The Confederation of British Industries (or CBI) is a pressure group that is very prevalent and powerful in the British and European political systems. It is made up of many companies and also other groups of companies. This makes it an interesting pressure group because its members are not individuals (unlike Greenpeace).

They look after the interests of the British industries in Europe and other international forums as well as in the U.K.. They make sure that the government of the U.K. keeps British industries' interests at heart.

It is classified as an Insider group since it has a large amount of contacts in the government (both in the civil service and in the Houses of Parliament).

It is also classified as a sectional cause insider group.

It is very influencial in both the UK and in the EU since it has a large membership of very rich and powerful businesses. Few governments would like to upset such a large group of managers and consultants who earn most of the countries' wealth.

The voice of British business.

The Confederation of British Industry or CBI was founded in 1965 as a result of a merger bwtween the Federation of British Industry, the National Association of British Manufacturers, and the Union of British Employers, and is a non-profit making, non-party political organisation funded by the subscriptions paid by its members.It now represents some 250,000 British companies encompassing every industry sector and from every region of the United Kingdom. Over 90% of the constituent companies of the FTSE100 and 70% of the FTSE350 are members which means that it is widely recognised as the United Kingdom's premier independent business organisation.

The CBI's main objective is to help create and sustain the conditions in which business in the United Kingdom can compete and prosper, which means that it is engaged in lobbying the British Government and the European Commission amongst others. putting forward the business case on the issues of the day.

The CBI is perhaps best known for its range of highly respected business surveys which are widely quoted in the media and used by analysts and government as indicators of the health of the British economy the most prominent of which are Economic and Business Outlook Survey, the Industrial Trends Survey, the Retail and Wholesale Distributive Trades Survey and the Pay Databank Survey.

And yes it is the "Confederation of British Industry" not "Industries" see http://www.cbi.org.uk/home.html

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