Pressure Group research - Countryside Alliance

Countryside Alliance

The Countryside Alliance is a pressure group promoting issues related to the countryside, such as farming, rural services, small businesses and country sports.
Their main aim is to 'Give rural Britain a voice', and has around 105,000 members.
As the public can become a member (for around £70 a year) they would be considered a promotional group, as they promote a cause, unlike interest or sectional groups, who's membership is only available to a few individuals (well, those few individuals who can afford £225 for a gold membership but whatever )


The group was formed in 1997 from the British Field Sports Society, the Countryside Business group and the Countryside Movement.
The group have participated in several movements and have a number of campaigns, one of the most prominent being their participation in the Hunting Act. Countryside Alliance was against the passing of the 2004 Hunting Ban and lobbied for its appeal, and continue to promote hunting on their website.


They also support and encourage customers and supermarkets to stock food from British farms, another one of their campaigns being 'Game to Eat', aiming to popularise game as a meat of choice. Other campaigns and issues they confront are against the closure of rural post offices, calling for better broadband connections in the countryside and supporting deer stalking across the British Isles.


The group also do some work in primary schools. They organise educational talks and trips to the countryside for  schoolchildren, run the 'Fishing4Schools' initiative, aiming to help children with special educational needs by taking them to angling and also try to popularise falconry for schools (because having birds of pray being handled by 5 year olds is totally safe.)


Some of the most prominent members of the administration team include Baroness Mallalieu QC, a labour peer who acts as the President, the chairman being Kate Hoey, the Labour MP for Vauxhall, Lord Mancroft, a convervative peer.

To what extent are the current ideas of the Labour Party and the Conservative Party similar and different?

To what extent are the current ideas of the Labour and Conservative parties different?

The Labour and Conservative parties have always been on separate ends of the spectrum, presenting (generally) conflicting and converse ideas to each other - Labour supporting socialism, the welfare state and representing the  working class, whereas the Conservatives supporting capitalism, promoting a free market, and representing the middle and upper classes. 

Nonetheless, in more recent years similar policies can be identified from the two parties, especially where Millibands Labour had, in a way, accepted capitalism, and the conservatives have modernized to appeal to the younger generation, so it could be argued that during this time a more of consensus politics materialized,  such as Conservatives proposition ensure those working 30 hours on the minimum wage to not have to pay income tax, Labour supporting that EU migrants not being able to claim benefits until they have lived in the UK for at least 2 years, and both parties supporting gay marriage, which was passed by the Conservatives in 2014, and is now legal across America as of 2015.

The final similarities can be identified through both parties stance on ISIS- and it isn't even just the 2 political parties who acknowledge this, countries such as Russia and China have agreed on such facts, possibly stemming from President Xi Jinpings' visit to the UK during the last week of October.
David Cameron also stated that the 'world is coming together' to fight agaisnt the Islamic State, following meetings this week. The french president,President Francois Hollande, will then go to Russia for similar talks with President Vladimir Putin

However, as Corbyn has been appointed to the head of the opposition, and as a keen supporter of socialism, the differences between the parties has grown. 

Firstly, Corbyn firmly believes in the abolishment of Trident, the UKs nuclear deterrent system, costing around £2 to £2.4 billion each year, which is around 5-6% of the defense budget, whereas Cameron continues to support Trident. 

Secondly, Cameron has accepted the divide within his party and the country with response to the proposition to leave the EU, and has therefore assured the country a referendum on such before 2020, whilst the labour party remains united against the decision to leave the European Union. 

A final difference between the two parties is their stances on taxation. The Conservatives want to raise personal allowance to £12,500 and 40% tax threshold to £50.000, increase inheritance tax threshold for married couples and civil partners to £1 million, and not to raise VAT or National Insurance contributions. 

Labour, on the other hand, plan to re-introduce the 50% top tax rate for people earning over £150,000, and the 10% starting rate. They also support no rise in VAT, but want to introduce a mansion tax for houses worth over £2 million. 

