argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Andrew John Bower Mitchell (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend makes his point exceedingly eloquently I want to underline to the House the fact that free enterprise and open markets have been, and continue to be, the greatest engines of social and economic advancement known to man. We need to stand up for those things more than we have done recently, against the opposing views espoused by the shadow Chancellor and, indeed, by large numbers of young people who were not around to learn some of the pretty basic economic truths that many of us learned in the 1970s and ’80s Having said that, capitalism has always required Governments and regulators to set boundaries to human activity and, inevitably, human greed, and that point chimes in very well with the activist views that our Prime Minister has expressed since she took up the job. I want to point briefly to three areas in which I think such regulation of capitalism is of the greatest importance. The first, which we have debated in the House, concerns open ownership registers, particularly for the British overseas territories. That was an initiative of the Cameron Government. We in Britain have imposed such transparency on ourselves, and we need to do so for the overseas territories. Many in this House care deeply about the matter, including my hon. Friends the Members for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy) and for Amber Valley (Nigel Mills), and the right hon. Members for Barking (Dame Margaret Hodge) and for Don Valley (Caroline Flint). It is important that the Treasury recognises that point in the Finance Bill, and I very much hope that it will do so Energy prices are the second area in which regulation is important. The Government are absolutely right to pursue that, because the current monopolistic situation works against the interests of consumers. The right way to deal with it is by regulation rather than by nationalisation, which is entirely unnecessary because of the regulatory regime Other Members have mentioned the third area in which regulation is required, but I will make the point again. A recent study of the annual reports of FTSE 100 companies shows that average pay for chief executives rose from £5 million a head in 2014 to £5.5 million in 2015. I find it offensive and totally unjustifiable that that is 140 times the average salary of their employees. It is noteworthy that only a quarter of FTSE 100 companies pay the voluntary living wage to their employees. The scale of that inequality, which is vastly greater than it was, gives capitalism a bad name. At a time when inequality more generally has fallen, with income inequality at its lowest rate for 30 years, this is something that the Government need to address through regulation.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a real pleasure to follow the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson); this is the first time in a while that we have debated in the Chamber together I commend my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the Budget. From my ministerial apprenticeship at the Treasury three years ago, I recall the great efforts that the then Chancellor and the entire team made to put the Budget together, particularly as Ministers were lobbied constantly by a whole range of interests. It is, of course, a challenge to balance the needs with the responsibility to keep the public finances in good, sound, solid order. The Treasury should be commended for navigating those pressures and for continuing to put stability at the core of the Budget. Economic stability should rightly stand at the core of every Budget It is worth reminding Members, especially those on the Opposition Benches, of the progress that has been made in putting the public finances back in order after the appalling situation in 2010. Back then, the budget deficit exceeded £150 billion—more than our spending on health, education, policing and the armed forces. The level of public spending was financed by borrowing that was totally unsustainable. We know that the Opposition, who are chuntering away, never want to take responsibility for how they mishandled the public finances and love to point the finger of blame elsewhere, but it is a fact that before the financial crisis, the Labour Government racked up an eye-watering level of debt.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): The obvious answer is the scale of Labour’s economic mismanagement. The hon. Gentleman will recall that his party’s 2008 Budget planned for a £43 billion deficit, which is more than all the revenues raised in excise duty. That says everything we need to know about Labour’s financial economic management.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Andrew John Bower Mitchell (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend not think that the Opposition have a brass neck to intervene on her in that way? They criticise the Government for not cutting the deficit faster, yet on every single occasion when they have been invited to support the deficit-cutting strategy they have voted against it.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. On many occasions since 2010, the Labour party has not only not supported the Government’s approach on deficit reduction, but failed to vote to support policies to reduce the deficit and bring sound financial economic management back into our public finances. We have come a long way on bringing the deficit down and understanding the reasons why sound financial management matters. We need money to be available to invest in our public services. We need an economy that embraces enterprise, which brings in the tax receipts to pay for hospitals, schools, police and the armed forces. Today’s Budget absolutely recognises that fundamental point We have heard criticism in the debate about the NHS. Our NHS is a great institution. It is right that the Chancellor has today committed more public funds— billions—to the NHS. As an Essex Member of Parliament, I am delighted to see new support and capital investment in the NHS. Frankly, for 13 years under Labour, health services in Essex went backwards and suffered from underfunding. My right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) is right to say that Labour Members have a brass neck criticising the work we have been doing and the investment we have made One great success since 2010 is the record level of job creation in our economy. Like many of my right hon. and hon. Friends, I recall sitting through these debates from 2010 onwards hearing doom and gloom and scaremongering from the Labour party, with outlandish claims about unemployment and recession. As we know, those predictions proved to be completely wrong. In today’s Budget, we heard about greater investment in key sectors going forward. We know we have to think about the future of the labour market. Automation will be coming in, and we need to consider how we can invest in construction and key services.