Debate motions from 2014

THW have scientists make environmental policies, not politicians

1.1

THBT humanism should disassociate from atheism

1.2

THW nationalise porn

1.3

TH, as the US government, would create a separate Kurdish state

2.1

THW only show films that pass the Bechdel test

2.2

THW give equal coverage to mens' and womens' sport

2.3

THBT the Mexican government should support vigilante groups

3.1

THW remove the 9th clause from the Japanese constitution

3.2

THW require all photoshopped images to be labelled

3.3

THW reallocate names randomly

4.1

THW allow simulated child pornography

4.2

THW reduce US cultural domination

4.3

THW decrease womens' income tax

5.1

THW aggressively hire ex-soldiers as teachers

5.2

THBT Palestinians should accept demilitarisation in exchange for US recognition as a state

5.3

THW ban private schools

6.1

THW continue to drill the Arctic

6.2

THW give house arrest for non-violent offenders

6.3

THW not have set up the ICTY after the dissolution of Yugoslavia

7.1

THBT Greece should immediately default and leave the Euro

7.2

THW get councils to put out tenders for all NHS services in a local area

7.3

THB liberal and progressive groups should stop saying "Check your privilege"

8.1

THW prevent guilty nations of human rights violations from hosting sporting events

8.2

THW abolish government funding of art

8.3

THW send female diplomats to gender inequality countries

9.1

THBT Mossad should covertly assassinate Syrian rebel leaders

9.2

TH regrets the commercialisation of indigenous cultures

9.3

THBT LGBT should split into its constituent parts

10.1

THW teach sex positions explicitly for pleasure in sex education lessons

10.2

THBT the US should assassinate the five Taliban prisoners released in return for Bowe Bergdahl so that the US will never negotiate with terrorists

10.3

THW abolish Oxbridge

Open_Semi_1

THB that the UN should ban impartial small arms embargos

Open_Semi_2

THB that the Iraqi government should issue oil dividends to its citizens

Open_Final

THW ban religious organizations from providing rehabilitation services to drug and alcohol addicts.

1

THBT democracies should extend voting rights to migrant workers.

2

TH, as a feminist, would oppose products marketed to help women protect themselves from date rape.

3

THBT Arab-Israelis who successfully seek election to the Knesset should opt not to take up that seat.

4

THBT the state should construct false historical narratives that promote social cohesion (e.g. racial and religious tolerance)

5

There is a potion which can stop you falling in love. TH, as an 18 year old, would take the potion.

Novice_Final

THBT true women's liberation is incompatible with the existence of organized religion.

Open_Semis

THBT FB should manipulate users' newsfeeds in order to promote progressive content.

Open_Final

TH, as the North of England, would violently secede from the UK.

1

THW allow people to ascertain their lifespan via the 'Bethesda' device.

1

In a Battlestar Galactica-themed scenario (where humanity is drifting in space), THW ban abortion.

1

TH supports feminist vigilante groups in India.

1

THBT when secession referenda are called, the nation that is being seceded from should get a chance to vote the smaller country out

1

THW create a market in internal organs

1

THBT all erroneous information used in debates should be penalised by judges

1

TH, as a wizard, would create a horcrux

1

THW force countries to invest in a global space program

1

THW require all businesses to be owned and run as cooperatives

2

THW ban the production, sale, and use of Poké Balls

2

THW enter the Matrix

2

TH supports unmanned aerial vehicles in warfare

2

THW introduce a UK constitution giving courts more power.

2

THBT parents should advise daughters against heavy drinking to avoid sexual assault.

2

THW eliminate copyright and patenting

2

TH, as Germany, would ban all emission vehicles by 2020

2

THW disproportionately teach colonialism in schools

2

TH regrets the rise of drinking initiations in universities

3

TH supports the marriage of Ron and Hermione

3

THW allow "Just following orders" as a defence

3

THW forcibly plug everyone into Nozick's experience machine

3

TH does not regret internet piracy

3

It is 2017. This house is the Out campaign. THW spread hyperbolised information and lies about the EU in order to win the referendum

3

THBT colonialism caused more good than harm

3

THW force men and women to take equal maternity and paternity leave

3

TH, as Marcus Brutus, would participate in the conspiracy to kill Caesar

4

TH prefers 'an eye for an eye' in modern society

4

TH welcomes the advent of emerging genetic enhancements on the human body

4

THBT feminists should oppose global capitalism

4

It is 1951, during the Korean War. TH, as the US, would aggressively nuke China

4

THW tie minimum wage increases to increases in the income of the 1%

4

THW institute a lottery system whereby Olympic ticket purchasers may be drafted in as athletes

4

In a world with superheroes, THW institute a superhero register

4

There is a zombie outbreak where 1% of the world is infected. They are all kept in a pen at great expense. We have a vaccination, and the other 99% are vaccinated - they will not be zombified, but the 1% are still dangerous, and there is no cure. Motion: THW kill the 1%

4

TH prefers the abolition of pornography to the nationalisation of pornography.

