Friday Roundup

In this article: We are debating the most volatile and exciting questions of the year. The 2024 US election has the world on the edge of its seats, with nail-bitingly close polls and constant drama. The polls are developing and changing constantly, making it difficult to give a definitive prediction of the most important general election of the year. With campaigning entering its final week, we can never be too sure about what may happen that may influence the outcome for Harris and Trump.

By Evan Kelly

In this article: We will investigate the necessity of the United Nations’ standing army and peacekeeping forces and whether or not they are useful in handling conflicts worldwide. Whilst they are deemed useful in protecting innocent civilians, they are also seen as another layer to conflicts and waste of resources.

By Gabby Miller

In this article: A key policy in Labour’s winning manifesto earlier this year was its commitment to imposing VAT on private schools. This ignited significant debate about whether this is a good idea. Critics of the proposal often claim that doing so will force out those who make sacrifices to send their children to private schools and actually increase the burden on the state sector. However, proponents say that the extra revenue far outweighs the funding needed to accommodate these children and that while private schools’ wealth means they can absorb the extra costs, the most disadvantaged children are in desperate need of extra funding to improve their life chances. Ultimately, it comes down to whether private schools’ charitable status can be justified.

By Kierat Basi and Kit Swift

In this article: Recent proposals by the Labour government to ban smoking in many outdoor public places such as pub gardens have prompted significant debate about whether bans are the right way to address public health challenges. Some would say that indoor bans have gone far enough and that to curb people’s freedom any more would be an unnecessary intervention by a nanny state. However, it could also be argued that with smoking still causing a huge number of deaths in the UK each year, any measure to discourage tobacco use is a step in the right direction for public health. The key question is whether the health benefits can justify the restriction on liberty and potential harm to businesses.

By Isaac Crawford