100+ Debate Motions

A ready-to-run motions bank in This House Would format — organized by theme, balanced for real clash, and suitable for BP, parliamentary, World Schools, and club debate.

🎲 Random Motion Generator💬 Debate Question Generator

Prepare one of three example motions →

🏛️ Politics & Governance💻 Technology & AI🤔 Ethics & Philosophy📚 Education💼 Economics & Work🌿 Environment & Climate🔬 Science & Health🤪 Fun & Accessible

🏛️ Politics & Governance Motions

Classic parliamentary territory: state power, rights, and democratic design. These run well at every level from club nights to BP finals.

  1. 1.This House would make voting compulsory.
  2. 2.This House would lower the voting age to 16.
  3. 3.This House would impose term limits on all elected offices.
  4. 4.This House believes that referendums do more harm than good.
  5. 5.This House would abolish the electoral college.
  6. 6.This House would ban private donations to political campaigns.
  7. 7.This House believes that career politicians should be replaced by citizen assemblies chosen by lot.
  8. 8.This House would require politicians to pass a policy literacy exam before taking office.
  9. 9.This House believes that small states should form political unions to survive great-power competition.
  10. 10.This House would grant cities independence from their national governments.
  11. 11.This House believes that the international community should recognize governments based on democratic legitimacy, not effective control.
  12. 12.This House would make lying in political advertising a criminal offence.
  13. 13.This House believes that open borders would do more good than harm.

Want more like these? Browse politics & governance topics or spin the debate generator filtered to this category.

💻 Technology & AI Motions

The fastest-moving motion territory in modern debate — AI, platforms, and privacy motions reward debaters who keep up with the news cycle.

  1. 14.This House would ban targeted political advertising on social media.
  2. 15.This House believes that AI development should be paused until safety standards are established.
  3. 16.This House would hold social media companies legally liable for harms caused by their algorithms.
  4. 17.This House would ban smartphones for children under 14.
  5. 18.This House believes that AI-generated art should not be eligible for copyright.
  6. 19.This House would require all AI-generated content to carry a visible label.Prepare this motion →
  7. 20.This House would nationalize the leading artificial intelligence laboratories.
  8. 21.This House believes that anonymity online does more harm than good.
  9. 22.This House would ban facial recognition technology in public spaces.
  10. 23.This House believes that Big Tech companies should be broken up.
  11. 24.This House would grant workers the legal right to disconnect after working hours.
  12. 25.This House believes that the gig economy exploits more than it empowers.
  13. 26.This House would replace human drivers with autonomous vehicles as soon as they are statistically safer.

Want more like these? Browse technology & ai topics or spin the debate generator filtered to this category.

🤔 Ethics & Philosophy Motions

Principle-heavy motions where the burden falls on frameworks rather than facts — ideal for teaching weighing and clash.

  1. 27.This House believes that it is morally wrong to eat meat.
  2. 28.This House would legalize assisted dying for the terminally ill.
  3. 29.This House believes that individuals in wealthy nations have a moral duty to give away surplus income.
  4. 30.This House would allow parents to genetically enhance their children.
  5. 31.This House believes that punishment should aim at rehabilitation, never retribution.
  6. 32.This House would abolish the insanity defence.
  7. 33.This House believes that lying to protect someone's feelings is morally justified.
  8. 34.This House would legalize the sale of human organs.
  9. 35.This House believes that humans have a moral obligation to become vegetarian as lab-grown meat becomes viable.
  10. 36.This House regrets the glorification of forgiveness.
  11. 37.This House believes that no belief deserves protection from ridicule.
  12. 38.This House would judge historical figures by the moral standards of their own time.
  13. 39.This House believes that a life of comfortable illusion is preferable to a life of painful truth.

Want more like these? Browse ethics & philosophy topics or spin the debate generator filtered to this category.

📚 Education Motions

Schools motions are the backbone of student debate — everyone has standing, and the clash is concrete.

  1. 40.This House would abolish standardized testing.
  2. 41.This House would ban homework in primary schools.
  3. 42.This House believes that university education should be free.
  4. 43.This House would make financial literacy a compulsory school subject.Prepare this motion →
  5. 44.This House would abolish private schools.
  6. 45.This House believes that grades do more harm than good.
  7. 46.This House would allow students to use AI tools in all assignments.
  8. 47.This House would replace lectures with project-based learning.
  9. 48.This House believes that gap years should be the default before university.
  10. 49.This House would pay students to attend school.
  11. 50.This House would teach coding before foreign languages.
  12. 51.This House believes that elite universities should admit students by lottery among qualified applicants.
  13. 52.This House would make debate a compulsory subject in secondary school.

