Opposition Debates

What is an opposition day debate?

Opposition Days are a chance for opposition party’s to decide on a motion for debate in the House of Commons. In most cases the Official Opposition will choose the topic, but this Tuesday we will get to set the agenda and debate an issue of our choosing. We only get to lead opposition day debates once a year, so we want to ensure we use this to debate the issue which is most important to our members.

We will have three hours to debate the issue and a Government Minister will have to attend to respond to the debate. At the end of the debate we will be able to vote on the motion. If we defeat the Government, the relevant Minister will have to respond to the vote by making a statement to the House of Commons within a maximum time period of 12 weeks.

What could we be debating?

• A final vote on the Brexit deal: The Liberal Democrats are fighting for an Exit from Brexit. We can see the Government are making a mess of Brexit and Labour are helping them to do it. We want to hold both the other Parties to account and challenge them on why they are refusing to give the people the final say on the Brexit deal.

• Sustainability of the NHS into the future: The NHS and social care services are in crisis. They are critically underfunded, demand is rising and inequality in the treatment of mental ill health persists . In response the Government have made only offered vague and uncosted promises, while continuing to deny the severity of the challenges that the NHS and social care are facing. We want to challenge the Government to deliver a sustainable funding settlement for the NHS and social care, which will safeguard these vital services for generations to come.