All 5 High schools in the Lichfield Parliamentary constituency competed
on Friday night for the Michael Fabricant-Arthur Price of England
Schools Parliamentary Speaking Competition and all 5 argued strongly
against the Motion: ‘That this House believes that all British residents
shall be issued with identity cards and that this will help in the fight
against crime and terrorism.’

Michael Fabricant says: "The standard of debate was probably the
highest since the Competition began back in 1993. All five schools in
the area – Chase Terrace Technology College, Chasetown Specialist Sports
College, The Friary School, King Edward VI School, and Nether Stowe High
School – argued against the introduction of ID cards on the basis that
the technology is unreliable and that its introduction would be an
expensive failure. The depth of knowledge was impressive with one
speaker showing an ID card from occupied Holland in the 1940s. It was
quite clear that the arguments presented by Home Secretaries David
Blunkett and Charles Clarke have failed to convince the youngsters of
Lichfield and Burntwood. If this were a focus group, Tony Blair would
be worried."

For the first time since the Competition began, Mister Speaker was
recruited from the European Parliament: Malcolm Harbour MEP and for the
first time, all 5 schools agreed on their stance with regard to the
motion: all opposed it.

The school which won the cup for the best overall team was King Edward
VI School, Lichfield. It members comprised Charlotte Millar, William
Stevens, and Fiona Davies.

The cup for the best overall speaker was won by Stephen Morgan of Nether
Stowe High School.

Malcolm Harbour MEP (Mister Speaker), Stephen Morgan, and Michael Fabricant
with the Cup for the Competition Best Overall Speaker.