Gossip Tory

The first debates of the national CF debating competition were held on the 21st July in London, at UCL. It was part of the first round of the competition, with a further two days of debating in Solihull on August 11th and Leeds on the 12th to go (which can be found on Facebook here and here). It was a really fun day with ten teams debating hard against each other for a few hours. We had five lively debates on a range of issues from the reform of the House of Lords to decriminalising drugs, all judged by Marina Yannakoudakis (one of three Conservative MEPs for London), Ruth Porter (the Communications Director for the Institute of Economic Affairs) and Nick Pickles (the Director of ‘Big Brother Watch’). Congratulations to the five teams that went through to the next round (one from each debate): Adam Memon and Adnan Memon, Thomas Borwick and Alex Borwick, Jolyon Bryce and Nahuel Marisi, Ian O’Neal and Karen Reid, and Oliver Schofield and Samuel Lin. People from around London came to watch the debates free of charge and took part themselves in the floor debate. You can watch videos of the debates on Youtube here.

It was a great start to the competition and with your continued support we hope we can make this an annual CF event with debates becoming a part of the CF calendar. Thanks to everyone who participated both in the audience and in the debate teams.

Look out for the further first rounds of the competition. On 11th August, the debating competition goes to Solihull. The round is being judged by Jeremy Wright, MP for Kenilworth and Southam, Ken Hawkins, the Mayor of Solihull, and Robert Hulland, the Solihull Conservative Association Chairman. On 12th August, the competition is in Leeds, judged by the two honorary Vice-Presidents of Yorkshire and Humber Conservative Future, Robert Winfield and Geoff Pickering, and Amanda Pickering. The debates are free to watch, so come along and enjoy a day of debating with your fellow CFers.