To conclude, it can be argued that under Millibands Labour was the time when the two parties created more consensus politics then adversarial politics, but it is clear that as Corbyn continues to develop himself as the leader of the Labour party and leader of the opposition, the patties will again part ways and return to opposite ends of the spectrum,. 

Does Jeremy Corbyn align himself more with traditional socialism or is he a social democrat?

Does Jeremy Corbyn align himself more with traditional socialism or is he a social democrat? 

After the recent Labour leader elections, many are excited to see the new direction of which labour will now peruse, now Jeremy Corbyn is the new leader. 

Keen Labour supporters are relieved that labour is reconnecting with its old polices and stances, compared to the 'new labour' stance, developed by Tony Blair during the 1990's. Traditional socialism is built upon the fact that people are social creatures who are bound together by a common humanity. These values include - 

• Fraternity: brotherhood;bonds of sympathy and comradeship between people.
• Cooperation: a preference for people working together rather than competing 
• Equality:to abolish or to at least reduce social class. 

These fundamentals are clearly present in Corbyns values, such as ending austerity, removing any privatization of the NHS and aims for a Cabinet of 50% women. 

However, there are two types of socialism. One is the fundamental branch of socialism (Marxists and Communists) who strongly believe capitalism should be abolished and replaced with a system based on collective ownership and wealth. 

The other branch are the revolutionist socialists,(social democrats) who believe capitalism should be reformed through social and economic intervention, 

Nonetheless, it is extremely hard to align ones self and identify with the fundamental side of socialism, as it has been proven to fail due to humanity's natural and selfish nature.

This is the main reason i think Corbyn aligns himself wit the social democrat side of socialism - his policies require  basic capitalistic fundamentals for them to be enforced, However, Corbyn may begin to identity with the more extreme side of Communism when he starts to feel more comfortable in Parliament, but he has certainly brought a new breath of \fresh air into the labour party. 

Does Britain Suffer from a Democratic Deficit?

Does Britain Suffer from a Democratic Deficit? 

A democratic deficit occurs when key institutions of the country (such as Parliament, The House of Lords, the House of Commons) fail to apprehend and uphold key features of democracy, which can include representation, free, fair and regular elections, civil liberties and an independent judiciary.  

The most obvious presence of a democratic deficit lies in the low voter turnout during elections - with a low turnout, means a strong majority is rarely formed, so the house may find it difficult to pass bills and laws. This was seen during the Liberal Democratic and Conservative coalition, as each party continued to turn down the other parties bills when introduced into the house, and this may not of been just due to ideology conflict, as there was conflict between the 2 parties during these 5 years. 

Democracy also calls for representation of the people, and its impossible to represent people who do not show their political preferences through the general election, therefore these peoples views cannot be shown in Parliament, and pure democracy cannot occur.

Another factor of democracy is the presence of an opposition party, known for scrutinizing the Prime Minister at Prime Minister's Questions every week. Again, a strong opposition cannot be formed  if the turnout is low, therefore the opposition may not be representing the minority of the people.

However, it isn't right to assume that just because minorities are not represented directly in the Commons, is doesn't mean there are other ways in which they are represented. Pressure groups play a huge part in politics and legislation, as they are often consulted during the legislative process due to their expertise in such fields. For example, the National Farmers Union was consulted during the discussion of the Badger Cull and the use of pesticides. The use of pressure groups therefore promotes a pluralist democracy, as various views are heard and considered during legislation, and the fact that pressure group membership is increasing disregards the fact of a Democratic deficit in the UK. 

Nonetheless, some pressure groups may not have the chance to express their views due to their lack in size, financial support, and may not have the opportunity to affect legislation. This can be seen in the insider and outsider status in which pressure groups possess. 

Some groups, such as the Katie Piper Foundation have been unsuccessful in their cause - funding to plastic surgery and rehabilitation for  burn victims has not increased since the establishment of the group. 

