Archive
This page lists the debates we have held from January 2016 onwards.
Autumn Session 2020
15 Oct. That Sir Keir Starmer will never make Labour victorious at a general election 22 Oct. That this House would rather be governed by the under-thirties than by the over-seventies 29 Oct. That Trump losing the election will be worse for the world than him winning it 5 Nov. That we are no better at managing "boom and bust" than in 1720 12 Nov. That Beethoven towers above all other composers 19 Nov. That too much emphasis is placed on examinations 26 Nov. That pre-COVID normality will not return
3 Dec. That pantomimes are dreadful. (Oh yes they are!)
Spring Session 2020
23 Jan. That the voting age should be lowered to 16 30 Jan. That Queen Elizabeth II should be our last monarch 6 Feb. That eating red meat is no longer acceptable 13 Feb. That the charity sector needs substantial reform 20 Feb. That Oliver Cromwell is more to be deplored than admired 27 Feb. That the water industry should be nationalised 5 Mar. That good taste is overrated 12 Mar. That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government
Autumn Session 2019
17 Oct. That the UK needs a written constitution
24 Oct. That recreational drugs should be decriminalised
31 Oct. That this House is willing to reduce its living standards to protect the environment
7 Nov. That our politicians ain't wot they used to be
14 Nov. That Iran is the nation posing the greatest threat to Western security
21 Nov. That the Government is wrong to introduce relationship teaching in primary schools
28 Nov. That the Internet is no longer a force for good (Sir Tim Berners-Lee)
5 Dec. That this House prefers the Seven Deadly Sins to the Four Cardinal Virtues
Spring Session 2019
24 Jan. That China is to be feared
31 Jan. That mental illness is over-diagnosed
7 Feb. That British museums and galleries should return appropriated artefacts to their countries of origin
14 Feb. That population growth is the greatest threat to the future of mankind
21 Feb. That the BBC has abandoned its founding principles
28 Feb. That the best children's books have been written in the last fifty years
7 Mar. That the Victorian Age did more harm than good
14 Mar. That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government
Autumn Session 2018
11 Oct. That we should have another referendum on Brexit
18 Oct. That clerics should stay out of politics 25 Oct. That Jeremy Corbyn has the makings of a good Prime Minister 1 Nov. That History is the queen of the Humanities 8 Nov. That President Trump's policies are effective 15 Nov. That life was better in 1968 than it is in 2018 22 Nov. That Artificial Intelligence will do more harm than good
29 Nov. That alcohol is more a blessing than a curse
Spring Session 2018
25 Jan. That science fiction tells us more about the human condition than other forms of fiction (to mark the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein) 1 Feb. That Amazon is a great blessing 8 Feb. That the State Visit invitation to President Trump should be withdrawn 15 Feb. That our marriage laws need wholesale revision (Valentine's Day debate) 22 Feb. That this House regrets Brexit 1 Mar. That the UK should spend more on defence 8 Mar. That we are entering a new age of intolerance 15 Mar. That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government
Autumn Session 2017
12 Oct. That this House welcomes the demise of the printed newspaper 19 Oct. That women would have got the vote just as soon without the suffragettes 26 Oct. That Britain needs a new centre party 2 Nov. That the Protestant Reformation produced a tectonic shift in Western European ideas (to mark the 500th anniversary of Luther's 95 theses) 9 Nov. That the free movement of labour is good for the United Kingdom 16 Nov. That the golden age of cinema ended with the rise of television 23 Nov. That tourism kills the thing it loves 30 Nov. That this House would rather visit Kew Gardens than the National Gallery
Spring Session 2017
26 Jan. That Fidel Castro served his people well 2 Feb. That men are from Mars and women are from Venus (John Gray) 9 Feb. That there is a right to give offence 16 Feb. That the trade unions have become too powerful 23 Feb. That Bob Dylan deserves his Nobel prize 2 Mar. That the judges have got above themselves 9 Mar. That official enquiries into historical events are a waste of public money 16 Mar. That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government
Autumn Session 2016
13 Oct. That Hillary Clinton has the makings of a good president
20 Oct. That this House welcomes the result of the Referendum
27 Oct. That politeness is the first virtue
3 Nov. That this House is jolly proud of the British Empire
10 Nov. That this House welcomes the establishment of more grammar schools
17 Nov. That Shakespeare's Age was more heroic than our own
24 Nov. That the Hinkley Point C project should be scrapped
1 Dec. That this House would not buy a smartphone
Spring Session 2016
21 Jan. That the UK should stop bombing Syria
28 Jan. That Hugh Gaitskell was the best prime minister we never had
4 Feb. That this House is tired of London
11 Feb. That national security is more important than personal privacy
18 Feb. That Confucius can teach us all we need to know to live a good life
25 Feb. That pensioners are unfairly favoured by Government
3 Mar. That this House opposes the public subsidy of opera
10 Mar. That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government
