Public in Public Policy: the case of the sugar tax
The sugar tax is a prime example of how the public and other external influences can convince the government to implement policy. Thanks to public actions, a media campaign and celebrities speaking out the sugar tax was implemented despite the initial opposition from the government and members of parliament. The measures implanted by the sugar tax were a part of tough recommendations by Public Health England to tackle childhood obesity in the UK. (The Guardian 2015) notable celebrities like Jamie Oliver and others showed their public support and significantly impacted public awareness as well as the government’s willingness to implement the policy.
Agenda Setting
With the outright rejection by the then prime minister, David Cameron, on implementing the sugar tax and other restrictions on the sugar and soft drink industry, the movement resorted to putting external pressure on the government. In this case, public and external opinion had a significant impact on the agenda-setting and the policy formulation stage of the cycle. The pressure put on the government by Public Health England, celebrities and a national media campaign forced the government to consider the policy when it was so easily dismissed initially. Birkland states that Schattschneider’s idea of public participation in the agenda-setting stage highlights some key ways in which groups that fail to gain governmental policy support further put pressure on the government to pass the policy. A group will use the media to campaign, promote and induce public support and sympathy behind the cause. (Birkland 2017, p67). with the significant media coverage and the support of well-known celebrities like Jamie Oliver, the government had to consider the restrictions on the sugar industry that Public Health England recommended. The media was key to raising awareness of the dangers of excessive sugar consumption and the traditional media coverage of Jamie Oliver and Public Health England speaking to the health committee about the dangers of excess sugar and childhood obesity (UK Parliament 2015) made the public more conscious of the issue and the policy framed as the solution. The media campaign and public interest generated by it massively impacted the agenda of the government even though it had not been part of their manifesto and resulted in backlash from some government party MPs.
Policy Formulation
Policy formulation “involves identifying and/or crafting a set of policy alternatives to address a problem, and narrowing that set of solutions in preparation for the final policy decision” (Sidney 2017, p79). Policy formulation is a hugely important stage in the cycle, it is where the problem has been identified and solutions and a plan will be formulated in response. The recommendations made by Public Health England acted as the framework on which the policy was based. The policy recommendations that were rejected by the prime minister initially were then formulated into the government anti-obesity plan. The example of the sugar tax is a good example of a successful policy being adopted with the original tenets of the policy not being changed majorly.
Challenges
External influence on policy can face significant hurdles that can result in the policy never seeing the light of day. Issues will fall off the agenda due to the loss of interest of the public and media. The media is ultimately profit-oriented and if the public loses interest due to a lack of significant development or an extended time has passed the media has no incentive to publish articles on the issue. In the case of the sugar tax, the interest did not significantly decrease and thus the pressure on the conservative government stayed. The resistance to the movement came from the industry lobby against the tax and the government not seeing a need for the restrictions that were being proposed. If a policy conflicts with the ideology of the government policy or is not in their manifesto the government will be less willing to propose it normally. If the policy is not in the manifesto the House of Lords has the right to oppose the legislation due to the Salisbury convention. If the policy is in opposition to the established government ideology there will be great difficulty convincing the government to pass it as it could lead to a rebellion and or a loss of voters if the government is seen to be acting against its views.
Conclusion
The sugar tax is a good example of how external factors and public opinion can sway the government’s view and pressure them into implementing policies they would have normally and initially dismissed. Policy without the support of the government or the public can stop if interest dies down or if the government is willing to reject the policy despite the potential backlash it might face.
Bibliography
Birkland, T.A., 2017. Agenda setting in public policy. In Handbook of public policy analysis (pp. 89-104). Routledge.
Public Health England (2015). Public Health England and Jamie Oliver discuss childhood obesity. UK Parliament.
Sidney, M.S., 2017. Policy formulation: design and tools. In Handbook of public policy analysis (pp. 105-114). Routledge.
The Guardian (2015). Ministers urged to introduce sugar tax in childhood obesity report.
