Using the Sources and Your Own Knowledge, Discuss the View That Pressure Groups Are Now More Important Than Parties.

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Pressure groups differ from political parties in the fact that a pressure group can’t run in an election in an attempt to gain power. They can be classed as either insider or outsider depending if the government wishes to acknowledge their aim and listen to what they have to say. Also some pressure groups could be around for a short time as if they are caused by a single issue when it has been resolved they either dissolve it or keep a much smaller profile. Due to much larger memberships nationwide, with some pressure groups having in excess of a million members compared to parties these days which at most only have around 200,000 members this from the start means that due to severe lack of numbers in comparison to some pressure groups means that they are at an immediate disadvantage. As a result of this the voice of a pressure group can be very loud as even if half of its members turn out to a protest or march they would have more than the total of political parties. Also there are many more pressure groups than political parties, as in 2010 there were only 398 registered parties but a much larger 7,000 organizations that could be classed as a pressure group. The figure of 398 political parties does include parties which have no influence at all due to be unable to win any seats in commons so losing a chance at a voice in parliament. Also funding is much higher for pressure groups as the trade union ‘unison’ has yearly subscriptions of 160m a year compared to 30-40m a year for cons and labs this means that pressure groups have a capability to buy more resources with which to gain their aims. On the other hand some pressure groups, in particular those classed as outsider, even with high levels of membership will struggle to get their view across as the government in power will simply not give into their pressure as it will look bad on them, especially if the group

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