Parliamentary style debate, colloquially oftentimes just Parliamentary debate, is a formal framework for debate used in debating societies, academic debate events and competitive debate. It has its roots in parliamentary procedure and develops differently in different countries as a result.
The style was first formalised in 19th century England. Procedural commentaries by members of parliament like John Hooker or William Hakewill or parliamentary clerks such as Henry Elsynge sr. and Henry Scobell recorded not just the rulebook but the manner of parliamentary debate. This manner was then expanded upon in the later commentaries of John Hatsell, Jeremy Bentham and Thomas Erskine May, which then spread the style of parliamentary debate throughout Europe and the world.[1]
Today, many organisations at the secondary and tertiary levels of education, such as schools, colleges or debate-clubs sponsor parliamentary debate teams. In the 1980s, global debating championships such as the World Universities Debating Championship and related formats were established, which all use variants of the parliamentary style of debate.
- ^ Kari Palonen (27 October 2021). "Rhetoric of Debate: A Parliamentary Innovation".