This page lists the debates we have held from January 2022 onwards. Each member receives the current printed programme listing the dates and topics for debate, the proposers and opposers and other information about the society. The cover of the programme as we entered our 140th year in 2026 is shown here.
Autumn Session 2025
16 Oct. That this House supports the introduction of digital ID cards
23 Oct. That President Trump’s second term is proving to be a success
30 Oct. That the UK should withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights
6 Nov. That the UK Government should increase defence spending to at least 5 per cent of GDP
13 Nov. That free will is an illusion
20 Nov. That the Government’s ‘net zero’ agenda is harming Britain
27 Nov. That history is determined more by great individuals than by impersonal forces
4 Dec. That this House would love to be eighteen again
Spring Session 2025
23 Jan. That Elon Musk is a great man
30 Jan. That Britain’s ‘first past the post’ electoral system is no longer fit for purpose
6 Feb. That biographies are more rewarding than novels
13 Feb. That this House feels itself to be European
20 Feb. That the prison sentences given to climate change protesters are unjust
27 Feb. That, among Victorian politicians, this House admires Lord Salisbury more than Gladstone or Disraeli
6 Mar. That our screen-based culture is damaging the fabric of society
13 Mar. That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty’s Government
Autumn Session 2024
17 Oct. That this House welcomes the result of the recent General Election
24 Oct. That the legacy of the 1960s has not aged well
31 Oct. That Napoleon deserves his reputation for greatness
7 Nov. That NATO’s expansion has been a strategic mistake
14 Nov. That this House welcomes the result of the American election
21 Nov. That Britain is no longer a country in which we may argue freely according to conscience
28 Nov. That Dostoevsky is at least the equal of anything that 19th-century English literature has to offer
5 Dec. That this House believes in ghosts
Spring Session 2024
25 Jan. That this House supports the Government’s Rwanda Bill
1 Feb. That English Literature teaching should emphasise modern work
8 Feb. That successive governments cannot be held responsible for the Post Office/Horizon scandal
15 Feb. That this House prefers the art of the Renaissance to that of the nineteenth century and beyond
22 Feb. That conflict in Palestine cannot be resolved by the two-state solution
29 Feb. That Sir Thomas More was no saint
7 Mar. That Henry Kissinger did more harm than good
14 Mar. That this House has no confidence in His Majesty’s Government
Autumn Session 2023
19 Oct. That it is unrealistic to claim that Net Zero will be attained in the UK by 2050
26 Oct. That the dominant power in the East will be India, not China
2 Nov. That Artificial Intelligence presents an existential threat to the human race
9 Nov. That Richard III has been unfairly maligned
16 Nov. That Britain is better off outside the EU
23 Nov. That Elizabeth Bennet is the best of Jane Austen’s heroines
30 Nov. That Nigel Lawson was our greatest post-war Chancellor of the Exchequer
7 Dec. That this House has no regrets (Christmas debate)
Spring Session 2023
26 Jan. That strikes by public service workers should be further restricted by legislation
2 Feb. That air travel for tourism is no longer morally acceptable
9 Feb. That Economics is an overrated profession
16 Feb. That monogamy is for the birds (Valentine’s debate)
23 Feb. That extra money alone will not fix the NHS
2 Mar. That this House prefers Trollope to Dickens
9 Mar. That, in the long run, the French Revolution was a success
16 Mar. That this House has no confidence in His Majesty’s Government
Autumn Session 2022
20 Oct. That cutting taxes is a priority
27 Oct. That Britain should be proud of its heritage and history
3 Nov. That the West is paying too high a price for its support of Ukraine
10 Nov. That Britain’s total lockdown was a mistake
17 Nov. That women in Britain get a worse deal than men
24 Nov. That golf courses are a bad use of land
1 Dec. That the Establishment has failed our nation
8 Dec. That this House admires the civilisation of ancient Greece more than that of ancient Rome
Spring Session 2022
27 Jan. That Margaret Thatcher’s legacy is more to be admired than Tony Blair’s
3 Feb. That social media is bad for society
10 Feb. That Maths is the most important subject for young people to learn
17 Feb. That this House welcomes rewilding
24 Feb. That the Irish can take much pride in their first 100 years of independence
3 Mar. That the liberty to know, to utter and to argue freely, according to conscience, should never be constrained
10 Mar. That this House regrets that Chaucer is rarely taught today
17 Mar. That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty’s Government
