How are pressure groups undemocratic?

  Pressure groups are organisations that set out to try and influence government policy. However some people see pressure groups as a threat to democracy.

The way in which some pressure groups try to get their point across can sometimes be seen as undemocratic, for example if they are marching in protest against a certain policy, and the march becomes violent. This is not democratic, and happened in the anti-capitalism protest. Often seen in UK uncut and Fathers4Justice.

Another way that pressure groups can be a threat to democracy is that they do not promote public stability. Pressure groups can actually cause conflict between groups of people instead of trying only to influence government policy. It is not democratic for a country to be fighting amongst them.

Pressure groups can also be seen as undemocratic in the way in which they choose their leaders. Leaders of pressure groups are very rarely voted in, and as a result, many people believe that the pressure groups do not put forward the views of all their members. This was believed to be the case in the Snowdrop Appeal. It was suggested that only the views of the leaders of the Appeal were put forward. This in itself is a threat to democracy.

On the other hand, pressure groups can be seen as good for democracy. The pluralist view is that it is undemocratic if the only way in which the public are involved in the running of the country is voting every five years. Pluralists believe that pressure groups are very good for democracy.

Why are some pressure groups more successful than others?

Why are some pressure groups more successful than others? A pressure group is an organisation that may be formal or informal whose purpose is to further the interests of a specific section of society or to promote a certain cause; there are many reasons why a pressure group would want to do this too. There are various degrees of success with pressure groups, ranging from amending or passing Acts of Parliament to gaining public support. One thing that can alter a pressure group's success is whether the group is an insider or outsider group, and its relationship with the government. An insider group is one that operates within the political system and which normally has support from MP's, they are normally consulted by the government on matters that may affect the group or its members. The British Medical Association is an insider group and is consulted by the government regularly, recently they were included in discussions over the proposed NHS reforms and as a result of those talks the reforms were altered. Insider groups will have regular contact with MP's and other decision makers and so have more opportunities to influence them and their policies.

Pressure groups that use tactics and methods widely are more likely to be successful rather that groups that 'sit back' and that are not involved in any public demonstrations or petitions such a Tentelini, a group that isn't known to use any methods to gain attention or to influence the government. The membership of a pressure group and the support, especially celebrity support, that it holds can also determine its success. If a pressure group has support from celebrities, it can become more well known and also the celebrity can endorse the pressure group and increase its chances of success, unlike groups which aren't supported by any celebrity and which rely on other sources to increase the public awareness of the group. Many pressure groups are supported by celebrities such as Children in Need which is supported by Sir Terry Wogan, Amnesty International which is supported by Colin Firth and Beat Bulling which is supported by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The membership of a group can also lead to its success as with more members it can have a powerful impact on society.

The finance of a pressure group can also contribute to its success. If a group has secure financial backing, it has more money to spend on resources and towards organising things such as public demonstrations and advertising, for example GOSH raises over £50 million a year and those funds raised go towards funding the hospital and to funding future events. But if a group doesn't have secure financial aid then it can't afford to run and will not be able to fulfil its aims, such as the Occupy London group. Many pressure groups are successful because of a number of reasons, they may be a well publicised group with realistic aims and support from various high-profile celebrities. However other pressure groups may not be so successful as they may not have the support of the government or of the general public, like the more successful groups do. The success of a pressure group over another is due to many, and a combination of, reasons which includes having realistic aims, gaining the support of both the public and the government, being well organised and having a clear leader, having media support and holding good financial backing.