Written by Charlotte Langridge
Introduction
Some people may believe that MPs, political parties and pressure groups do not have a particularly close relationship. However, this presumption is not correct. In fact, each three of the bodies are strong in their own right and therefore, they have a very close relationship. It is important to remember that Britain is a democracy, meaning that a form of government in which the supreme is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. Britain also has a very strict political process which will be discussed in more detail in the forthcoming section of the essay.
How are laws made?
Today, the main legislative body in the United Kingdom is Parliament. Parliament consists of the House of Commons, House of Lords and the Monarchy. Under the normal procedure both Houses must vote in favour of a Bill before it can become a new Act of Parliament (law). Laws passed by Parliament are commonly known as Acts of Parliament or statutes, and this source of law is usually referred to as statute law. In addition to parliament as a whole enacting law, power is delegated to government ministers and their departments to make detailed rules and regulations, which supplement Acts of Parliament. These regulations are delegated legislation and are called statutory instruments. When a proposed Act has been drafted it is then published, and at this stage is called a Bill. However, it will only become an Act of Parliament if it successfully completes all the necessary stages in parliament. In order to become an Act of Parliament, the Bill will usually have to be passed by both Houses of Parliament, and in each house there is a lengthy, complex process. The main process starts with the Bill being drafted. There will then be a First Reading in the House of Commons where the name and the main aims of the Bill are read out. The Bill will then be accepted or rejected. If the Bill is accepted there will then be a Second Reading. At this stage there will the main debate on the whole Bill in which the MPs debate the main principles behind the Bill. There will then be a further vote and there needs to be a majority in favour for the Bill to progress any further. This will then be passed to the committee stage where a detailed examination of each clause of the Bill is undertaken by a committee. There will then be a Report Stage, where the committee report back to the House on any amendments, if there were any. Finally, there will then be a Third Reading, where the final vote on the Bill will take place. Therefore, we can see that for a law to be made, it has to pass through a complex channel.
How will political parties and pressure groups influence the law-making process?
The governing party will influence the law-making process by articulating a particular idea for a law in parliament. As long as they can carry the majority without the threat of rebels voting against the party line, then whatever they want made law will eventually become law (once it has been through the entire process). Also political parties issue manifestos – setting out their proposals for new and revised laws. This will influence the process as once elected, these proposals may become law.
Pressure groups will influence the law-making process by pressurising MPs to take notice of a certain issue. (This will be further expanded later in the essay).
MPs – Who are they and what is their role?
An MP is elected by local people to represent them in the House of Commons at Westminster. MPs have responsibilities to three main groups: their constituency, Parliament and their political party. MPs are elected to serve their constituency. Their main role to constituents is to tackle problems that arise from the work of central government, representing their concerns in Parliament and acting as a figurehead for the local area. In Parliament MPs examine and scrutinise bills going through Parliament before they become law. They support their party by voting with the leadership and acting as the representative for the party in their constituency. Furthermore, MPs are fundamental to ensuring that the needs of local communities are responded to adequately. For example, you could suggest to your MP a question that you would like put forward in parliament. Therefore, MPs represent a community voice in parliament, raising issues which are deemed important by society. Now that the role of an MP has been established, we can refer to the title question. It could be argued that MPs have a love-hate relationship with pressure groups. Firstly I shall give some examples of pressure groups so that the evaluation will become clear. A pressure group can be described as an organised group that does not put up candidates for election, but seeks to influence government policy or legislation. They can also be described as ‘interest groups’, ‘lobby groups’ or ‘protest groups’. The use of the term ‘pressure group’ is usually avoided as it can inadvertently be interpreted as meaning the groups use actual pressure to achieve their aims, which does not necessarily happen. In Britain, the number of political parties is very small, whereas the number of pressure groups runs into thousands; as the membership of political parties has fallen, that of pressure groups has increased.
How do pressure groups influence MPs?
The main aim of all pressure groups is to influence the people who actually have the power to make decisions. Pressure groups do not look for the power of political office for themselves, but seek to influence the decisions made by those who do hold this political power. Often pressure groups find themselves competing with rival pressure groups with the aim of gaining an advantage over them, but sometimes groups work together to achieve a common aim. Furthermore, pressure groups provide a means of popular participation in national politics between elections. They are sometimes able to gather sufficient evidence to force government to amend or scrap legislation. For example, in March 1998 around 300,000 people went to London to protest about the Labour government’s rural policies – the ‘Countryside March’ – the government reacted by announcing plans for a Ministry of Rural Affairs and by publishing a white paper investigating all aspects of rural life. Therefore, we can see that a provision within the white paper process for pressure groups to influence law making. Pressure groups can influence MPs and Bills in many ways. Pressure groups can write letters to MPs expressing concern or disagreement of a particular subject. An MP is almost forced to take action on this otherwise the pressure group will feel that they have not been taken seriously. Pressure groups can also arrange marches which will attract media attention; therefore the MPs will become aware of this through intense media coverage. This may persuade an MP to take action on the matter in hand.
