Define a pressure group.

A pressure group is an organised body that seeks to influence public policy or defend a shared interest without itself seeking to form a government.

What is a sectional or interest group?

It is a group that exists to defend the shared interests of its own members, so membership is normally restricted to those who share that interest.

What is a promotional or cause group?

It is a group that campaigns for a cause or value rather than for its members' own material interests, so membership is generally open to anyone who supports the cause.

Give two examples of sectional groups and two of promotional groups.

Sectional groups include the British Medical Association and the Confederation of British Industry, while promotional groups include Liberty and Greenpeace.

Why can the sectional and promotional distinction be difficult to apply?

Many groups do both, since a professional body campaigning for public health is advancing a cause while also protecting its members' professional standing.

AQA A-Level Politics 7152

The Nature and Sources of the British Constitution

Topic overview Codified and Uncodified Constitutions The Rule of Law and Parliamentary Sovereignty Magna Carta and the Early Constitution The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 Individual and Collective Rights Constitutional Change since 1997 and Codification

The Structure and Role of Parliament

Topic overview The Two Chambers and Parliamentary Privilege The Passage of a Public Bill Burke and the Models of Representation The Roles of MPs and Peers Scrutiny of the Executive and PMQs Select Committees, the Opposition and Parliament's Influence

The Prime Minister and Cabinet

Topic overview The Core Executive and the Prime Minister's Powers Policy Making and the Limits of Prime Ministerial Power Ministerial Responsibility Accountability in Practice and Crichel Down

The UK Judiciary

Topic overview Judicial Independence and Impartiality The Constitutional Reform Act, Separation of Powers and Appointments The UK Supreme Court and the Grounds of Judicial Review Judicial Review and the Miller Cases

Devolution

Topic overview Devolution, Federalism and the Scottish Parliament Scotland and Wales since Devolution Northern Ireland and Power-Sharing The West Lothian Question and English Devolution The Barnett Formula, Sewel and the Impact of Devolution

Democracy and Participation

Topic overview Democracy, Legitimacy and Direct Democracy Direct and Representative Democracy Compared The Reform Acts of 1832 to 1884 and the Chartists Suffragists and Suffragettes Who Can Vote Today, and Votes at 16 Forms of Political Participation Turnout, Apathy and Proposals for Reform Partisan and Class Dealignment

Elections and Referendums

Topic overview Majoritarian and Proportional Systems The Additional Member System, STV and Other Systems The 1945 and 1979 General Elections The 1997 and 2010 General Elections Models of Voting Behaviour Leadership, Manifestos, Campaigns and the Media The Nature and Use of Referendums Regulating Referendums, and the Case For and Against

Political Parties in the UK

Topic overview Party Functions and the Conservative Party Labour: Origins, Clause IV and Structure The Liberal Democrats Party Funding and Short Money Funding Controversies, the Media and Electoral Outcomes Two-Party, Multi-Party and Dominant-Party Systems Minor Parties in UK Politics

Pressure Groups in the UK

Topic overview What Pressure Groups Are Outsider Groups, Methods and Influence Pluralism and the Democratic Balance Sheet Think Tanks, Lobbying and the Media

The UK and the European Union

Topic overview The Institutions of the European Union EU Aims and the Four Freedoms The Impact of the EU on the UK

The Constitutional Framework of US Government

Topic overview The Nature of the US Constitution Checks and Balances and Constitutional Principles Federalism and the Division of Powers Coercive Federalism and Federal-State Disputes Amending the Constitution Informal Constitutional Change and the Rights Amendments

Congress

Topic overview The Composition of Congress The Powers of Each Chamber, Leadership and Elections How a Bill Passes Congress The Power of the Purse, Oversight and Representation

The US Presidency

Topic overview The Sources of Presidential Power Signing Statements, Pardons and Informal Powers Congressional Checks on the President Term Limits, the Press and Other Constraints The US Cabinet, EXOP and the Bureaucracy The Imperial and Imperilled Presidency

The US Supreme Court

Topic overview The Composition and Tenure of the Court How a Case Reaches the Supreme Court Judicial Review and Guardian of the Constitution The Debate over the Court's Power The Warren Court and Landmark Rulings Later Landmark Rulings and Court Eras

US Elections and Direct Democracy

Topic overview Congressional Elections and Electoral College Votes The Electoral College The Invisible Primary, Primaries and Caucuses Super Tuesday, Momentum and Delegates What Decides a US Election Campaign Finance Regulation Party Coalitions and Voting Behaviour Realignment, Dealignment, Split-Ticket Voting and Turnout Direct Democracy at State Level

Political Parties in the USA

Topic overview The Ideologies of the Two Main Parties Party Traditions and Organisation Polarisation and Ideological Sorting Factionalism and the Decline or Renewal Debate Two-Party Dominance and Ballot Access Third Parties and the Spoiler Role

Pressure Groups in the USA

Topic overview Pressure Groups and Political Pluralism Think Tanks, Lobbying and Group Methods PACs and Super PACs The Revolving Door, Iron Triangles and Group Power

Civil Rights in the USA

Topic overview Civil Liberties, Civil Rights and the Bill of Rights Entrenchment, Incorporation and the Rights Amendments Landmark Rights Rulings and the Supreme Court The Civil Rights Movement Rights Groups and the Courts Contested Rights Issues Today

Comparative Politics: Theoretical Approaches

Topic overview Structural, Rational and Cultural Approaches

Constitutions and Legislatures Compared

Topic overview The Two Constitutions Compared Devolution and Federalism Compared Parliament and Congress: Powers and Chambers Committees, Scrutiny and Control of Money

