The Anti-Poll Tax Movement: a Pressure Movement?

The anti-poll tax campaign has been the subject of scant empirical or theoretical analysis. One explanation lies in the difficulty of locating the campaign within existing theories of pressure groups or social movements. This article argues for the creation of a distinct model of protest, based upon the concept of a pressure movement, to explain a campaign that was single-issue, decentralised, non-hierarchical and variable according to location. Distinctions between pressure groups and social movements have become increasingly arbitrary with the rise of groups lacking formalised membership. Pressure movements are thus likely to form key contestatory actors in future years.