disagree

• In a free democracy, people should be able to financially support any cause they wish. Political parties are no different from charities or pressure groups
• If the state were to fund political parties, as occurs in some countries, it would be controversial to decide how much each political party could claim. For example, if funding was based on existing electoral success, if this could reinforce Conservative and Labour dominance
• Philosphically, state funding might also suggest that political parties were somehow servants of the state, which might limit their political independence
• In the 2019 general election, 87 political parties received more than 500 votes. It would be contriversial to decide which would receive funding and how much
• In 2019, despite the Brexit Party spending £4,150,000 it won no seats. The SNP recieved £24,925 in donations and won 48 seats. This suggests that the disproportionate financial influence between political parties has little impact in terms of electoral success
• All politixal parties raise money through charging membership dues. If they were publicly funded there would be less of an incentive for them to encourage political activism and engage with the public