Enviro grps v good

• Greenpeace has its own tv studio & press office

• Things they could do;• Attract news coverage through direct action• Provide a sound bite• Be represented on discussion panel• Place an advert• Publish an article• Create a website• Commission an opinion poll



Using direct action

• Often is last resort. Lobbying & campaigning failed.

• So can draw attention to failure

• Gov’t may not want to give in to “mob rule” Why?

• Wyn Grant classification

• Direct action increasingly popular over past 20 years

• Linked to general decline in deference to pol elite and belief that trad forms of pol activity are often ineffective


Methods and Tactics

Direct Action• Illegal acts

• Lobbying

• Protest

• Boycotts

• Strike

• Marches, rallies andprotests

• Civil disobedience

• Illegal obstruction

Indirect Action

• Petitions/e-petitions

• Leaflets/adverts

• Media and publicity

stunts.

• Providing research

• Social networking sites

and blogs.


Direct Action; Illegal Acts

• Terrorism – intimidation of workers orowners/management of a business, for example

• Violence – bombings, shootings, threats, attacks

• Criminal damage – damage to property, releasinganimals into the wild – Animal Liberation Front.

• Some pressure groups aligned with campaigns againstanimal testing have carried out a number of illegal actsfrom grave violation to harassing animal laboratories.


Direct Action; Lobbying

• Parliament – seeking interviews and discussions withministers in parliament to secure their support

• Companies – making contact with companies to makethem aware of concerns, e.g. at Board level

• Local Government – contacting local councillors

• Legal system – contacting judges, legalrepresentatives, etc.


Direct Action; Boycotts

• A boycott of Topshop was based on their unethicalpractices which are said to include sweatshops in theUK and tax avoidance.

• Another example is factory conditions for CambodianGarment workers producing clothing for H&M.

• The following fashion brands are included on activeboycott lists: Liberty, Burberry, Escada, Harrods andApparel; reasons include use of fur rather than factoryconditions and sweatshops.

• Other well publicised boycotts within the fashionindustry have included clothing brands boycottingUzbek cotton because of the enforced child labour andBritain's leading fashion retailers boycotting Australianwool because of the controversial practice of Mulesing.


Direct Action; Strikes

• Some trade union pressure groups may go on strike (official & unofficial) or break their contract of employment. An example is on 30th November 2011, two million teachers, health workers, civil servants and other public sector employees took part in the biggest mass strike since 1979.

EXAMPLES:

• London Tube Strikes 2015http://www.lbc.co.uk/london-tube-strikes-29006

• Teacher Strikes 2013http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24549604

http://www.lbc.co.uk/london-tube-strikes-29006

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24549604


Direct Action; Civil Disobedience

• Civil disobedience can be considered to be direct action,this includes causing an obstruction, sit ins, lie downs,making noises, etc.

• Some pressure groups carry out ‘sit ins’ where theyoccupy public buildings often used in the 1960’s andnow employed recently as a protest against the rise instudent tuition fees.

• A more recent example is on 15th October 2011thousands of protestors converged on London'sfinancial district, blocking traffic and demanding accessto the London Stock Exchange. Police closed in on thedemonstrators, eventually confining them to the plazaaround the cathedral. This prompted protestors to startsetting up camp on the steps of St. Paul's.


Direct Action; Illegal Obstruction

• An example would be the fuel protests, a series of campaigns over the cost of petrol and diesel for road vehicle use.

• The first protest in 2000 was primarily led by lorry drivers and farmers. Blockades of oil facilities caused widespread disruption to the supply of petroleum products with knock on effects for the public and the authorities.

• The aim of the protests was to force a reduction in the fuel duty rate on petrol and diesel, which the government refused.

• Subsequent protests haven't had has much of an impact.

• Fathers4justice often brought traffic to a halt illegally.

• An example is 14th August 2008, a F4J protester was arrested after a stunt on the M25 caused a 15-mile traffic jam. Police were forced to shut part of the motorway.

• However, this was not the only stunt of the year, in June of 2008, Harriet Harman (then Deputy Leader of the Labour Party) was forced out of her home after two F4J campaigners dressed as comic book superheroes climbed onto her roof and refused to come down from her roof.


Direct Action; Marches, Rallies and Protests

• Some pressure groups will go on marches and demonstrations to show their views on a topic or issue as with recent marches against the rise in student tuition fees.

• In 2003, 1 million people marched through London toprotest against the Iraq war.

• The London demonstration was organised by Stop theWar Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament(CND) and the Muslim Association of Great Britain.


Direct Action and Legality

Action Objective Legality

Protest Marches Raise public Indicate scale of support

Usuallyok

BoycottsStunts

Inflict commercial Media coverage

Depends

Blockades/occupatio Pressure on companyPrevent continuation activity

Usually illegal

Damage to property/Violence

Prevent continuation activityIntimination

Illegal


Indirect Action; E-petitions

• Petitions created online only require 5 supporters to be published

• 10,000 signatures gets response from government (normally statement)

• 100,000 signatures issue is considered for debate in House of Commons

• Easy tool for PGs especially through support on social media

• Amnesty Internationalhttps://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/105991

• Migration Watch UKhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15630921

• Cannabis lobbying groupshttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jul/25/cannabis-legalisation-petition-government-website

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/105991

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15630921

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jul/25/cannabis-legalisation-petition-government-website


Indirect Action; Leaflets and Adverts

• Leaflets and adverts have been used by pressuregroups to convey their messages an example is TheFULL STOP Campaign began in 1999 as the NSPCC’sway of involving everyone in society with ending crueltyto children.