The Executives Compared

Topic overview Prime Minister and President: Office, Tenure and Cabinet Executive Power over Courts, Officials and Abroad

The Judiciaries Compared

Topic overview The Two Supreme Courts: Appointment, Tenure and Powers Judicial Impact, Activism and Restraint

Electoral and Party Systems Compared

Topic overview Electing Legislatures and Executives Compared Campaign Finance, Direct Democracy and Voting Compared Party Systems and Third-Party Barriers Party Organisation and Unity Compared Minor Parties and the Ideological Spectrum

Pressure Groups Compared

Topic overview Access Points and Group Power Compared Group Methods and Targets Compared

Civil Rights Compared

Topic overview How Rights Are Protected in Each Country Security, Guns and Reforming the Rights Framework

Liberalism

Topic overview The Individual and Individualism Limited Government and Foundational Equality Classical Liberalism and the Night-Watchman State Modern Liberalism and the Continuity Debate Locke and Mill Rawls, Wollstonecraft and Friedan

Conservatism

Topic overview Human Imperfection in Conservative Thought Organic Society and Paternalism Traditional, One-Nation and New Right Conservatism The New Right: Neo-Liberalism and Neo-Conservatism Hobbes, Burke and Oakeshott Rand and Nozick

Socialism

Topic overview Common Humanity, Equality and Social Class Alienation, Common Ownership and Social Justice The Vanguard Party, Gradualism and Social Democracy Revolutionary Socialism and Social Democracy Compared Marx, Engels and Luxemburg Webb, Crosland and Giddens

NationalismIdeology

Topic overview The Nation, the State and Self-Determination Views of the Nation and Economic Nationalism Minority Nationalism State Nationalism and Nation-Building Types of Nationalism Rousseau and Herder Mazzini, Garvey and Maurras

FeminismIdeology

Topic overview Sex, Gender and Patriarchy Feminist Views of the State Liberal and Radical Feminism Socialist, Difference and Post-Feminism Perkins Gilman and de Beauvoir Millett, Rowbotham and hooks

MulticulturalismIdeology

Topic overview Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition Assimilation, Integration and the Melting Pot Integration and Segregation Interculturalism and Civic Integration Berlin and Kymlicka Taylor and Parekh Modood: Multiculturalism and Citizenship

AnarchismIdeology

Topic overview The Anarchist Case against the State Propaganda by the Deed and the Charge of Chaos Individualist and Collectivist Anarchism Stirner and Bakunin Goldman, Kropotkin and Proudhon

EcologismIdeology

Topic overview Ecologism, Environmentalism and Ecocentrism Sustainability and the Limits to Growth Light Greens and Dark Greens Green Consumerism, Technology and Greenwashing Leopold and Carson Schumacher, Merchant and Bookchin

Pressure Groups in the UK

4 subtopics
13 things to know
Paper 1

What Pressure Groups in the UK covers

What separates a pressure group from a party, the insider and outsider routes to influence, the argument about whether groups enrich or distort democracy, and the regulation of lobbying.

Where it is assessed

Paper 1

Government and politics of the UK.

Check the AQA specification ↗

The 4 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

State two differences between a pressure group and a political party.

Key term

Define an insider pressure group.

Key term

Distinguish an outsider by necessity from an ideological outsider.

Numbers

How has the law responded to disruptive protest such as blocking roads and bridges?

Key term

Describe the strategy Extinction Rebellion used in its 2019 London protests.

Key term

List five factors that affect a pressure group's political influence.

Key term

State three conditions a genuinely pluralist system requires.

Numbers

How did corporatism appear in UK politics, and why did it decline?

Key term

Which think tank is best known for non-partisan analysis of tax and spending?

Key term

What is a lobbyist?

Numbers

Name two lobbying controversies that damaged public confidence.

Key term

Give one example of an industry whose lobbying has been publicly contested.

Process

Give examples of sectional groups, and explain the insider and outsider distinction.

Take Pressure Groups in the UK further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Sectional group vs Promotional group
Sectional group: organisation defending members’ shared interests. Promotional group: organisation advancing a wider cause.
Insider group vs Outsider group
Insider group: organisation regularly consulted by government. Outsider group: organisation lacking routine governmental access.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
Define a pressure group.
Model answer
A pressure group is an organised body that seeks to influence public policy or defend a shared interest without itself seeking to form a government.
2
State two differences between a pressure group and a political party.
Model answer
A party seeks to win governmental power and puts up candidates, whereas a pressure group seeks to influence whoever governs, and a party must offer policy across the whole range of government while a group may concentrate on a single issue.
3
What is a sectional or interest group?
Model answer
It is a group that exists to defend the shared interests of its own members, so membership is normally restricted to those who share that interest.
4
What is a promotional or cause group?
Model answer
It is a group that campaigns for a cause or value rather than for its members' own material interests, so membership is generally open to anyone who supports the cause.
5
Give two examples of sectional groups and two of promotional groups.
Model answer
Sectional groups include the British Medical Association and the Confederation of British Industry, while promotional groups include Liberty and Greenpeace.
6
Why can the sectional and promotional distinction be difficult to apply?
Model answer
Many groups do both, since a professional body campaigning for public health is advancing a cause while also protecting its members' professional standing.

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The Nature and Sources of the British Constitution

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The UK Judiciary

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Pressure Groups in the UK revision questions

What does Pressure Groups in the UK cover in AQA A-Level Politics?: 4 subtopics: what pressure groups are, outsider groups, methods and influence, pluralism and the democratic balance sheet and think tanks, lobbying and the media. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Pressure Groups in the UK organised?: By the AQA 7152 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

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