Does joining a Party mean you can influence policies?

[SilverDragonfly1]

I'm being very good and keeping politics in the politics topic :D

So, if you join a political party, what happens other than you giving them money? Do you have a chance to influence their policies via vote or debate? Can you potentially have an actual dialogue with your local MP rather than being ignored? I have a lot of ideas and opinions (can you tell??) so will I make a difference or just end up even more frustrated?

As a member of the Labour Party, you will end up more frustrated. The direction Ed&co took the party was terribly frustrating for a Blairite like myself.

Can't comment on the processes of any other party, as I have never been a member.

In the Green Party you certainly can, I'm not sure about other parties?

Its kind of to you, and how much you want to be involved. You can just pay subs and contribute to crowd funders, or.you can go to meetings/knock doors/form sub groups to work on particular policies..
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well, you would need to climb up the ladder of the party you join to have inflence

I wouldn't expect to be making or contributing to policies (although the sub groups mentioned sound good and I would go to meetings), but I would expect that if a substantial number of members objected to a policy or felt it needed adjustment, that would be taken into account. If that's not the case, I wouldn't be joining any.