Pressure Groups Being Good for Democracy Essay - 631 Words

Pressure Groups Being Good for Democracy Pressure groups are organisations whose members share common interests and seek to influence governments. They can be classified in several different ways but the most important distinction is between insider and outsider groups. They are organisations that want to change policy but do not want to become the government. They focus on particular issues or areas of concern and can become involved in policy making by organising campaigns, sending letters, organising demonstrations and signing petitions. People join pressure groups to show their support for a particular issue and to join with other like-minded people in trying to influence our politicians. Some†¦show more content†¦Another positive effect is the groups allow for increased participation in politics by people who might otherwise be inactive on the political scene. Many people only get involved in politics at election time and a growing number of people are not even doing that. Ways of getting people involved mo re can include protests such as the â€Å"Brent Spar incident† where Greenpeace protested at the oil company Shell’s proposition to sink its disused oil platform Brent Spar in the sea instead of towing it away and dismantling it on land. Another method could be to allow people to sign a petition expressing their feelings on a certain issue. An example could be the petition asking â€Å"should smoking be banned from public places† in an attempt to show the government what the people’s opinions are on the topic and whether there should be a change or not. Pressure groups defend the interests of minorities in the community, particularly those which don’t gain a powerful outlet via political parties. This is done by forming a small group of people with the same strong views on a topic to show the government another point of view. 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