Therefore, this contributes to the fact that a democratic deficit may be present in the UK.

An independent Judiciary is vital in a democracy, as if judges were politically bias it would affect their law making choices, This independence was emptheszised in 2009, when the Law Lords were moved from the House of Lords to a separate institution across the road from Parliament. There has been issues with Judges being aligned with political parties in the past such as  having relations to members of Liberty, and the case having to be resat with a different judge. 

Lastly, a media bias overrides democracy, as the media can affect peoples views, even if the facts may not be true. This can be seen as newspapers are directly associated with political ideologies - for example, the Daily Telegraph and The Times are associated with the right side of the spectrum , especially the conservative party, whilst the Observer and The Guardian are known for agreeing with the left side, such as Labour and the Green Party.

Ths again supports the fact that their is a democratic deficit in the UK, as as presence of bais media means there cannot be a true democracy.  

To conclude, there are strong arguments to support the fact that there is a democratic deficit in the UK, but it is important to include factors which argue this. 

Would a change in voting system improve democracy?

Would a change in voting system improve democracy?

People often blame the lack of political interest regarding general elections on the fact that our current voting system for the Prime Ministerial elections doesn't often produce the most representative results- as seen in this years general election, in which the UK Independence party received over 3,000.000 votes and gained 1 seat, whereas the Liberal Democrats got just over 2,400.000 votes and revived 8 seats in return. 

This happened because of the way our voting system is established. In First Past to Post (FPTP), the country is split into 650 'consistences' with a single member of Parliament (MP) representing each one on the House of Commons in Westminster.   MP elections are held every first Thursday of May every 5 years, due to the Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011.  Individuals then stand to represent a party, and the candidate with the most votes get the seat in the Commons and becomes an MP. 

Nonetheless, the successful candidate just needs the most votes in FPTP,  and not to receive 50% or more of the votes. For example, a liberal Democrat MP in the 2010 general election won with just 28% of the vote, despite 72% voting for other candidates, or against them.

Another example of this is the 2015 General Election. Overall, the Conservatives won, with more than 11,000,00 votes, which translates to 36.9% of the votes. Again, this means that 63.1% of the votes were against them - however, out of all the parties they received the most votes, so in a way they had a legitimate rule.

Therefore, due to this unrepresentative system, some may feel discouraged to participate in general elections, as they feel their vote won't count or make a difference. Nonetheless, there is still high political participation regarding pressure groups, smaller party membership and petitions, so the voting system of the general election must be considered a factor to the declined voter turnout. 

Alternative voting systems can include the alternative vote (AV), single transferable vote (STV), additional member system and Party List PR. Theses are either stemmed from Proportional representation, a majoritarian system, or a mix of the both. 

However, some argue that a change in voting system would not improve democracy at all, as during the Liberal Democrat and Conservative coalition of 2010-2015, alternative vote was offered as a substitute to FPTP via a referendum, but this was voted down by the public. People yet again argue that it was only voted against due to the overpowering Conservative party, and that people were frustrated towards the liberal democrat party due to breaking their promise regarding rising tuition fees, so people voted down their proposition in anger. 

More information of the other voting systems can be found here - http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/voting-systems

Should the UK use more Referendums?

Should the UK use more referendums? 

 Referendums provide a way for the public to have a direct influence on the legislative process. They are a perfect example of direct democracy in modern society, as citizens of the UK vote on the issue, instead of the Members of Parliament (MP's) who are elected by their constituencies.

In the past, Referendums have faced issues such as Scotland's Independence, the use of alternative voting for general elections in the UK and whether there should be a Mayor of London of Greater London Authority.
Unsurprisingly,the large majority of the population are all for the more common use of referendums - people love having their voice heard and being able to get directly involved in politics, which can also be seen by the increase of pressure group membership and the increase in smaller party membership. 
Nonetheless, others should find the regular use of referendums tedious and platitudinous, especially if used every week. This also arises the issue of, of the UK was to have more referendums, how would the country decide what to have a referendum on?
 Would we have a referendum to decide what to have a referendum on? Would we have a referendum to have a referendum to decide whether or not we want a referendum? 

