Interest groups and public policy: the insider, outside model revisited

This paper examines the place of groups in the consultative process in
British policymaking. It stresses the importance of consultation even
under the Thatcher government and distinguishes between consultation,
bargaining and negotiation. The paper identifies the important divide
between the relatively few groups with privileged status and the greater
number of groups who find themselves consigned to less influential
positions. The discussion revisits the insider/outsider typology often
used to differentiate interest group strategies and status in policy
development. It suggests that the insider group term is associated with
a particular style of policy making, and offers amendments to the
existing use of the terms to avoid the difficulties which occur from the
conflation of group strategy and group status