On March 28 Young Fabians executive committee member Louie Woodall took part in a three-way debate with chairman of The Bow Group, Ben Harris-Quinney, and associate director of CentreForum, Tom Papworth, as part of the University of Bath’s first annual Ethics and Politics conference: ‘Bath and Beyond’.

The speakers were asked to assess the record of the coalition government and make predictions as to the outcome of the upcoming General Election.

All three speakers were outspoken on the point that the coalition failed in its primary task to eliminate the deficit in one parliament, but differed in their opinions on how its fiscal consolidation strategy so far impacted on British society.

Our National Executive Committee member Louie Woodall said: “The government’s aim was to eliminate the deficit via £3 of spending cuts for every £1 of tax rises. What did this mean in practice? That fiscal consolidation hurt the most vulnerable the greatest amount”.   

The speakers then answered questions from the conference floor and Twitter on: Russell Brand’s political influence, the effect Nick Clegg’s leadership will have on the Liberal Democrat party going into the election, and the ideological divide between the mainstream parties. 

Alex Mulchrone, co-founder of 'Bath and Beyond', said: "Bath and Beyond was a fantastic day, and Louie from the Young Fabians reminded us all that the left are active, progressive, and passionate about youth politics."