In what way have pressure groups become more important in recent years?

The first 200 words of this essay...

In what way have pressure groups become more important in recent years?

In recent years, the importance of pressure groups in politics has risen. This is due to a number of reasons including media influence, the use of different tactics and membership of the groups. In the 1970's Labour government, the first 'pressure groups' were formed, however they were very different to the pressure groups of today. The functioned under 'tripartism', an alliance between the government, businesses and state affiliations, to discuss and set out legislation applicable to them. Under the same government, the relationship between the trade unions and government grew stronger; the trade unions had influence on government policies and even some control over them. However, under Thatcher, this 'relationship' was completely diminished, they no longer held any power, they became outsider groups. Under New Labour, trade unions had links with them inside government and they encouraged 'responsible groups'.

One possible reason for the rise in importance of pressure groups could be media and technology now used. Technology has vastly improved since the early seventies, with a computer being in nearly every household now, and now the media has the ability to reach those