Pressure groups

Abstract

The Norwegian political scientist Stein Rokkan, writing about his country’s system, said ‘the crucial decisions on economic policy are rarely taken in the parties or in Parliament’. He judged ‘the central area’ to be ‘the bargaining table’ where the government authorities meet directly with trade union and other group leaders. British politics is not as consensually well organised or cooperative as the Norwegian model, but there is a central core of similarity regarding pressure group influence. Interest or pressure groups are formed by people to protect or advance a shared interest or set of beliefs. The term ‘pressure group’ is relatively recent, but organised groups tried to influence government long before the modern age of representative democracy. The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade was founded in 1787 and under the leadership of William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson succeeded in legally abolishing the slave trade in 1807.