The first half of the debate is over, yet there is still a lot of work to be done. As you prepare to open the closing half of this debate, you realise that you are supposed to transcend what has been said so far. Now is the time to move forward and dwell in different aspects of the discussion. This is where your extension comes into play. Much like the Prime Minister did before, you will have to lay down some bricks, adding an extra floor to the construct she has started building.

If the opening teams have created a messy debate, this is your chance to clear it up. Filter out some of the things they've said, possibly refocusing the discussion to something else. After doing that, you can clarify some terms that still lack a proper definition. Be careful though, you do not want to over do it. Make sure you come nowhere close to backstabing the other Government team. Your extension should be exactly that, a step forward from the Opening Government's case, not a completely different discussion.

Most of the flaws in the initial case construct will be obvious by now. The Opening Opposition team has worked in showing what those are. What you need to do, is to polish your extension in a way that excludes these flaws. In that sense, it seems like you have an easier task ahead of you than what the Prime Minister had. On the other hand, you will also have to allocate some time responding to the previous speaker's points. The entire debate will change its course after your speech is over and it will be too late for your partner, the Opposition Whip, to respond to the Deputy Opposition Leader's points. As if this were not enough, a portion of your speech will have to be devoted to providing support for your extended case. You want it to be a sound case, a well founded belief, by the time the next speaker comes up to the floor.

From what has been said so far, it seems obvious that your greatest concern will be the timekeeper. Time is of essence here if you're ever to fulfil all of the tasks outlined above. So, basically it boils down to this... There are a lot of easy things you'll be expected to do. Stay focused, away from all possible distractions, in order to avoid repeating yourself. That way you won't have any problem with time either.