December 2019
Sixteen people attended the Christmas Balloon Debate where four panellists competed to create the best 3 Genie wishes. Provoking much hilarity each person pleaded their case before Jon Salisbury, Derek Cheek and Tony Oswick were ejected, leaving Chris Lane with his aspirations of finding precious metals in Jaywick, having Brad Pitt and Keira Knightley as debate speakers and becoming a genie himself. The attendees also shared seasonal refreshments and a raffle.
November 2019
Fourteen people attended the November debate when Derek Cheek and Mary Lane addressed a variety of questions about: banning supermarkets from selling fireworks, whether Remembrance Day should be a public holiday, the time period for which referenda should remain valid, the relevance of the General Election date and the importance of honesty and integrity in politics. With many varied contributions from the floor it proved to be another lively evening. The next meeting will take place at Imperial House, Rosemary Road, Clacton on Sea on Wednesday 4th December at 7.30pm when there will be a Balloon Debate to choose the best three Genie wishes.
October 2019
For the October debate prominent Brighton debater Jean Yates proposed the motion: "We have too many Charities” asserting that while many perform a useful service they should be streamlined and monitored to both promote efficiency and prevent unnecessary duplication. Citing relevant statistics, she argued that it was too easy for organisations such as private schools to set themselves up as Charities just to avoid taxation. Furthermore, she considered that any help given often focussed more on the donors than the actual beneficiaries.
Opposing the motion Tony Oswick contended that Charities contribute greatly to Society and therefore no-one had the right to challenge their authenticity. He thought that as the majority were small and formed in response to a particular need which disappeared once that need was met, they were self-regulating. Moreover, he believed that there were only as many available as the number of people wishing to support them.
This prompted some thought-provoking responses from the floor. The motion was drawn with 3 votes apiece and 2 abstentions.
September 2019
For the September debate "The media has too much power" both speakers believed the freedom of the press to be important and defined it to include the forums of newspaper, television and internet. Nevertheless proposer Helen Rees considered that the media campaigned on big issues which are self selected, target stereotypes and work in small sound bites which are not deep enough to inform analysis. She also felt that stories could be both misleading and malicious, reinforcing negative views.
However opposer Chris Lane argued that individual newspapers reflect different sections of the population which ultimately balance each other out and the decline in newspaper circulation means they can no longer unite communities in a common cause. He also thought that it is the people on social media who are responsible for the way it is used.
Following lively input from the floor the motion was drawn. The meeting closed with a short discussion about the legalities of Parliamentary Proroguing.
August 2019
Chris Lane proposed that "University Education should be Free" because it is a democratic approach that enables anyone, regardless of background, to study for a degree which can in turn, add value to the nation. He also felt that the current system of student debt is both inefficient and bureaucratic as well as being a huge deterrent for poorer families.
However opposer Ray White argued that learning should not be subsidised after secondary school level unless it was of proven benefit to the state. He considered that the obsession with academic qualifications accentuated inequality by only sponsoring one third of the adult population. He further believed that we complete education through life and experience rather than learning institutions.
Both speakers felt that the current degree system needed to be updated and rationalised because many courses could be condensed into a much shorter time span. Following contributions from the floor, the motion was won by a narrow margin.
July 2019
The AGM preceded the debate and all appropriate officers were appointed.
Under the chairmanship of Lorry Greenall, the July question time panel of Philip Donegan, Chris Lane and Helen Rees addressed a diversity of questions about: leaving the European Union without a deal, the importance of fewer people in the UK learning a foreign language, who the next PM should be, the possibility of England winning the World Cup, banning plastic bottles, replacing TV Licenses with pay per view and whether names accurately reflect personalities.With many varied contributions from the floor it proved to be an entertaining and thought provoking evening.
June 2019
For the June debate Chris Lane proposed the motion: "We mellow with Age" asserting that mellowness is not a warm and cosy feeling but descriptive of the more mature person who has become less judgemental and more tolerant and of others over time. He believed that as people age, they learn from experience to take a more considered, balanced and nuanced understanding of life.