Furthermore, general elections in the UK result in a pretty disappointing turnout, with around 65% in the most recent elections, so how can we assume that referendums would have the same or even lower, turnout? Either way, this isn't representative of the citizens, so decisions may be made as a result of a referendum, but this result does not reflect how the people feel about the issue. 
However, with an increased use of referendums, it may also educate the public and motivate them to become more familiar with the UK Political system and politics in general, so this way actually increase voter turnout. 

As seen with the Scottish Referendum, both sides of the campaign were huge, especially the 'Better Together' campaign. The referendum took around £13.3m to be held, and nonetheless, nothing changed as a result of it. Therefore, this may be seen as a huge waste of money, as nothing changed, despite  £13.3m being spent. 

Referendums can also help make a decision when there is a division in Government, for example, the Conservative Party are internally divided on the issue of EU Membership, so by holding a referendum, it settles inter party disputes.   However, some may see this as Politicians avoiding having to decide on difficult decisions, and avoiding taking responsibility fort them. Nonetheless, no matter the results of a referendum (of which isn't binding) the Government doesn't have to go through with the decision, so ultimately the PM still has to make a decision on the issue on hand.

Words and language of the question may also be biased in a referendum, so the question has to go through many checks to reduce bias as much as possible. The media may also be bias, and attempt to change the public's personal opinion on the topic through 'propaganda' of such. The result of the referendum may also be affected by the party in Government at the time - for example, many blamed that the unsuccessful result of the AV referendum was down to the Liberal Democrats being unpopular, and the Conservatives being too dominate in Parliament. 

Lastly, a constant use of referendums would strengthen our democracy, by allowing the public to speak for themselves, instead of through a single MP.  This highlights the fact that Government should be 'by the people', as well as 'for the people' and 'of the people.' 

To conclude, a use of referendums would continue to strengthen our democracy by including more direct democracy, and may even increase political turnout and interest, but a remaining issue would be how to decide on what issues to have a referendum on, and an increased use of referendums may also increase political apathy. 

Useful Links

I'l be posting some links here that will be helpful for examples and references for our AS Politics Exam


BBC Election Coverage, focusing on Young People in Politics

What Young People care about in Politics

Political participation

In  1987, 64% of people agreed that 'parties are only interested in votes.'

This rose to 75% in 2011. 

In 1983. 85% of those in their 20's/early 30's identified with a particular political party.

In 2012, this had fallen to 66% of the same age group.

Although people are becoming less interested in politics, they are involving themselves in political issues in different ways.

In 1983, only 29% of people reported having signed a petition, compared to 37% now.

Only 10% of people had contacted an MP in 1983, whilst 16% have done so now. 

Age 18-24

45%  said they voted in the last election

61% said they identify with a political party 

45% said its a persons duty to vote 

32% have a great deal / quite a lot of interest in politics 

Age 25-34

48%  said they voted in the last election

65% said they identify with a political party 

57% said its a persons duty to vote 

24% have a great deal / quite a lot of interest in politics 

Age 35-44

67%  said they voted in the last election

71% said they identify with a political party 

57% said its a persons duty to vote 

30% have a great deal / quite a lot of interest in politics 

Age 45 - 54 

75%  said they voted in the last election

68% said they identify with a political party 

61% said its a persons duty to vote 

34% have a great deal / quite a lot of interest in politics 

Age 55-64

84%  said they voted in the last election

73% said they identify with a political party 

70% said its a persons duty to vote 

44% have a great deal / quite a lot of interest in politics 

Age 65+

88%  said they voted in the last election

83% said they identify with a political party 

73% said its a persons duty to vote 

49% have a great deal / quite a lot of interest in politics