Battle of Ideas: there's no substitute for 'being there'
Next weekend's festival in Westminster is our 20th – and there's never been a better opportunity to be at the heart of honest, open, public debate.
Tickets for the Battle of Ideas festival are selling fast. But there’s still time to secure your place. Visit our tickets page for all the details, including substantial discounts for students, school pupils and concessions.
Below, Alastair Donald and Ella Whelan, the co-convenors of the festival, explain why it matters more than ever.
Conversations for the public, with the public, in public
The 20th Battle of Ideas festival – which takes place next weekend, 18 & 19 October, at Church House and The Abbey Centre in Westminster – comes at a time of enormous political and cultural tensions across Western societies. ‘There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.’ That is how 2025 feels – every week! We can all feel the tides of history moving. That sense of momentous change in the air can feel exhilarating, but also daunting. How can we be more than powerless spectators to events? To be part of shaping future trends, we need to join the conversation about where society is headed. We need to dig deeper in understanding, to be unafraid of arguing about what matters. And we hope that the Battle of Ideas festival can help in this endeavour.
AN APPETITE FOR CHANGE
Broad swathes of the public seem to have an appetite for embracing new ways – whether more populist forms of politics, taking patriotism and national interests seriously or embracing biological and scientific reality over ideologically imposed diktats. The festival provides an opportunity to assess carefully whether this really is the end of the road for the old centrist parties, whether unelected international institutions and courts have passed their sell-by date, and whether ‘woke’ or progressive ideas really have run out of steam. Or are these, as some suggest, just the claims of politicians and activists who are little better than snake-oil salesmen?
Certainly, demands for change run headlong into the struggle to escape present realities. The highest court in the land can rule on the meaning of ‘sex’ under the Equality Act, but men still end up in women’s prisons. The economy might have ground to a halt, but governments appear to hold few ideas to change things. They can talk endlessly of growth and ‘build baby build’, yet a dysfunctional state dominated by ‘expert-driven’ targets seems unable to deliver on promises.
Instead, many see the state as mired in incompetence, scandals and cover-ups, from grooming gangs to migration. Meanwhile, many feel the mainstream media has abandoned even the pretence of impartiality and truth, instead aiming to ‘control the narrative’ – deploying partisan reporting and championing a single, biased point of view, with little insight or empathy into what is driving new, popular concerns. Or is such alienation from the mainstream simply the result of echo chambers and online misinformation?
WE MUST DEFEND A FREE SOCIETY
This tension between a popular demand for change and the seeming refusal of elites to change direction has led some, such as Elon Musk, to declare civil war in Britain is ‘inevitable’. A worry is how we get the balance right between valuable insights and excessive fearmongering. And ‘events, my dear boy, events’ can shake up our precious liberties, and call our principles into question.
For example, the assassination of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk has sparked a heated debate about the limits (or not) of free speech. The ‘small boats’ crisis has been used as the excuse to introduce Digital ID cards, and created a huge backlash. The labelling of certain policies as racist has led to a furious debate on the strategy of demonising political opponents – of whether words can incite violence. And with horrendous acts of barbarity a material reality – from the murder of little girls at a dance class to the Manchester synagogue attack – how can citizens be kept safe without sacrificing a free society? We’ll discuss these issues and much, much more in an atmosphere that encourages free and frank debate.
The aim of the festival is to allow everyone to have their say. No one has to apologise for having what the mainstream might call the ‘wrong’ views. It’s a space of solidarity – but it’s not a safe space, free from argument. We welcome everyone who agrees we are grown up enough to disagree, who believes that hearing conflicting ideas is the lifeblood of real democracy and political change.
WE NEED TO TALK, LISTEN, HAVE OUR SAY
Prepare to come with a point of view and an open mind. We will be hosting well over 100 diverse and lively discussions – and there’s nothing like ‘being there’, in the midst of the discussion. But these will not be black–and–white debates. The festival will be a weekend of collective conversations to really get everyone thinking – both about the challenges thrown up by a changing world and the new opportunities emerging to shape the future. And lots more besides, from the arts and literature to scientific developments, from the drumbeat of war internationally to contentious moral dilemmas at home.
For 20 years, the Battle of Ideas festival has been THE home of free thinkers and the one space where free speech has ALWAYS been welcome – a space where everyone gets to think out loud, from speakers to audience members. Across the course of this weekend, make sure that you find your voice and have your say.
This is a rare opportunity to challenge each other and ourselves. Please join us - get your ticket today!
Alastair Donald & Ella Whelan
co–convenors, Battle of Ideas festival