Want more like these? Browse education topics or spin the debate generator filtered to this category.

💼 Economics & Work Motions

Money motions demand mechanisms: who pays, who benefits, and what breaks. Great for training analytical depth.

  1. 53.This House would introduce a universal basic income.
  2. 54.This House would implement a four-day working week.Prepare this motion →
  3. 55.This House believes that billionaires should not exist.
  4. 56.This House would cap CEO pay at a fixed multiple of the median worker's salary.
  5. 57.This House would abolish inheritance beyond a modest threshold.
  6. 58.This House believes that economic growth should no longer be the primary goal of policy.
  7. 59.This House would ban unpaid internships.
  8. 60.This House believes that automation should be taxed to fund worker retraining.
  9. 61.This House would give employees seats on corporate boards.
  10. 62.This House believes that remote work has done more good than harm.
  11. 63.This House would forgive all student loan debt.
  12. 64.This House believes that advertising does more harm than good.
  13. 65.This House would nationalize public utilities.

Want more like these? Browse economics & work topics or spin the debate generator filtered to this category.

🌿 Environment & Climate Motions

High-stakes trade-off motions — climate debates force teams to weigh present costs against future harms.

  1. 66.This House would ban short-haul flights where rail alternatives exist.
  2. 67.This House believes that nuclear power is essential to fighting climate change.
  3. 68.This House would grant legal personhood to rivers and forests.
  4. 69.This House would make ecocide an international crime.
  5. 70.This House believes that climate activism should prioritize disruption over persuasion.
  6. 71.This House would ban the advertising of fossil fuel products.
  7. 72.This House believes that wealthy nations should pay climate reparations to developing nations.
  8. 73.This House would ration meat consumption.
  9. 74.This House believes that geoengineering research does more harm than good.
  10. 75.This House would ban single-use plastics entirely.
  11. 76.This House believes that economic degrowth is the only honest climate policy.
  12. 77.This House would prioritize climate adaptation over emissions reduction.
  13. 78.This House believes that individual carbon footprints are a distraction from corporate responsibility.

Want more like these? Browse environment & climate topics or spin the debate generator filtered to this category.

🔬 Science & Health Motions

Evidence-forward motions where scientific literacy wins rounds — vaccines, space, and public health.

  1. 79.This House would make vaccination compulsory.
  2. 80.This House believes that space exploration is worth the cost.
  3. 81.This House would legalize all recreational drugs.
  4. 82.This House would ban tobacco sales to anyone born after 2010.
  5. 83.This House believes that healthcare should be entirely free at the point of use.
  6. 84.This House would allow human gene editing for disease prevention.
  7. 85.This House believes that sugar should be taxed like tobacco.
  8. 86.This House would make organ donation opt-out rather than opt-in.
  9. 87.This House believes that private space companies do more good than national space agencies.
  10. 88.This House would ban cosmetic surgery advertising.
  11. 89.This House believes that mental health days should be a legal right for workers and students.
  12. 90.This House would fund life extension research over disease research.
  13. 91.This House believes that professional sport does more harm than good to public health culture.

Want more like these? Browse science & health topics or spin the debate generator filtered to this category.

🤪 Fun & Accessible Motions

Low-stakes motions for icebreakers, novice nights, and ending practice with a laugh — the clash is real even when the topic is silly.

  1. 92.This House believes that pineapple belongs on pizza.
  2. 93.This House would rather be a superhero with a useless power than have no power at all.
  3. 94.This House believes that cats are better companions than dogs.
  4. 95.This House would ban reply-all in workplace email.
  5. 96.This House believes that breakfast food should be acceptable at every meal.
  6. 97.This House would rather fight one horse-sized duck than a hundred duck-sized horses.
  7. 98.This House believes that board games are better than video games.
  8. 99.This House would make daylight saving time permanent.
  9. 100.This House believes that the book is always better than the movie.
  10. 101.This House would ban spoilers for one year after a show's release.
  11. 102.This House believes that hot dogs are sandwiches.
  12. 103.This House would require all meetings to be walking meetings.
  13. 104.This House believes that karaoke is the highest form of courage.

Want more like these? Browse fun & accessible topics or spin the debate generator filtered to this category.

Three motions to prepare now

Choose one of these motions from the bank. Use the starting points to test both sides, then write and copy your own preparation. These are research prompts, not verified evidence or a finished case.

AI content labels

This House would require all AI-generated content to carry a visible label.

