UCL and KCL Tory Societies Face Backlash after Motion to Debate whether to ‘Invade Yemen’ or ‘Sink the Boats’
Image courtesy of UCL’s Convservative Society, Instagram
This week, the Conservative societies of University College London and King’s College London ignited widespread criticism after inviting members to debate two motions: whether the United Kingdom should ‘invade Yemen’, and whether they should ‘sink the boats’.
The debate, which was scheduled to be hosted on 25 January, was part of ‘Port and Policy’, a biweekly event in which members of UCL and KCL Tory Societies drink port wine and discuss a variety of policies.
The first motion, ‘This house would invade Yemen’, is contextualized in regards to the recent US and UK airstrikes against the Houthis, a Yemeni militia group currently supporting Hamas in the Israel-Gaza conflict. The motion to ‘sink the boats’ relates to Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda asylum scheme.
This comes just after five migrants drowned on 15 January while trying to cross the English Channel in a refugee boat from France. The promotional post for the event was released on Instagram on 22 January, featuring a background photograph of a migrant boat packed with refugees struggling to cross the Channel. The motion ‘This house would sink the boats’ was changed to ‘This house would send the boats back’ shortly after. The post was later deleted altogether following a request from the Conservative Party.
‘This is obviously not acceptable, and we will be asking the student groups to remove this and cancel the event,’ said a spokesman from the Conservative Campaign Headquarters.
UCL’s Labour society has issued a statement condemning the actions of both Tory societies, stating that they have gone ‘beyond acceptable limits of responsible political activity’.
‘Discussions that involve dehumanisation of refugees and disregard for human rights are beyond the realm of constructive debate,’ the statement read. ‘We call on them to unconditionally apologise.’
This is not the first time that Tory student societies in London have come under fire for proposing motions with extremist implications. In February 2023, the KCL Tory Society was criticised for hosting a debate over whether or not the UK should ‘reinstate the British Empire’.
Labour shadow minister Jon Ashworth has called on PM Rishi Sunak to ‘come clean immediately over whether this event is sanctioned by the Conservative Party’.
‘While Tory students quaff port and laugh at weak Rishi Sunak’s failure to stop the boats, the British people are looking on in despair,’ he said. ‘Suggestions of sinking boats, after the tragic loss of life in the Channel last weekend, is a disgraceful new low.’
Pi Media has reached out to the UCL Tory society for comment, but has yet to receive a reply.