Topics

Contested questions on migration, the economy, life and death, gender, religion, justice, climate, technology, geopolitics, education and health. Pick one and spar.

Migration, nation and identity

• Should the UK significantly reduce net migration?
• Should a country prioritise integration and a shared national culture over multiculturalism?
• Should the UK pay reparations or make formal amends for colonialism and slavery?
• Should Scotland become an independent country?

Economy and the state

• Should taxes on the wealthy be substantially increased?
• Should the UK introduce a universal basic income?
• Should key utilities (water, rail, energy) be in public ownership?
• Should the minimum wage be raised substantially?

Life, death and morality

• Should abortion be legal, and on what terms?
• Should assisted dying be legal?
• Should the death penalty be reintroduced for the worst crimes?

Gender, sex and family

• Should trans women be able to compete in women's sport?
• How should legal gender recognition work?
• Should children under 18 have access to puberty blockers for gender dysphoria?
• Should the state actively promote marriage and two-parent families?

Religion and the public square

• Should faith schools receive state funding?
• Should blasphemy, or insulting religion, ever be restricted by law?
• Should the Church of England remain the established church?

Crime, policing and justice

• Should the UK send fewer people to prison?
• Should possession of drugs such as cannabis be decriminalised or legalised?
• Should police use live facial recognition in public spaces?
• Should everyone accused of a crime be entitled to a publicly funded defence, whatever the charge?
• Should lawyers be expected to represent any client, however abhorrent the accusation or the client?
• Should the right to jury trial be limited to reduce court backlogs?

Climate, energy and science

• How fast should the UK reach net zero, and at what cost?
• Is climate change mainly caused by human activity?
• Should the UK build more nuclear power?
• Should genetically modified and gene-edited crops be widely used?
• Are childhood vaccines safe and should they be strongly encouraged or required?

Technology and speech

• Should social media platforms be required to remove harmful but legal content?
• Should children under 16 be banned from social media?
• Should hate speech laws be strengthened or loosened?

Geopolitics

• What should be the UK's policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
• Should the West continue military support to Ukraine?
• Should the UK rejoin the EU?
• Should the UK increase defence spending substantially, even if it means cuts elsewhere?

Education, work and society

• Should private schools pay VAT and lose charitable status?
• Should selective grammar schools be expanded?
• Should diversity quotas or targets be used in hiring and boards?
• Should the four-day working week become the norm?

Health

• Should the NHS remain free at the point of use and funded through general taxation?
• Should sugar, alcohol and ultra-processed foods be taxed more heavily?

Animals

• Is it morally acceptable to eat animals?
• Should factory farming be phased out?
• Is it right to keep animals in zoos and aquariums?
• Should animals have legal rights, not only welfare protections?
• Should animal testing in medical research be phased out?
• Should hunting for sport be banned?

Artificial intelligence

• Should AI development be slowed or paused until safety is better understood?
• Is relying on AI making people less capable?
• Would a world where AI outperforms humans at most things be good for people?
• Should governments act now to protect workers from AI automation?
• Does advanced AI pose a serious risk of human extinction or loss of control?
• Should the gains from AI be shared through new taxes or public ownership?