Define the motion
Decide whether the rule includes AI-assisted editing, who applies the label, and what a visible label must say.
Main clash
Does mandatory disclosure help people judge content enough to justify enforcement costs and mistakes?
Proposition must show
Explain how knowing a work's origin changes a meaningful audience decision, and how your labeling rule reaches that audience.
Opposition can test
Challenge whether origin is a useful signal of reliability. Compare universal labeling with narrower rules for impersonation or deception.
Evidence to investigate
Look for studies of how people interpret labels, evidence on detection errors, and implementation costs. Separate proposed rules from rules actually enforced.
Prepare my argument

Write your own case. Research prompts are not verified evidence. Copy your notes before drawing another topic or leaving this page.

Back to the three examples

Financial literacy at school

This House would make financial literacy a compulsory school subject.

Define the motion
Specify the age group, curriculum time, teacher preparation and which existing lessons would give up time.
Main clash
Would a compulsory subject improve real financial decisions more than other uses of limited teaching time?
Proposition must show
Build a case for access to practical knowledge regardless of family background. Explain how lessons translate into later decisions.
Opposition can test
Test whether a separate compulsory subject is the best delivery method. Consider integration into mathematics or support at the moment a financial decision arises.
Evidence to investigate
Compare studies measuring knowledge with those measuring later behavior. Check follow-up duration, teaching quality and whether comparison groups were similar.
Prepare my argument

Write your own case. Research prompts are not verified evidence. Copy your notes before drawing another topic or leaving this page.

Back to the three examples

A four-day working week

This House would implement a four-day working week.

Define the motion
Clarify whether hours fall or are compressed, whether pay stays constant, and how essential services and part-time roles are treated.
Main clash
Can better rest and work organization offset the cost of covering the same output or service with fewer working days?
Proposition must show
Explain the mechanism connecting reduced hours to sustainable productivity and wellbeing, including how coverage would work.
Opposition can test
Identify sectors where output depends on staffed hours. Compare a universal rule with voluntary trials or flexible schedules.
Evidence to investigate
Check trial selection, sector mix, pay and hours, staffing changes and follow-up duration. Do not treat a short voluntary trial as proof for every workplace.
Prepare my argument

Write your own case. Research prompts are not verified evidence. Copy your notes before drawing another topic or leaving this page.

Back to the three examples

How to Use This Motions Bank

Every debate motion above passes the three tests coaches actually care about: both sides have genuine ground, the wording has one reasonable interpretation, and the clash sustains a full round. Themes map to skill levels — start novices on the fun and education motions, move to technology and economics as teams learn mechanisms, and save the philosophy motions for training weighing and framework debates.

For impromptu practice, do not pick — draw. Random selection is the point: it forces debaters to build cases from scratch under time pressure, exactly like a real round. Our debate topic generator deals random propositions with pro/con talking points, the question generator phrases them as direct questions, and the argument generator helps build out full cases. Teaching a class? The student debate generator keeps motions age-appropriate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a debate motion?

A debate motion is the formal proposition a debate is fought over — the statement one side must defend and the other must oppose. In parliamentary formats it is traditionally phrased as 'This House would...' (a policy action) or 'This House believes that...' (a value judgement). A good motion is balanced, precise, and gives both sides genuine ground to argue.

What do 'This House would' and 'This House believes that' mean?

'This House' refers to the debating chamber itself, echoing the language of the British Parliament. 'This House would...' (THW) proposes an action or policy, so the debate is about consequences and implementation. 'This House believes that...' (THBT) asserts a value or judgement, so the debate is about principles. 'This House regrets...' (THR) asks whether something that already happened made the world worse.

How do I choose a good debate motion?

Test it three ways. Balance: could a strong team happily take either side? Clarity: is there exactly one reasonable interpretation of what the motion demands? Depth: does it sustain 30-60 minutes of clash without running dry? If a motion fails any test, tighten the wording or add context. For beginners, choose motions about everyday experience; save dense policy motions for experienced teams.

What are the standard debate motion formats?

British Parliamentary (BP/WUDC) uses four teams of two with 15-minute prep and unseen motions. World Schools mixes prepared and impromptu motions with teams of three. Public Forum and Policy debate use a single resolution for a whole tournament cycle. The motions on this page work for all of them — for prepared formats, give teams the motion in advance; for impromptu practice, draw one at random.

Can I generate random debate motions?

Yes — our debate topic generator works as a random motion generator: every result is a two-sided proposition you can read as a motion directly or flip into This-House wording. Generate ten at once to build a motions bank for a tournament, or use random draws in practice so neither side can prepare in advance.