Before a General election, all MPs will take notice of pressure groups to a certain extent. However, those MPs who are sitting in marginal seats may take slightly more notice as the vote may be decided on only a few thousand votes.
Pressure groups can also provide a means of participation in local politics between elections. For example, in 1994 the A452 Coordination Group campaigned to block plans by Warwickshire County Council to make the A452 a dual carriageway. After the group’s intense lobbying, the council dropped the plans. Pressure groups also act as a sense of specialist knowledge, and often have access to information that is highly valued by decision makers. For example, MENCAP and MIND – groups campaigning on behalf of people with mental disabilities – are often invited to give government briefings. In return, these groups have an input into the making of decisions, and they can also receive financial contributions direct from the government.
As we can see pressure groups can have a strong influence on MPs. In further analysis we could argue that the Trade Union itself is a pressure group. A Trade Union is a ‘continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving conditions of their employment.’ Over the last three hundred years, trade unions have developed into a number of forms, influenced by differing political and economic regimes. The immediate objectives and activities of trade unions vary, but political activity is one of the main objectives. Trade Unions may promote legislation favourable to the interests of their members or workers as a whole. To this end they may pursue campaigns, undertake lobbying, or financially support individual candidates (sponsor) or parties (such as the Labour Party) for public office. With this in mind it could be argued that MPs face severe pressure from the Trade Union as they provide sponsorship. Therefore, can we not presume that an MP will take intense notice of the Trade Union due to fear of losing sponsorship and votes? This seems cynical and suggests an undermining of the political system.
Other influences to MPs
Within UK parliament there is a whipping system. A party whip is a legislator appointed by the party to enforce discipline. They have a very important role in parliament, particularly when the voting strengths of the main parties are close, as in the 1992-1997 parliament. For major votes it is imperative for government and opposition to maximise turnout, and the Whips try to ensure that every member from their party turns out to vote. Furthermore, three-line whips are imposed on important occasions, such as second readings of significant Bills and motions of no confidence. The influence here is that if the MPs fail to attend a vote with a three-line whip is usually seen as a rebellion against the party and may eventually result in disciplinary action, such as suspension from the parliamentary party.
Political Parties – what are they and what is their role?
A political party is a ‘political organisation that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. Parties often espouse a certain ideology and vision, but may also represent a coalition among disparate interests. In the United Kingdom there are three major political parties that dominate politics in the House of Commons. They all operate throughout Great Britain, with the exception of the Conservative Party who has candidates in Northern Ireland. Most of the British Members of the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, and the National Assembly for Wales represent one of the following parties: The Labour Party, The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. A political party seeks power, or a share of power, and to achieve power it must win control, or a share of control, of the organs of government. Political parties are often the object of criticism, and indeed of cynicism. If anything, such feelings seem to have grown in Britain in recent years. However, political parties are extremely important. A party is essentially a link between the ordinary citizen and the state; party is one of the devices which make possible citizen influence on the policies of government. If we consider the vast majority of Members of Parliament we know that they are members who belong to a political party. Before General Elections each party will produce a manifesto setting out its ideas and objectives should they be elected for Government.
The influence of a political party
A political party has many strong influences For example, if a political party stands for election on a policy of banning fox hunting you would expect them to ban fox hunting when elected. MPs have a crucial relationship with political parties as they are its members. Thus, MPs are tied to their individual parties – they cannot act easily on their own moral judgement. Political parties may also be influenced strongly by the media. As technology progresses we can see the introduction of ‘blogs’ on the internet. One example of this was the anti-road charging petition which was published on a Downing Street website. The website attracted approximately 1.6 million signatories. This caused such an influence that Tony Blair responded to each signatory individually. Therefore, we can see that members of public can also have a strong influence on a political party. Another, strong influence of a political party is the fact that an MP generally vote on party lines. The ‘party line’ is an idiom for a political party. The common phrase “toeing the party line” describes a person who speaks in a manner that conforms to their political party’s agenda. Likewise, a “party line vote” is one in which most or all of the legislators from each political party voted in accordance with that party’s policies.
Conclusion
Overall, we can see that the three main bodies have quite a close relationship, whether it is a positive or negative relationship it is still important when considering the legislative process. Each three bodies also have strong influences in the law-making process, and it seems to me as if this is a problem within the legal system, considering that Britain is supposed to be a democracy, but this is open to argument.
Bibliography
Class Notes
'The English Legal System' by Jacqueline Martin.
Suggestions from Dr Jepson