This blog post provides a well outlined explanation of how the sugar tax went from an idea to an implemented policy. The UK government is often criticized for being far away from its citizens, with decisions being made by some distant minister, so this case is a good example of how UK citizens can have a tangible impact on government policy. Part of why the sugar tax was able to be pushed through the long and sometimes treacherous policy cycle, as opposed to the many other failed public agendas, is the fact that it was not just a call for the government to address an issue, but to implement a proposed solution. Public attention to political issues is hard to hold on to, as people tend to forget about an issue when new ones arise or if there has been no substantial progress. As the government might take up an issue in a debate or for a first reading in order to quell the public, pressure can be lost during the formulation and implementation stages. However, because the sugar tax was a recommendation from external bodies that addressed a wider public issue, the public had an idea of what they wanted the government to do and how to go about it. Time is of the essence when it comes to public pressure, and by skipping the larger debate about policy formulation, the sugar tax was able to be passed more efficiently than a bill that addresses a more vague call to action.
This well written blog post with an also engaging headline, overall outlining the importance of outside influences on government policy. Whether that be a normal citizens or a celebrity. Although, celebrities have a higher standing and influence than the everyday person when it is regarding political influence. The sugar tax was only able to be passed due to the strong demand from the public, not by working politicians. Which has been explained throughout by the writer effectively. Highlighting, multiple examples on how pressure was applied to enforce policy formation on the sugar tax issue. Pressures were highlighted by the readers explanation on Public Health Englands role, alongside Jamie Oliver and their collaboration on speaking to the committee for Health on the dangers of obesity. Which is a really important political moment as this not only engaged public sympathy, but also gained a few government sympathisers. Which was the starting point for the policy formation to really begin with an end goal insight. Again, which was highlighted by the writer throughout this blog post. The reader also implies, that because of the work from the contributing outside factors, the policy formation was only viable from then. Which is seemingly correct as David Cameron was known for rejecting the idea. However, this blog post would have benefitted more by highlighting the economic reasons why Cameron rejected the policy idea first and the economic considerations within the policy. As it would have impacted a large profiting outside industry. However, the writer does highlight some important challenges of how quickly public opinion can change, as social media has been the catalyst. The quick changes in public opinion can prevent from real, hard persevering scrutiny from the public. Which could possibly prevent the government from taking public opinion seriously. Which is an important arguing factor highlighted by the writer, as this will effect more than just policy formation within the political arena.
This blog post has an interesting title drawing me in to reading about the topic. The layout is also very clear and makes the post very easy to read and understand. It presents a good example as to when the public have played a big influence on getting a policy through, it highlights that without the continued interest in having a sugar tax from the public it would never have been implemented. I found it interesting thinking about how the media plays a role in policy making and how in the past less policies the public my have wanted implemented would have been pasted due to things such as social media just not existing. The writer uses a relevant example to show how even if the government and large companies may disagree the public can have an impact on policies that get put through. Further to this blog since the sugar tax was put in place it has been estimated in recent studies that the levy could prevent over 5000 cases of childhood obesity in girls in year 6. Studies like these highlight how policies put in place, especially supported by the government, will have the positive outcomes hoped for. Despite the long process of getting new policies through parliament, ones such as the sugar tax, are shown to help improve the lives of those in the UK, especially children.
The author provides a clear example of public pressure influencing policy by outlining the case of the sugar tax. Arguably, one key aspect of this campaign that made it successful is that the public pressure began after policy formulation. As the author states, policy formulation is an important step in the process of creating policy. However, the process of taking an ideal or belief and turning it into a concrete policy proposal is often a lengthy and complex process during which the public can lose interest. In this case, the recommendations of Public Health England provided the policy that accompanied the belief of anti-obesity initiatives. Thus, it was arguably easier for the public to pressure the government as the timeline for implementation of the policy was shorter as the policy formulation was already completed.
Overall, the author has provided an insightful analysis to an interesting topic on the relationship and dynamics between the influence of the public and policy making as shown by the sugar tax example. The author highlights the benefits of evidence-based policy reinforcement, the aim of the sugar tax was to reduce childhood obesity and improve public health in a hope to lead to lowered healthcare costs and a healthier population. The effectiveness of the public awareness campaigns was increased with the use of compelling data highlighting the policies benefits. Clearly the campaign was bolstered by the strong scientific evidence that accompanied it providing the campaign with credibility and countering governmental scepticism. The author utilises the example of the sugar tax case to explicitly highlight how the public can sway the opinion of the government. The movement was able to put pressure on policy makers to change the sugar laws even after it was initially rejected, I add that grassroots movements and protests are another way in which the public can influence policy and set the agenda for policy makers (Lima, 2021).