Kent Debating Society

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  THW Make Voting Compulsory

  Tom Barker 6:01 pm on January 22, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
  Tags: beginners, compulsory, debate (36), novice, voting

  

  DLT 1, 6pm 27/1/10

  This week’s debate is a nice simple one for our less-experienced speakers to have a go at and quite appropriate for an election year.

  The proposition will want to emphasised the problems with the current voter turnout in the UK. For example turnout was so low at the last election that the Labour Party were not elected by a majority of voting population. They will want to argue that the solution is to follow the suit of countries such as Australia and make voting compulsory. It is down to the first speaker to figure out a mechanism (what will happen to those that fail to vote still?) of achieving this. They may also want to emphasise the sacrifices made to maintain democracy and that the current turnout is an insult to those that made that sacrifice.

  The opposition will want to acknowledge that there is indeed a problem with voter turnout but that compulsory voting is not the answer. Is it hardly surprising when so many MPs have fiddled their expenses? Would the proposition be better off tackling the problems causing voter apathy rather than punishing the disenfranchised?

  http://www.ippr.org.uk/pressreleases/?id=2083 an argument for

  http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/articles/against-compulsory-voting an argument against

  http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/topic_details.php?topicID=44 a summary of the key arguments

   

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  THW Legalise Prostitution

  Tom Barker 12:36 pm on November 27, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
  Tags: beginners, debate (36), legalise (3), prostitution

  

  Wednesday 2/12/09 DLT2 6pm

  We picked a classic motion for this week’s beginners debate which also happens to be the first one we ever ran at UKC. It’s also one of my favourites because I’m not sure myself where I stand on the issue.

  The debate is winnable for the proposition provided the first speaker is careful with their defintion so make sure you have your KDS handbooks to hand to help you. Remember, look at your definition from your opponents’ perspective, what arguments could you eliminate by covering them in your defintion?  It will also be important for both sides to look at countries where there are more relaxed approaches to prostitution, don’t get too caught up in the Amsterdam model, there are plenty more.

  The proposition will need to demonstrate the inadequacies of criminalisation. They will need to demonstrate that this Draconian approach endangers the very people the law is designed to protect, think Peter Sutcliffe, think about the recent events in Ipswich. That by criminalising the ‘world’s oldest profession’ it forces the practice underground when it would be more sensible to regulate it. The proposition may also want to introduce the idea of freedom of choice and emphasise some of the more ‘glamourous’ forms of prostitution, quite topical given the recent unveiling of the author of the famous Belle du Jour blog.

  The opposition will want to make it very clear that these latter examples of prostitution are the exception rather than the rule. They may want to refer to the statistics which show the majority of prostitutes are also drug addicts and a disturbing number of those in this illicit trade have been trafficked. There is also the important morality arguments about how the purchasing of sex is amoral and that the legalisation of this trade would have dire implications for society.

  Here’s some links to get you started with any research you may want to conduct:

  http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/topic_details.php?topicID=25 a summary of the issues

  http://www.prostitutionreform.co.uk/ a pro-legalisation lobby group

  http://www.fcap.btik.com/p_Home.ikml one for the opposition from a feminist organisation