Leeds Salon is a discussion group founded in early 2009 by Michele Ledda and Paul Thomas, inspired by similar initiatives they had attended and, in particular, their participation in the Academy of Ideas & Pfizer sixth-form debating competition Debating Matters.

The aim of Leeds Salon is to establish a public forum for debate around contemporary political, cultural and scientific issues and, hopefully, challenge any orthodoxies along the way. Writers, academics and experts in their field are invited to present their ideas and to have them debated and held up to scrutiny by the audience. The Salons are lively, informal and open to all.

We are also interested in suggestions for debate and establishing fraternal links with other debating organisations in West Yorkshire and beyond.