Open_Final

THBT the United States of America should fund moderate Madrassas (schools of Islamic study) throughout the Islamic world

1

THW allow first-time offenders to, with the consent of the victims, pay compensation to them in place of a prison sentence

2

TH regrets the rise of a 'hookup culture' (one which accepts and encourages casual sexual encounters focused on physical pleasure, without necessarily including emotional bonding)

3

THBT developing countries should ban members of political dynasties from standing for elected office

4

THBT the Trans-Pacific Partnership is in the interests of the small and medium-sized negotiating countries.

5

THW make the receipt of welfare payments to raise children conditional on the use of long-term, but reversible, contraception

6

THBT government agencies that regulate drugs should only test whether a drug is safe, not whether it is effective, before approving it for public use.

7

THBT NATO should unconditionally offer membership to the states of the former Soviet Union, excluding Russia

8

TH regrets the commodification of indigenous cultures

9

THBT the gay rights movement should abandon the claim that sexuality is not a choice

EFL_Semis

THBT multinational companies should be liable for human rights abuses that occur anywhere in their supply chain

EFL_Final

THW remove all copyright protection for material deemed to be morally objectionable

ESL_Quarters

THBT Pope Francis should publicly encourage Catholics to support radically redistributive government policies

ESL_Semis

THW allow countries to pay other countries to settle asylum-seekers who reach their borders

ESL_Final

THW abolish gated communities in the developing world

Open_Partial_Double_Octos

THBT Japan should shame its soldiers who participated in WWII, including those who did not commit war crimes themselves

Open_Octos

THW auction off the long-term right to govern bankrupt cities for profit

Open_Quarters

THBT women should reject practices that alter the appearance of their genitalia, such as waxing and labiaplasty

Open_Semis

THBT India should adopt aggressive free market policies.

Open_Final

THW stop state funding of the arts

1.1

THW "Live as if you were to die tomorrow"

1.2

THW use force to make peace

1.3

THBT the bare necessities are enough

2.1

THBT we should fear Google

2.2

THBT privacy is an illusion

2.3

THBT anything good in life is either illegal, immoral or fattening

2.5

THW always choose style over substance

3.1

THBT bad government comes from too much government

3.2

THBT men have become the tools of their tools

3.3

THBT science will save us

3.4

THW tell the whole truth

3.5

THBT work is overrated

4.1

THB in free speech

4.2

THBT parents are corrupted by children

4.3

THBT imagination is better than knowledge

4.4

THBT whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority it is time to pause and reflect

4.5

This house would pay additional benefits to families on welfare according to their child's performance in school.

1

This house supports two-party political systems over multi-party political systems.

2

This house would ban international aid charities from using senational, graphic, or overly-emotional images of suffering in fundraising and advertising campaigns.

3

This house believes that EU member states should nationalise all their oil and gas resources in order to surrender total ownership and control of them to an EU-run energy agency.

4

This house believes that states of the former Yugoslavia should not commemorate the events of the Yugoslav Wars.

5

This house would introduce blind voting.

6

This house would require of police departments that the ethnic composition of their arrests match the ethnic composition of the population in their jurisdiction.

7

This house believes that micro-finance organisations (including, but not limited to: NGOs, charities and development banks) should offer micro-finance loans in developing nations exclusively to women.

8

This house believes that states should hold binding national referendums on major peace agreements.

9

This house would make membership in a labour union compulsory for every worker.

ESL_Tiebreak

This house would require companies to place images of animal suffering on all products or food whose production harmed or killed animals.

ESL_Quarters

This house believes that leaders of minority religions in Europe should strongly encourage their congregations to refrain from public displays of their faith.

ESL_Semis

THW, assuming it was technically feasible, remove the ability of soldiers to feel fear

ESL_Final

This house believes that supreme/constitutional courts should not have the power to strike down legislation.

Open_Quarters

This house believes that the United States of America should invade, and forcibly partition Iraq.

Open_Semis

This House believes that feminist movement should oppose military interventions which claim to further women's rights

Open_Finals

THW prohibit works of art that undermine/go against morality

1

THW ban commercials

2

THW introduce a "capability vote"

3

THW prohibit sex changes

4

THW impose a DNA database

6

THW prohibit all motor vehicles

7

THW grant legal personality to animals

8

THW ban online dating sites

9

THW make participating in sports activities mandatory

10

THW permit the state discretionary eavesdropping on its citizens

11

THW put a cap on the salaries of top athletes

12

THW make the payment of family allowances conditional on school attendance

13

THW resist the supremacy of English by any means available

14

Paternity leave should be equal to maternity leave

1.1

Students should get their basic study grant back.

