In the ensuing debate, those who disagreed with the Chancellor advanced a range of arguments: some believed there was no discrimination; some felt Brown did not have his facts straight and therefore should not have offered a public opinion; and some believed that Oxford was correct in not offering Laura Spence a place. When the issue was raised at an Oxford edition of the BBC's political discussion show Question Time in October 2000, Professor Robert Winston controversially said that Spence did not deserve a place, because "you have to be committed to the course, and Laura Spence clearly wasn't committed because she didn't even end up studying medicine."
The debate centered around the Chancellor's decision and those who disagreed with it presented various arguments: some believed there was no discrimination, others felt Brown had inaccurate information and shouldn't have offered a public opinion, and some felt Oxford made the right call by not admitting Laura Spence.