KCL Liberal Democrats were victorious again in the second bi-annual politics debate of the year, hosted on 25 March by KCL Politics Society.
The party picked up 107 votes and were represented by Sam Lindsey and Charlotte Slater. Labour came second with 32 votes led by Seth Champion and Mollie Lane-Winter, while the Conservatives, represented by Hannah Goodman and Dexter Dedálo, took third with 29 votes. The Green party placed fourth with 12 votes, led by Julio Medina and Florence Wilson.
The debate saw representatives discuss the topics of the Economy, Healthcare, Defence and Drugs policy, in one of the most highly-anticipated events of the King’s political societies calendars.
Last term saw the Liberal Democrats also pick up the victory, in an event described as “shambolic” and “unfiltered”. KCL Politics Society assured attendees that this time the event would have a strict alcohol ban, after various audience members were removed last time for drunk behaviour.
The general debate featured similar dis-organisation to the last debate, with the flow of the debate struggling to be controlled by the moderator with the audience also stirring. The open discussions throughout the night failed to find a balanced approach, with Labour and Lib Dems frequently engaging in a direct shouting match.
The winners, Liberal Democrats, offered “simple” and “practical” solutions moving towards “sensible politics” with a strong approach to identifying and addressing the problems within the NHS. Their defence strategy even welcomed the support of the Conservative speakers.
An audience favorite was their response to the drugs motion: “What would make pubs better? A spliff after the pub.”
Labour emphasised throughout the debate their “record-breaking” policies in government, highlighting the often overlooked pieces of legislation and investment made within their first two years. They focused on their historical strength, with NATO and NHS, as the party “you can always trust.”
KCL Tories put forward “coherent” conservatism with a “small c”. They targeted the Greens for “not getting bogged down in policy” asking the Green representatives to “defend it” in reference to their wealth tax policy. On defence, they positioned themselves as one of the oldest parties in Europe which had even, they asserted, defended against Napoleon. Their eccentric argument to “save pubs” was met with loud cheers across the audience.
The Green party representatives noted they were “not taking lectures” from the other parties, which they described as “undemocratic.” They focused on bringing in “actual change” through a security focused defence strategy and funding to the NHS.
They were targeted frequently, with the Tories describing them as “fanatics” and “eco-lunatics” which was criticised by the moderators, and the Lib Dems said they could not “find a Green policy really worth talking about.”
One former Labour co-chair frequently heckled from the front row throughout the night, almost as if he was on the debate stage too. His previous comments on the NHS from last-year’s debate was called out by Dexter but he was not given a right to reply.
A full in depth analysis will be provided by Roar in the coming weeks.
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