British Parliamentary (BP) is the dominant debate format at universities worldwide, used at the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC). Four teams of two speakers compete simultaneously in each round. This guide covers the team structure, speech order, POI rules, and how to time a BP round.
Automatic POI signal, all 8 speeches preloaded, university and high school variants. No signup.
Open BP timer →BP is unique in having four teams compete simultaneously. The teams are Opening Government (OG), Opening Opposition (OO), Closing Government (CG), and Closing Opposition (CO). OG and CG are on the government side; OO and CO are on the opposition side. Crucially, the two government teams and two opposition teams are competing against each other as well — all four teams are ranked 1st through 4th at the end of the round.
| # | Speech | Team | Time | POI Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prime Minister | OG | 7:00 | 1:00 – 6:00 |
| 2 | Leader of Opposition | OO | 7:00 | 1:00 – 6:00 |
| 3 | Deputy Prime Minister | OG | 7:00 | 1:00 – 6:00 |
| 4 | Deputy Leader of Opposition | OO | 7:00 | 1:00 – 6:00 |
| 5 | Member for Government (CG) | CG | 7:00 | 1:00 – 6:00 |
| 6 | Member for Opposition (CO) | CO | 7:00 | 1:00 – 6:00 |
| 7 | Government Whip (CG) | CG | 7:00 | 1:00 – 6:00 |
| 8 | Opposition Whip (CO) | CO | 7:00 | 1:00 – 6:00 |
No prep pool. All 8 speeches are 7 minutes at university level. High school BP uses 5-minute speeches with POI window 0:30–4:30.
POIs follow the same principle as WSDC — stand, offer "Point of information," speaker accepts or declines. In BP the window is minutes 1–6 of each 7-minute speech (first and last minute protected). Speakers typically accept 1-2 POIs per speech.
The closing teams (CG and CO) face a unique challenge: they must extend the debate rather than repeat opening arguments. A closing team that simply repeats OG or OO material will be ranked 3rd or 4th. The Member speech must introduce a new and distinct argument that adds to the overall case for their side.