A guide to Westminster

Legislation stems from an extensive process of inspiration, deliberation and reformation before it arrives on the statute book. Understanding how this process develops and where and when to feed into it forms a crucial part of making politics and government work for you.

Where policy comes from: external influence

Outside of government a wide variety of groups may get involved. Ideally, in a democracy, the whole of society should be involved. Practically, certain groups have better access and are better suited to translating their ideas into methods acceptable to, and usable by, the government machine.

Think tanks

Think tanks, as the name suggests, have as their whole raison d’etre deliberating over societal and economic ills and thinking up new ways of overcoming them. Approaching society from across the political spectrum, the more established think tanks are prolific in publishing pamphlets of an often original nature. They also act as sponsoring bodies for seminars and lectures. Purportedly independent of outside influences to maintain their credibility, most, nevertheless, have close links with a particular political party. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and Demos were closely linked with the rise of the New Labour project, with the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) and the Social Market Foundation (SMF) maintaining firm links with the Right.

Industry groups

Established bodies such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) or Trades Union Congress (TUC) maintain regular contact with ministers. Well-funded teams in regular contact with ministers and civil servants are generally a key factor in policy development. These reputable and high profile bodies will often be introduced into policy formation early as government attempts to kite-fly policy thoughts with key opinion formers and campaigning bodies. The hypothesis that the eighties marked the end of consensual politics was misplaced. All, or most, established bodies are just that - the establishment, and as such cannot be bypassed by an authoritarian government.

Trade Unions

We have of course moved on from the “beer and sandwiches” era of the last Labour government but historical and emotional links mean that union participation will always form a cornerstone of any Labour administration. Most senior party figures have either progressed up the union ladder or at least welcomed its support. Few people would join the Labour Party without an early firm belief in the right of organised worker participation in the decision making process. Early networking of ideas, aided by general agreement in a model future vision, ensures close consultation with relevant unions. Whilst Labour may be less dependent on the unions now than at any other point in its history, they will never lose ties completely. To turn on them in the manner of the Conservative government of the eighties would be as unthinkable as a return to the union dominance of the seventies.

Commercial interests

In addition to their contacts through various government-sponsored bodies or trade bodies such as the CBI or the Institute of Directors (IoD), many major businesses have lines into early policy development. Through their position as market leaders they become a key target for consultation by ministers, both because of their recognised expertise and because government seeks endorsement of its policies and initiatives through the support of successful business people.

Cross sponsorship is also an option for business with finance to spare. Institutions such as the Industry and Parliament Trust work to place MPs within businesses for a degree of time. Therefore, as well as providing the MP with a working knowledge of an industry’s problems and aspirations it also provides good future contacts for the sponsoring body. As greater pressure has been placed on the Civil Service to take into account the needs of industry, so the secondment of industry figures within the departments that deal with that sector has become a feature of government. Whilst this can be billed as providing a good basis for the transfer of ideas, some have criticised this as leading to a situation whereby those that will be effected by an Act being the ones that draft it. There then follows all the attendant concerns that negative externalities are passed on to those who can least afford to carry them.

Pressure groups

Hundreds, or even thousands, of specialist interest groups are active within the UK political scene. Coming from across, or outside of, the political spectrum, the rising number of these single issue, often voluntarily staffed, campaigning bodies has come to be seen as symptomatic of the decay of British party politics, but possibly the re-politicisation of the UK as a whole, despite the declining poll turnout at elections. The activities of singular campaigns allow individuals to engage in the political process with all the fervour of the truly devout, without having to drag along all the political baggage that necessarily comes with campaigning on a more broad-based party manifesto. Nevertheless, pressure groups form a vital part of our democratic process, providing government with an indication of the strength of public belief in an issue, as well as bringing a more focused argument to the issue. Pressure groups provide a useful counterweight for public opinion to campaign against the power of commercial interests. The sum being very much greater than the individual parts, pressure groups allow private citizens to make their voices heard in government. Small, affordable contributions allow the financing of human interest campaigns to balance those driven by the profit to be derived from government.

Political parties’ grass roots

Political parties set much store by publicising the importance they attach to their grass roots’ contribution to policy development. All parties have a system in place whereby party members may pass ideas up the chain for adoption as policy. From the Labour Party Policy Forum or the Conservatives “Listening to Britain” road shows, through to resolutions at Conference, each party increasingly attempt to portray itself as THE democratic party, as the central policy machine simultaneously takes a firmer grip on internal debate. The fear of showing division in front of a rampant press pack means that single-issue campaigning bodies increasingly take responsibility for driving forward the innovative agenda.

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