House rules

• This house is ruled by free thinking.

• The house respects the balance between personal values and scientific research.

• Independent reasoning is favourable to organised thinking, such as uncritical political party allegiance.

• Debate topics are current and connected to live policy debates in Westminster or public.

• The house is open to reform.

• Seats in the house are configured in a horseshoe; only the speaker of the house sits separately from members.

• Each sitting must be attended by at least two individuals who have conducted publicly funded academic research on the topic to be debated.

• Anyone who attends a sitting is a Member of the Rational Parliament (MRP) for that sitting and therefore asked to follow these rules.

• Every member has the same right to speak, question and vote.

• A member should make no personal attack on fellow members or the speaker.

• Sittings will not occur during the summer and Christmas recesses of the Westminster parliament.

• Claims of research findings should be supported with references to academic literature and provided on request (and they will be requested).

• The speaker keeps order in the house and has the authority to curate debate.

• Members proposing a motion should take no more than five minutes to do so.

• Members who receive payment related to the views they take on a topic must declare such payments.