• Calls to a child abuse helpline rose by 150% after thelaunch of a controversial and hard-hitting campaign toend cruelty to children.

• The adverts, which were so hard hitting they could notbe shown before 9pm, featured the Spice Girls and thethen England football captain Alan Shearer.


Indirect Action; Media and publicity stunts

• In July 2008, a campaigner glued himself to the thenPM Gordon Brown.

• At a Downing Street reception, Dan Glass, a member ofPlane Stupid, was about to receive an award fromBrown when he stuck out his super glued hand andtouched his sleeve.

• Bradford city centre was transformed into a sceneresembling a horror movie as more than a hundredzombies descended on Centenary Square as part of aprotest against nuclear weapons.

• Protesters dressed as the walking dead as a tongue-in-cheek way of highlighting the potential catastrophe anuclear war could bring to Bradford.


Indirect Action; Providing research

• Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), had links tothe previous Labour government and also had regularcontact with cabinet ministers.

• The IPPR, describes itself as the UK’s leadingprogressive think-tank.

• The IPPR produces research and policy ideas for a fair,democratic and sustainable world. Their key policyareas: the future of the economy, reform of publicservices, family policy, welfare reform, political renewal,climate change and migration.

• The IPPR North, based in Newcastle and Manchester,specialises in regional economics, localism andcommunity policy.

• The IPPR publishes over 50 reports each year.


Indirect Action; Social Networking

• Groups have used the new mediums of socialnetworking sites such as Facebook and Twitter toconvey their messages and recruit members.

• An example is the Last Round on the Underground orLast Orders on 1st June 2008. the events had beenwidely advertised on social networking and otherinternet sites.

• The “Arab Spring” in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere inthe Mid-East heavily relied on the Internet, social mediaand technologies like Twitter, TwitPic, Facebook andYouTube in the early stages to accelerate social protest.

• The role of social media in Yemen (where Internetinfiltration is low) or Libya (where the government


Applying your knowledge…

1. How might pressure group use public opinion to aid theiraims and objectives?

2. Explain what is meant by direct action and how pressuregroup make use of this campaign method?

3. Describe the different ways in which pressure group couldseeks to influence a law they like or dislike (based on theiraims and objectives).

4. Create a summary diagram of your choice to illustrate thedifferent ways in which pressure group can campaign.Next rank each of the methods in terms of the likelydegree of success.

5. Explain what is meant by the term lobbying.

6. Evaluate the significance of media attention for a pressuregroup.


EXAM QUESTIONHow and why do some pressure groups use direct action?

(10 marks)


How do PGs use direct action?

• Direct action takes may forms, it need not be considered to be solely illegal in nature.

• Some pressure groups will go on marches and demonstrations to show their views on a topic or issue as with the Stop the War marches against the Iraq war and the more recent marches against the rise in student tuition fees.

• Some trade union pressure groups may go on strike (official & unofficial) or break their contract of employment.

• Civil disobedience can be considered to be direct action

• Some pressure groups carry out ‘sit ins’ where they occupy public buildings often used in the 1960’s and now employed recently as a protest against the rise in student tuition fees.

• Occasionally pressure groups may cause an illegal obstruction by blocking the highway. Fathers4justice often brought traffic to a halt illegally.

• Some pressure groups aligned with campaigns against animal testing have carried out a number of illegal acts from grave violation to harassing animal laboratories.


Why do pressure groups use direct action?

• Pressure groups turn to direct action to advance their cause as other non-direct methods having failed or not being available.

• At times pressure groups need the media spotlight and direct action is a method of achieving this

• Often outsider groups turn to direct action as they do not have the privileged enjoyed by insider groups

• The failure or exhaustion of conventional or legal routes may cause direct action (illegal action) as a last resort, the illegal activity of the protestors against the hunting ban broke the law in frustration


EXAM QUESTIONExplain why different pressure groups use different

methods to achieve their aims? (10 marks)


Indicative Content

• To reach a wide audience. Wealthy pressure groups will use and pay for advertisement to advance their cause.

• The National Trust regularly uses the press to promote its causes. Other groups may use celebrities to gain media attention.

• To make best use of their resources.

• Many pressure groups will collect and arrange for petitions by holding events in town centres to attract members of the public.

• This is an affordable option for some pressure groups that have less finance. It may be especially relevant to serve local causes for some pressure groups.

• To make use of their insider status. Insider pressure groups may simply make contact with the relevant government minister or senior civil servant to advance their cause. The NFU has close contact with the relevant Government department.

• To reflect their outsider status. Outsider pressure groups who know that the government will not take notice carry out high profile stunts (at times illegal) to capture the public attention. Fathers4justice often used this as a device.

• To fit in with and reflect the pressure groups membership and their level of radicalism. Groups such as the RSPCA will not resort to direct action whereas groups such as the ALF will naturally resort to direct action.