History

Founded in 1876, it is the last survivor of the days when every city and big town had its own Parliamentary Debating Association. With no competition from television, videos and computer based home entertainment systems, they often had hundreds of members.

Prime Ministers, Andrew Bonar Law, and Henry Campbell Bannerman were members, as was SNP MSP Margaret Ewing, The late Donald Dewar and Jim Wallace have both addressed it and many of its alumni have gone on to become MPs, Scottish Parliamentarians and councillors. The Glasgow Parliamentary Debating Association has a proud pedigree and it is now looking for new members.

The GPDA started as a male only society, reflecting the current view that politics was not something that women should concern themselves with, and its first debate was a motion that libraries, theatres and other places of entertainment should be opened on Sundays, most people's only day off. This was soundly defeated. The Association's heyday was in the years after the First World War and co-incided with admission of women Members, which happened in 1918, the year that women were given the vote.

The membership rose to over 700, more than the number of MP's in Westminster, which meant that some members had to share a constituency, every member had a constituency name, as they still do. The Association went into abeyance during the Second World War, but resumed its debates when peace was declared and has operated ever since.

The GPDA was a training ground for many of Scotland's future politicians, who honed their speech making skills there. It was even suggested in the middle of the last century that it be an auxiliary Parliament for debating Scottish Bills before they went to Westminster to be formally passed. This, it was argued, would ensure that Scottish legislation was thoroughly debated by the people it would affect, and also free up time in Westminster for English and all Britain Bills. Sadly, this early form of devolution was never enacted.

Nowadays, the GPDA is kept going by a small and dedicated band, who meet every second Thursday at 7.30pm from October to April in the City Chambers in George Square. The debates emulate those held in the House of Commons and Members sit with Party groupings or with the Independents, and each person selects a Constituency to represent. Normally the government in Westminster also forms the government in the GPDA, with the Official opposition also reflecting the one in London. For the 2009-2010 session we shall be holding a number of debates based on the Scottish Parliament administration.

Each party has the chance to select the motion for the debate at least twice per session, with the Government having extra ones. There are also two Private Members Nights when any member may submit a motion for debate, and a speech competition held annually in honour of the late Harry McShane, one of the Red Clydesiders in his youth, who attended and spoke at the Association well into his 90's.

The debates are vigorous and challenging, but not competitive as student debating societies are. Members do it for fun, though many of them have achieved a high standard of debating through their membership. The tradition of having Glasgow Parliamentarians winning elections continues to this day with the Leader of Glasgow City Council, Councillor Steven Purcell,  an alumnus of the Association. Prime Minister Bonar Law claimed that it was the GPDA that gave him the debating skills he used in the House of Commons.

The Tradition Goes On.

Dallas Carter, Speaker