Live Webcast - Mansion House City Debate 2020

This year’s Mansion House City Debate, the 24th in a line going back to 1996, has gone virtual. But as always, it will be a grand evening, which you can watch - free - and join in on wherever you are. The (suitably contentious) topic is that:

“This House believes that capitalism is the best route to sustainability”

Our speakers for this year are:

For the motion,

• Sir Roger Gifford, Alderman, former Lord Mayor, and chair of the Green Finance Institute. He is a former chair of the London Green Finance Initiative and of the Government’s Green Finance Task Force. He is now a senior banker at SEB (of which he was the UK country head from 2000 to 2016).
• Farmida Bi, chair of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, based in London. She came No. 2 in the HERoes Top 100 Women Executives for 2019, and ranked in the FT’s Top 10 for innovative lawyers in 2018

Against the motion,

• Wera Hobhouse, MP, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change. She is the MP for Bath, having previously been a councillor in Rochdale. Before entering politics, she was a teacher, journalist, artist, and gallery owner – both in England and in her native Germany.
• Paul Mason, commentator, journalist, radio personality, and former Economics Editor for both BBC2’s Newsnight and Channel4 News. He was one of the first UK journalists to blog, and is the author of at least three books and one play. He defines himself as a “radical social democrat” and is a regular columnist for Social Europe.

The debate will be moderated, as ever, by Angela Knight, CBE FCSI(Hon). 

Speakers

Welcome remarks:

Alderman William Russell, Lord Mayor of the City of London

Panellists:

Sir Roger Gifford, Alderman, former Lord Mayor, and chair of the Green Finance Institute
Farmida Bi, chair of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Wera Hobhouse, MP, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change
Paul Mason, commentator, journalist, radio personality, and former Economics Editor for both BBC2’s Newsnight and Channel4 News

Chair:

Angela Knight, CBE FCSI(Hon)