Maudsley Debates - 61st to 70th

64th Maudsley Debate: Assisted dying – June 2026

This house believes Doctors should be legally permitted to assist terminally ill patients to end their life.

Speakers

Speakers for the motion:

Dr Julian Neal, Former NHS doctor with 25 years of experience delivering palliative care

Dr Tim Howard, Retired GP, former GMC fitness to practice chair and Medical practitioners tribunal service member

Speakers against the motion:

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, Professor of palliative medicine, Cardiff University, and Crossbench Peer, the House of Lords

Dr Miro Griffiths, Associate Professor of Social Policy and Disability Studies, and government policy adviser

Chair: Khalida Ismail, Professor of Psychiatry & Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience and Consultant Psychiatrist in Palliative Care, Royal Trinity Hospice London.

63rd Maudsley Debate: The Chatbot will see you now – December 2025

This house believes AI will do more harm than good to the nation's mental health.

Speakers

Speakers for the motion:

Dr Iain McGilchrist, Psychiatrist, neuroscience researcher, philosopher and literary scholar

Dr Lucy Osler, Philosophy Lecturer, University of Exeter

Speakers against the motion:

Dr Charlotte Blease, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala Universitet; and Digital Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School

Professor Argyris Stringaris, Clinician and neuroscientist and the Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University College London

62nd Maudsley Debate: Coming out of the shadows - October 2025

This house believes that the global rise in diagnosed neurodivergence reflects an increased awareness of hitherto undiagnosed people.

Speakers

Supporting the motion were:

Dr Elizabeth Weir, PDRA Rokos Fellow, University of Cambridge

Dr Jessica Eccles, Reader in Brain-Body Medicine, Trafford Centre for Medical Research, University of Sussex

Speaking against the motion were:

Dr Al Santhouse, Consultant Neuropsychiatrist, Maudsley Hospital

Terry Brugha, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Leicester

61st Maudsley Debate: High Time - April 2024

This house believes that cannabis should be legalised in the UK within five years.

Speakers

Supporting the motion were:

Professor David Nutt, Edmond J. Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology and Director of the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit in the Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London

Lucy Stafford, Snowdon Master's Scholar studying Neuroscience at University of Sussex, medical cannabis patient & co-founder of Patient Led Engagement for Access (PLEA)

Speaking against the motion were:

Professor Sir Robin Murray, Professor of Psychiatric Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience and a Fellow of the Royal Society

Laura Stack, Award-Winning Speaker and Bestselling Author and Founder & CEO, Johnny's Ambassadors Youth THC Prevention