Opposing the motion, Lorry Greenall questioned whether this was true. She considered that many of us get more crotchety as we get older because we find change extremely difficult and frightening. She argued that as a result, we feel weaker and more vulnerable and compensate for this by becoming overly rigid, authoritarian and dictatorial.
This prompted a variety of thought provoking responses from the floor. The motion was drawn with 6 votes apiece and 1 abstention.
May 2019
For the May debate "Sexual Equality in Britain has a long way to go" both speakers agreed that significant progress had been made in improving women's rights. However proposer of the motion Helen Rees felt that much more needed to be done citing class, marriage, gender pay and attitudes towards female sexuality and clothing as some of the most important issues still needing change. She felt that traditionally men's wishes have always come first whilst women have tended to serve the needs of others.
However opposer Jake Clapham disagreed, stating that equality in Britain was amongst the best in the world but equality of outcome where everyone ended up in the same place was unachievable . He argued that all the necessary legislation was in place for equality of opportunity but natural differences between the sexes would result in different life choices being made.
Following considerable input from the floor the motion was narrowly defeated by 6 votes to 5 with 2 abstentions.
April 2019
Under the chairmanship of Lorry Greenall, the April question time panel of Wally Bensilum, Mary Lane and Bill Violen addressed a variety of questions about: the future of Brexit, drug driving, arranged marriages, housing issues, television repeats, motor cycle protective clothing and whether Santa Claus was fictional. With many lively and thoughtful contributions from the floor it proved to be an interesting evening.
March 2019
At this month's debate Chris Lane proposed that "Fantasy is Harmful" because it is just idle speculation which, when acted out, encourages complacency, despair, depression and loneliness. He argued that unlike imagination which is creative and linked to everyday life, fantasies are deceptive, not connected to social values or reality and promote a preoccupation with things that really don't matter. He believed that there are much more rewarding, interesting and sociable ways of spending time.
Opposing the motion, Wally Bensilum asserted that fantasy has been part of the human psyche since the beginning of time citing numerous authors whose imaginations had captured the hearts and minds of the human race. He thought that the world would be worse off without mythology, Father Christmas and hobgoblins and as fantasies had contributed to the development of moral codes they could not be considered detrimental.
Both speakers were thanked for leading a thought provoking debate with many comments from the floor. The motion was lost by 4 votes to 7 with 1 abstention.
February 2019
For the February debate "The Internet does more harm than good" the speakers agreed that both good and bad information could be accessed and that legislation needed to be updated to protect the user. However when proposing the motion Jon Salisbury stated that it was more harmful because most of the data provided is unreliable and polarises opinions on important topics. He argued that it damaged people's ability to socialise, encouraged anonymous bullying and enabled snooping by government departments as well as private concerns.
Opposer Derek Cheek disagreed asserting that the worldwide web had made a range of knowledge more readily available for everyone and had improved global communication. He also felt the net facilitated organisational administration and that banking and shopping on line made life easier for individuals.
Following a broad spectrum of comments from the floor the motion was lost by 3 votes to 9 with 4 abstentions.
January 2019
Fifteen people attended The New Year debate where the motion was "We Need Statistics More Than Ever ". Both speakers agreed that statistics were necessary and informative . However proposer John Ratford argued that more were needed because people were better educated and wanted rigorous data which was clearly explained. He considered that this would increase knowledge and understanding as well as ensure that confidence could be placed in results obtained. Furthermore he thought that the alternatives of personal experience and anecdotal evidence were not sufficiently grounded in fact to allow any causal inferences to be made.
Opposer Tony Oswick disagreed providing a plethora of nonsense statistics asserting they were confusing, boring and misleading as well as down-right deceptive. He likened them to a bikini in that what they reveal is suggestive but what the conceal is vital. In addition he felt that data abuse was an ugly fact of life with unscrupulous people making up or manipulating figures to further their own agenda.
Following a diversity of interesting contributions from the floor, the motion was won by 7 votes to 4 with 1 abstention.