By Mike Swadling
“positioned between the Communists Party of Britain Marxist-Leninist and Conservatives for Women was the Politics in Pubs stall, our partner organisation”
The weekend of the 18/19 October saw the 20th Anniversary Battle of Ideas take place in Church House in Westminster. Once again over 100 debates, conversations and interviews took place where the challenges of today were discussed and the audience had the opportunity to take part.
Outside the main rooms and in the main hall, were stalls from a variety of organisations including the Free Speech Union, the SDP, #Together, Academics for Academic Freedom, Global Warming Policy Foundation, and many others. This is not to forget positioned between the Communists Party of Britain Marxist-Leninist and Conservatives for Women was the Politics in Pubs stall, our partner organisation, which was partly manned during the weekend by myself.
The first debate I went to was about votes for 16-year-olds. A wide-ranging debate which included my personal view that if people want votes at 16, then 16 year olds should take on the responsibilities of adulthood. The debate also spoke extensively about the perceived left-wing bias in schools. One interesting and rare moment of harsh pushback from the audience was when a member of the panel who was also a Labour activist decided to call Brexit voters stupid. Clearly a party determined to drive down its support.
“The first debate I went to was about votes for 16-year-olds. A wide-ranging debate which included my personal view that if people want votes at 16, then 16 year olds should take on the responsibilities of adulthood”
Other sessions I attended included discussions on the fear of populism, the state of the UK economy, ‘state incompetence’, the ‘police have lost the plot’ and ‘the importance of learning to drink underage’. Many of these were in podcasts links for some recommended ones from the day are below:
- Jew hatred, borders and censorship – The spiked podcast
- James Orr on the ascendancy of JD Vance – Spectator Americano
- Lord Maurice Glasman and Tracy Edwards CBE – Planet Normal
- Filterless fags and drunk-driving licences – Last Orders, spiked
At the time of writing 2025 videos are yet to be posted but you can see videos from previous years and no doubt will soon see videos from the weekend on the Battle of Ideas YouTube channel.
You can also follow more of what happened on the day via the #BattleFest and #BattleFest25 X/Twitter tags, and get details from the weekends brochure.
Lastly if any of this has wetted your appetite you can already book tickets for the 2026 Battle of Ideas, I hope to see you there.
“a Labour activist decided to call Brexit voters stupid. Clearly a party determined to drive down its support”
