Pressure Groups

Abstract

Pressure groups, like parties, are informal political institutions which seek to influence decision-making. But, unlike parties, pressure groups do not stand for office; they do not aim to become the government. Also, they differ from parties in not being ‘purely’ political. For example, churches may enter the political arena by making reports on the condition of the inner cities, universities may do so by protesting against cuts in their budgets, trade unions by lobbying against legislation they see as hostile, but no one doubts that the primary purposes of these institutions are respectively religious, educational and industrial. They are ‘partial’ organisations which are only to a certain degree concerned with politics. Although not aiming to exercise power directly, however, pressure groups do share some characteristics with parties. In particular, they are agencies of representation and participation. They are mechanisms for the expression of interest and opinion and they facilitate popular involvement in politics. In both these ways, alongside parties, they contribute to the successful working of liberal democracy. They may also, even though they do not seek election, play a significant role in government, exercising power through hundreds of regulatory and supervisory bodies which depend on their cooperation to function at all. Finally, whilst the distinction between parties and pressure groups on the grounds of office-seeking is an essential one, it is not absolutely watertight.