influences on law making

Question 1

advantages of pressure groups

Answer 1

• remind parliament about the issues that the public believe are important
• some pressure groups have huge memberships which exceed those of political parties e.g. The National Trust has over 2 million members
• knowledge on their interests and causes in order to put their point across convincingly

Question 2

disadvantages of pressure groups

Answer 2

• they are biased in favour of their own interest so may not provided a balanced argument
• members are often very passionate and may resort to violence and criminal behaviour
• opinions held by pressure groups may only help a small minority of people

Question 3

advantages of the media

Answer 3

• raises government awareness
• the media is able to highlight bad practise
• the media raises public awareness which helps political parties promote their mandate
• media also raises the publics profile of an issue and adds weight to the public opinion

Question 4

disadvantages of the media

Answer 4

• newspapers do not have to remain politically neutral
• the media can easily whip up a moral panic in the public
• newspapers need to sell papers so they often publish the negatives e.g the Daily Mail

Question 5

advantages of