British Parliamentary Style

Debating in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is speaking.

British Parliamentary style debate is a common form of academic debate. It has gained support in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, India, Europe, Africa, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand 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 five to seven minutes in duration.

Terminology

Because of the style's origins in British parliamentary procedure, the two sides are called the Government (more commonly called "Proposition" in the United Kingdom) and Opposition. The speakers are similarly titled:

1. Opening Government (first faction):
   1. Prime Minister
   2. Deputy Prime Minister
2. Opening Opposition (second faction):
   1. Leader of the Opposition
   2. Deputy Leader of the Opposition
3. Closing Government (third faction):
   1. Member of Government
   2. Government Whip
4. Closing Opposition (fourth faction):
   1. Member of Opposition
   2. Opposition Whip (Even though there are two teams of government or opposition, it does not mean they are on the same side, technically they are, but they still could not see each other's arguments and also, they are trying to knock each other out.)

Speaking alternates between the two sides and the order of the debate is therefore:

1. Prime Minister
2. Leader of the Opposition
3. Deputy Prime Minister
4. Deputy Leader of the Opposition
5. Member of Government
6. Member of Opposition
7. Government Whip
8. 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 two teams on each Government and Opposition team are known as part of the Top Half. Each has four basic roles in a British Parliamentary debate. They must:

• Establish clear definitions of terms that may be variously interpreted. For example, defining "this house" in the context of a debate on drug policy might include establishing the primary actor is a country, international organization, or specific policymaker.
• Present their case.
• Respond to arguments raised by the opposing teams.
• Maintain their relevance during the debate by asking points of information.

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.

Closing factions

The second two teams are known as the Bottom Half. The role of the second two factions are to:

• Introduce a case extension.
• Introduce new arguments that distinguish them from the Top Half
• 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 government whip and the opposition whip may not introduce new arguments for his faction.^[1] 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.
• They should distinguish the arguments that their partner made from the arguments of opening government or opening opposition^[2]

Points of Information

The style demands that all speakers offer Points of Information (POIs) to their opposition. To give a POI, a debater who is in the round but on the opposing side of the current speaker may stand up and wait to be called on. If the speaker chooses to call on the debater, the speaker yields the floor for up to 15 seconds, and the debater may offer an argument towards or ask a question to the speaker.^[3] 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 information 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 to 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, but unusually, the season is traditionally commenced by the Deep Springs Invitational each September, building up to World Championships held over the Christmas holidays. After "Worlds" the Cambridge and Oxford IVs are considered the most prestigious. In the New Year the Trinity 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.

References

External links

• An introductory Guide to BP Debating by Alex Deane.
• Competitive Debating by Dan Neidle
• British Debate
• World Debate Website
• The Judges British Parliamentary Debating est.1999 - An extensive array of unconventional tutorials that focus on the alternative and fun aspects of debate.