Read only the bolded type; the rest are directions to you. Check to be sure that all debaters, adjudicators and the timekeeper are ready, then ask all persons present to be seated and announce clearly and firmly:
The House will come to order. I am pleased to welcome you to ENGLISH PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE 2013. The topic being debated is _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Seated on my right, representing the Government, are: The Prime Minister, ___________________________________________ the Second Government Speaker ________________________________ and the Third Government Speaker ______________________________ Seated on my left, representing the Opposition, are: The First Speaker _____________________________________________ The Second Speaker __________________________________________ and The Leader of the Opposition _______________________________
On behalf of the House, I extend a special welcome to our Adjudicators a)____________________________________________________ b)____________________________________________________ c)____________________________________________________
I, _________________________________ am your Speaker, and ________________________________ is your Timekeeper. Each debater will have 8 minutes to deliver his or her remarks: the Prime Minister’s time will be divided between a 5-minute opening speech and a 3-minute Official Rebuttal.
The timekeeper will indicate how much speaking time is remaining by raising time cards. A bell will be rung after the expiration of one minute and seven minutes. The bell will be rung again at eight minutes and at regular intervals after that. Fifteen seconds grace will be allowed; I will then immediately call on the next debater to begin his or her address. Adjudicators should not confer with one another until after they have scored the debate. As Speaker, I will entertain Points of Order, Points of Information and Points of Personal Privilege. Heckling and Formal Questions will also be permitted, though Adjudicators are to penalize any debater who interrupts another thoughtlessly, excessively, or who lowers the level of debate. I would also like to remind members they may only raise points of information in the constructive speech and only after the first minute and before the last minute of speech. Points of information may not be raised during the Leader of the Opposition’s last 3 minutes of speaking time, nor in the Prime Minister’s Final Rebuttal. Are there any questions regarding the Rules of Debate? (If there are, refer to the Rules of Debate at the back of this booklet.)
I call upon the Prime Minister to deliver the Bill, define its terms and outline the Government’s case. He/she must completely describe any plan for implementing the Bill.
Time: 8 minutes After the Prime Minister’s speech say:
The speaker spoke for _____ minutes and _____ seconds. I thank the Prime Minister for his/her remarks and remind the judges that they should not finalize any debater’s score until they have heard all the speeches. We shall now hear the First Speaker of the Opposition. If the Opposition intends to contest the Government definitions or to introduce a Counter-Plan, it must do so during this address.
Time: 8 minutes After the First Opposition speech, say:
The speaker spoke for _____ minutes and _____ seconds. Thank you for your remarks. I now call upon the Second Government speaker to deliver the final constructive speech in support of the Bill.
Time: 8 minutes After the second Government speech, say:
The speaker spoke for _____ minutes and _____ seconds. Thank you. I now call upon the second speaker for the Opposition.
Time: 8 minutes After the second speaker for the Opposition, say:
The speaker spoke for _____ minutes and _____ seconds. Thank you. We shall now hear the final constructive speech in support of the Bill, from the third Government speaker.
Time: 8 minutes After the third Government speaker, say:
The speaker spoke for _____ minutes and _____ seconds. Thank you. The Leader of the Opposition will now deliver the last speech opposing the Bill. It is his/her responsibility to complete the attack on the Government case and to defend and summarize the position of the Opposition.
Time: 8 minutes After the Leader of the Opposition’s speech, say:
The speaker spoke for _____ minutes and _____ seconds. I thank the Leader of the Opposition and now call upon the Prime Minister once again to present the Government’s Official Rebuttal. During this 3 minute speech, new arguments and evidence may be introduced only in reply to the last constructive Opposition speech. Time: 3 minutes After the Official Rebuttal, say:
The speaker spoke for _____ minutes and _____ seconds. I thank the Prime Minister for concluding the debate. Would the Adjudicators please complete their Scoresheets and I will pick them up.
(When the judges are finished, pick up the Scoresheets and make sure that the adjudicators have filled everything in correctly.)
On behalf of the House, I thank the Adjudicators for their assistance; I congratulate all the debaters on their performance.
I hereby award the debate to the __________________________________. Since this debate is concluded, and there is no other business on the Order Paper, the House stands adjourned. At this time, I would invite the Adjudicators to make brief comments. Adjudicators comment. (Keep your eye on the clock while they do this – remember that everyone has to get ready for the next round on time!)
Thank you. Finally, thank everyone for participating, and remind them what time the next round of debate starts. Take the Judges’ Scoresheets to the Results Room before starting the next round of debate.
