British Parliamentary Style
Encyclopedia
British Parliamentary style debate is a common form of academic debate
. It has gained support in the United Kingdom
, Ireland
, Canada
, Europe
, Africa
, Philippines
and United States
, and has also been adopted as the official style of the World Universities Debating Championship
and European Universities Debating Championship
. Speeches are usually between five and seven minutes in duration.
, the two sides are called the Government (more commonly called "Proposition" in the United Kingdom) and Opposition. The speakers are similarly titled:
Speaking alternates between the two sides and the order of the debate is therefore:
The Opening Government team has the semi-divine right of definition, preventing the opposition from challenging their definition of the motion unless it is either a truism
or clearly unreasonable.
In addition, the final two speakers of the debate (known as the Whips) take a similar role to the third speakers in Australia-Asian debating:
may be offered.
IV in Dublin, the premier tournament in Ireland, recommences the season. The season continues with a large number of IONA and European competitions in March and April. During May and June, the period annual examinations in many universities a small number of open competitions are held in preparation for the European Championship. "Euros" was initially held over the Easter break, but is now held over the summer, normally in August and concludes the European debating season.
The International Mace final is held in April. It is contested by the winners of the national Mace competitions
in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The finalists are informed before about the motion. The national mace competitions
are run throughout the academic year in a series of knockout rounds in Scotland and Ireland. In England and Wales they are held over the course of two days.
For the World Championships and most competitions both team members must be registered students of a university or third level institution. Although occasionally 'open' competitions are held that allow non-students and composite teams to compete.
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
. It has gained support in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and has also been adopted as the official style of the World Universities Debating Championship
World Universities Debating Championship
The World Universities Debating Championship is the world's largest debating tournament, and one of the largest annual international student events in the world. It is a parliamentary debating event, held using the British Parliamentary Debate format. Each year, the event is hosted by a university...
and European Universities Debating Championship
European Universities Debating Championship
The European Universities Debating Championship is an annual debating tournament for teams from universities in Europe. The competition uses the British Parliamentary Debate format .The championships as they are known today were first held in Rotterdam, Netherlands at Erasmus University from 8–11...
. Speeches are usually between five and seven minutes in duration.
Terminology
Because of the style's origins in British parliamentary procedureParliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies...
, the two sides are called the Government (more commonly called "Proposition" in the United Kingdom) and Opposition. The speakers are similarly titled:
- Opening Government (first faction):
- Prime Minister
- Deputy Prime Minister
- Opening Opposition (second faction):
- Leader of the Opposition
- Deputy Leader of the Opposition
- Closing Government (third faction):
- Member for the Government
- Government Whip
- Closing Opposition (fourth faction):
- Member for the Opposition
- Opposition Whip
Speaking alternates between the two sides and the order of the debate is therefore:
- Prime Minister
- Leader of the Opposition
- Deputy Prime Minister
- Deputy Leader of the Opposition
- Member for the Government
- Member for the Opposition
- Government Whip
- Opposition Whip
Roles
As British Parliamentary debates take place between four teams their roles are split into two categories, those for the Opening factions, and those for the Closing factions.Opening factions
The first faction on each Government and Opposition team, known as the Opening Factions, has four basic roles in a British Parliamentary debate. They must:- Define the motion of the debate.
- Present their case.
- Respond to arguments of the opposing first faction.
- Maintain their relevance during the debate.
The Opening Government team has the semi-divine right of definition, preventing the opposition from challenging their definition of the motion unless it is either a truism
Truism
A truism is a claim that is so obvious or self-evident as to be hardly worth mentioning, except as a reminder or as a rhetorical or literary device and is the opposite of falsism....
or clearly unreasonable.
Closing factions
The role of the second two factions are to:- Introduce a case extension.
- Establish and maintain their relevance early in the debate.
- Respond to the arguments of the first factions.
- Respond to the case extension of the opposing second faction.
In addition, the final two speakers of the debate (known as the Whips) take a similar role to the third speakers in Australia-Asian debating:
- The opposition whip may not introduce new arguments for his faction, the government's whip may add new positive material as long as it's "small" and does not start a new line of argumentation. This is a relatively new standard that has become the standard at the Worlds University Debating Championship, as well as the European University Debating Championship;
- They must respond to both opposing factions' arguments;
- They should briefly sum up their Opening Faction's case;
- They should offer a conclusion of their own faction's case extension.
Points of Information
The style demands that all speakers offer Points of Information (POIs) to their opposition. POIs are important in British Parliamentary style, as it allows the first two factions to maintain their relevance during the course of the debate, and the last two factions to introduce their arguments early in the debate. The first and last minute of each speech is considered "protected time", during which no points of informationPoint of information
Points of Information are a feature of Parliamentary debate, allowing an opposing team member to offer a brief point during the current speech. As in some debating styles, such as World Schools Style, they often may not be offered in the first or last minute of any speech , or during Reply Speeches...
may be offered.
Variations
Depending on the country, there are variations in speaking time, speaking order, whether proposition whip can introduce new points, and the number of speakers. In addition to specific rules, etiquette varies by region. For instance, in some tournaments it is considered bad form for the first team on either side to try and cover as many topics as possible to leave the closing team with nothing (a practice known as "scorching the earth"), while in other tournaments it is strongly encouraged.Competitions in BP Style
The debating season closely follows the academic year in Northern Hemisphere English speaking countries. The first competitions are in Britain and Ireland in October & November, building up to World Championships held over the Christmas holidays. After "Worlds" the Oxford Intervarsity (IV) is the most prestigious. In the New Year the TrinityTrinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
IV in Dublin, the premier tournament in Ireland, recommences the season. The season continues with a large number of IONA and European competitions in March and April. During May and June, the period annual examinations in many universities a small number of open competitions are held in preparation for the European Championship. "Euros" was initially held over the Easter break, but is now held over the summer, normally in August and concludes the European debating season.
The International Mace final is held in April. It is contested by the winners of the national Mace competitions
John Smith Memorial Mace
The John Smith Memorial Mace is an annual debating tournament contested by universities in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales....
in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The finalists are informed before about the motion. The national mace competitions
John Smith Memorial Mace
The John Smith Memorial Mace is an annual debating tournament contested by universities in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales....
are run throughout the academic year in a series of knockout rounds in Scotland and Ireland. In England and Wales they are held over the course of two days.
For the World Championships and most competitions both team members must be registered students of a university or third level institution. Although occasionally 'open' competitions are held that allow non-students and composite teams to compete.
External links
- Training material for British Parliamentary Style, prepared by the Australian Capital Territory Debating Union.
- An introductory Guide to BP Debating by Alex Deane.
- Competitive Debating by Dan Neidle
- British Debate
- World Debate Website
- Irish Mace competition
- Trinity IV