Pressure Groups vs. British Government

Pressure Groups have become increasingly important in liberal democracies in influencing and raising awareness of their group’s particular causes or interest. This essay will assess wither or not pressure groups are more powerful than the government in Britain. To fully understand if pressure groups are more powerful than the British Government we much take into account the varying classifications of pressure groups, define what is meant by power, the different way pressure groups influence public option, the arguments for and against pressures being more powerful than the British Government and also the power government holds which pressure groups do not. The main argument of this essay is that although pressure groups do have some influence and power in today’s society but they are still not as powerful as the British Government.

There are many different definitions of what a pressure group is Peter Lynch argues that a pressure groups is ‘Private, voluntary associations that wish to influence or control particular public policies, without becoming the government and controlling all public policy (Lynch, 2007, p. 245). Another definition is ‘Pressure groups are social aggregates with some level of cohesion and shared aims which attempt to influence the political decision-making process’ (Ball, A.R. and Millard, F, 1986, pp. 33-4). A final definition is ‘A pressure group is any organization that aims it influence public policy by seeking to persuade decision-making by lobbying rather than by standing for election’ (Coxall, 2001, p. 3). Overall pressure groups exist to help groups of people or causes, to promote their interest and will try to influence a certain section of society whether it is the government or the general p...

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