We hold debates every Monday evening during the Autumn and Winter terms, on the burning issues of the day. Debates are held in the Old Refectory on UCL's main campus, starting at 7.00pm, and all are welcome. Future motions are listed here, and you can discuss the issues online in our forum.
We also run workshops to train members of the society in the arts of public speaking and competition debating. These are run every Tuesday evening during the Autumn and Winter terms, and we meet in the Bloomsbury Theatre café at 7pm.
We host two inter-varsity (IV) debating competitions each year, the President's Cup for novice debaters in October, and the UCL IV, for all debaters, in February. Further details are available on the IV page.
Finally, the highlight of UCL's debating calendar is the Foundation Dinner, held annually in March, a splendid formal dinner followed by the Foundation Debate, at which the motion "This House Has No Faith In Her Majesty's Government" is debated by guest speakers from the Houses of Parliament.
Want to join? We'd love to hear from you! The easiest time to join is during Joining Week at the Clubs & Societies Centre (CSC). At other times of year you'll need to go to the CSC reception, on the second floor of the Bloomsbury Theatre, and sign up there.
Membership costs £6 annually. What do you get for this?
Details of the people who currently bear the great responsibility of running the UCL Union Debating during its 177th year, along with contact details, are available from the committee page.
by Mark Trayling
The Debating Society was formed in 1828, in the same year as the Medical Society. These are the two oldest societies in UCL. Originally, the Debating Society was called the Literary and Philosophical Society and resolved to debate "any subject not involving the subject of religious creeds." Of course this has changed somewhat down the ages. Interesting to note, in the 19th century, the Debating Society decided that women should have the right to vote and alcoholic beverages "were to be encouraged".
The Women's Debating Society was formed in 1879. In March 1926, there was a proposal to combine the Union Debating Society with the Women's Debating Society but this motion failed, at a close vote of 6 to 5. Women were eventually admitted and thankfully we have now shed the image of being an old boy's club.
A long-standing and mysterious tradition of the society used to be that the Secretary had to wear green socks on a Monday night. Extensive investigation leads us to believe that this tradition began some time in the 1960s, and for almost 40 years it brought us ridicule and mockery from all corners of the student population. The current president's reforming zeal has seen the tradition almost completely killed off after a year-long campaign against it, but don't bet against it reappearing at some later date.
These days the society continues to thrive, with one of the largest memberships of any UCL society. We continue to debate the most important issues, entertaining guest speakers whenever possible, and training the next generation of UCL debaters.
The most important Debating alumni are the presidents, and research is currently underway to determine the identities of as many past presidents as possible. The list as it stands may be found here. If you know any more, please let us know.
Each year the society rewards those whose outstanding efforts have contributed to the continuing success of the Debating Society with Honorary Life Memberships. A list of all known HLMs can be found here. Again, if you know of any more, please let us know.