ABSTRACT
The interest groups which make up the poverty lobby in Britain operate in a complex environment in which many forces impinge on policy making. To understand how the interest groups which make up the poverty lobby fit into these processes the authors begin by examining the nature of policy making and the institutional and organizational settings within which income maintenance provision has developed. This summarizes the main features of the institutional structures within which social security policies are formulated. However, the author also discusses to deal with the relative weakness of the unemployment lobby within the overall poverty lobby. The interest groups which make up the poverty lobby in Britain operate in a complex environment in which many forces impinge on policy making. The changes in national insurance, social assistance, and family benefits were the outcome of complex processes of inter-organization bargaining both within and outside the social security issue-community.