1.2

Large banks should be split into smaller ones

2.1

We should prosecute homegrown Jihadis

2.2

More financial support for students is preferable over travel subsidies

3.1

The state should get a monopoly on prostitution

3.2

We should get a European army

4.1

The Netherlands should impose a maximum wage

4.2

We should add the P of paedophilia to the LGBT movement

5.1

Women older than forty should not have children

5.2

The Dutch people should select the coach of the national football team

Open_Semi_1

A (very) high tax on inheritance would be just

Open_Semi_2

Greenpeace should be banned

Open_Final

THBT people have a moral duty to stop chanting words like "puto" or "maricón" (faggot) at sporting events

1

THBT we should prohibit public hospitals to proscribe alternative treatments (like homeopathic treatments, accupuncture or Bach flower remedies)

2

THW ban the use of circus animals

4

THW ban the sales of complex financial products

5

THW penalise a person who knows they have HIV and has sexual contacts with others without informing them

6

THBT smokers should cover the costs of their medical treatments

8

THBT the Mexican government (and others in military situations) should take steps to prevent people travelling in life-threatening ways like "La Bestia"

9

THW eliminate migration barriers

ESL_Final

TH, if presented with a choice between holding the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar or not holding the World Cup at all that year, would choose not to hold the World Cup in 2022.

Open_Octos

THW eliminate the minimum wage

Open_Quarters

esta casa dejaría en manos de los ciudadanos, a través del voto directo en referendos

Open_Semis

THB it is just that citizens create their own armed groups when the state fails to protect them from organised crime

Open_Final

This House Believes That post-revolution states should delegate details of former rulers and high-ranking officials to the International Criminal Court

Round 1 (prepared)

This House Believes That only liberal democracies should host international sporting events

Round 2 (impromptu)

This House Would allow prisoners to volunteer for drug trials in exchange for lighter sentences

Round 3 (prepared)

This House Would require companies to pay their interns

Round 4 (impromptu)

This House Believes That slum tourism does more harm than good

Round 5 (prepared)

This House Would not allow unvaccinated children to attend public schools

Round 6 (impromptu)

This House Would lift tax exemptions form religious institutions that refuse to recognise marriage equality

Round 7 (prepared)

This House Would abolish all patent laws for green technology

Round 8 (impromptu)

This House Would not prosecute defamation

Octofinals (impromptu)

This House Believes That labour unions are becoming obsolete

Quarterfinals (impromptu)

This House Believes That drone strikes are a legitimate tool of foreign policy

Semifinals (impromptu)

This House Believes That Asean political union is an impossible dream

Grand Final (impromptu)

THW abolish Gesinnungsstrafrecht (additional attitude/mindset penalties for crimes commited, e.g. hate crimes)

1

THW give citizens the right to change their identities without giving justification

2

THBT Putin's conduct of the Crimea crisis was in Russia's strategic interest

3

TH is a citizen of a western liberal democracy that rejects discrimination on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity. TH would boycott works from artists (painters, musicians, movie directors, etc.) that personally hold discriminatory views, even when you like their art

4

TH regrets the increasing classification of human behaviour as illnesses

5

THW, as part of awareness campaigns about rape and sexual violence, inform women of potentially risky behaviour (like alcohol consumption or choice of clothing)

6

TH, as the European Union, would introduce defence mechanisms agains anti-EU parties

7

THBT it is time for Germany to take more on miiltary responsibility in the world

ESL_Final

: THBT liberal democracies should not treat disclosure of information to the public as treason.

Open_Quarters

: THW temporarily recolonise former colonies that have developed into "failed states"

Open_Semis

THBT current day's political correctness does more harm than good

Open_Final

THR the commercialization of religious holidays.

1

THBT universities should ban all fraternities and sororities.

2

TH, as the Mexican government, would end its war against the drug cartels.

3

THR the use of feminism as an advertising tactic.

4

THW ban all youth wings of political parties in developing countries.

5

THBT protesters should not use memorials as sites for protest.

6

THS a lower income tax for women than men.

Novice_Finals

THP Facebook's policy of only removing content that users report as objectionable to a policy where Facebook itself independently determines restrictions on content.

Open_Quarters

THBT all information marked as classified by governments should become available to the public within 50 years.

Open_Semis

THW allow communities to vote to suspend police supervision.

Open_Finals