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have 32 million people in work and unemployment at a record low, and Opposition Members talk our country and our economy down. They seem to have a pathological hatred of enterprise, aspiration and free markets. They call for higher taxes on businesses, which only serve their agenda to tighten controls on the free market, stifle innovation and stop businesses succeeding. As we know, that is exactly what would harm the economy in the long run As we have seen in the Budget today, great Conservative Budgets support aspiration, opportunity and freedom. That is why the Conservative party has always been on the side of people who work hard and want to get on in life and own their own home. The Budget makes welcome changes to stamp duty to help people get on the property ladder: 95% of first-time buyers will now benefit and 80% will pay no stamp duty at all. That is the right action to support home ownership and increase supply through the investment announced in the Budget I stress to my right hon. and hon. Friends on the Front Bench the importance of ensuring investment in infrastructure around new housing from private as well as public sources. In Essex, we have been working assiduously to secure investment from the Government in a passing rail loop north of Witham and the upgrading of the A120—critical investments that will promote and support house building in that part of Essex—and also to ensure greater private funding, including from innovative financial products, to reduce the risk to the public purse and to secure more private sector contributions to deliver critical infrastructure As we plan for our exit from the EU on 29 March 2019, it is right that the Budget has set us on a course to make the most of the long-term opportunities that Britain will have. Of course, that means being a global beacon for free trade, a place that welcomes investment from overseas and enterprise, and finding ways to unlock the talent in this country I again welcome the new investment that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced in terms of skills, critical sectors and investing in people. There are fantastic opportunities not just for the City of London but for our country, and plenty of reasons to be optimistic when it comes to trading with the rest of the world and growing our economy. We must look outwards rather than inwards. This is a Budget that will facilitate a positive international vision for Britain. That is how we will be judged in the years ahead. It stands in marked contrast to the policies of the Labour party, which wants to tax more and thereby harm our country and our economy. Most importantly, however, this Budget lays the foundations for a Britain fit for the future.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Lady makes an interesting point. I do not know whether she has had an opportunity to study "Impact on households: distributional analysis to accompany Autumn Budget 2017", but its analysis shows that "since 2010, households across all income deciles have seen growth in their disposable incomes, on average" That is good news, and I am sure that she would want to welcome it.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend welcome the extension of powers over online VAT fraud to cover overseas businesses, which is a really important part of bringing multinationals in modern trading areas back into line? It is a very good move.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Government Operations
Thomas Georg John Tugendhat (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is making a very important point about democratic accountability in Northern Ireland. Does she agree with the suggestion made by some that the pay of Members of the Legislative Assembly should be suspended until they manage to get together and form the Executive?
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander John Gervase Chalk (Conservative, Centre-right): I have just looked at table 1.2 on page 17 of the Red Book, to which the hon. Gentleman referred. It shows the deficit going down from £58.3 billion to £16.8 billion, but the figures he referred to—£8.4 billion going up to £20.6 billion—relate to the receipts forecast. They do not indicate a reduction in receipts as a result of Brexit.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jacob William Rees-Mogg (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sorry that I have not been in the Chamber for the whole debate, Mr Speaker. I have been at a meeting of the Exiting the European Union Committee debating one of our reports. We have been firmly excising split infinitives, and making sure that apostrophes appear in the right place and that Humble Addresses are preceded by the correct indefinite article. All those important matters took me away from the Chamber It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Mr Leslie), who is always so interesting on such matters, although we disagree very firmly about them. I thought it might be worth looking at how much better the figures are than they were expected to be. In the context of Brexit, we are always told that the end of the world is nigh, the writing is on the wall and all will be terrible, and yet when we look at the Red Book, the figures that we have had so far are better—in spite of the Treasury and others saying that it will all be a disaster. Paragraph 1.36 of the Red Book states: "Borrowing in 2017-18 is £49.9 billion, £8.4 billion lower than forecast at Spring Budget 2017." Why? Because receipts are higher and more money is coming in, which is indicative of the economy’s strengthening. The following page indicates that that is down to spending decisions and tax decisions that have been taken in the Budget I have one specific question for Ministers on the Treasury Bench about the Red Book. This may have been raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Charlie Elphicke), but it is of considerable importance. Page 82, which I think is copied from page 114 of the OBR’s "Economic and fiscal outlook", states that in 2022-23 there will be a £3.5 billion "own resources" contribution to the European Union. Now, I cannot believe that the wise figures in the OBR or in Her Majesty’s Treasury could have made the schoolboy error of just assuming that money paid out in one year would continue indefinitely, but it misses the point that we will have left the European Union by 2022-23, that the implementation period will have ended, and that the whole concept of "own resources" will have ceased to exist. It is rather like spotting an error in "Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack", which is very rare, and indicates a failing that I hope will be put right. I hope that we will discover that it was unintended, because if it is intended, that means that we will not in fact be stopping our contributions to the European Union, which would be very strange. To have this described as "own resources" is even more peculiar, because that assumes that we are still members of the EU. I think there is an error there.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): To respond to my hon. Friend’s point about the forecasts, they are made by the OBR. The OBR was provided with the Prime Minister’s Florence speech—the basis on which we are negotiating with the EU—and it is up to the OBR to make its own independent forecasts. My hon. Friend will have to speak directly to the OBR about that, but my understanding is that it has used an average of other independent forecasts.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jeremy Mark Quin (Conservative, Centre-right): I take the hint, Mr Speaker, and I promise I will be brief. Education—I welcome it, and I certainly welcome the infrastructure spend on transport and housing. This is a wide Budget with a lot to commend it; it addresses the problems of the past while setting out the foundations for the future. I am sorry that I am not able to entertain the House at any greater length, but it is perfectly fair that others should have their shout. With that, I commend the Budget.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Henry Hayes (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure the hon. Lady will want to introduce some balance into her speech, because she is very fair-minded. Which does she welcome more: the substantial extra money for the NHS, the substantial investment in transport infrastructure or the cut in stamp duty for millions? Which of those does she think is the most important?
Changes to local Bus services in Torbay — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Transportation
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): I rise to present the petition of residents of Torbay on the changes to local bus services. I pay tribute to the work of Rosemary Shaw, who helped to collect names for the petition. It was signed by hundreds of people on paper and more than 1,300 people online The petition states: The petition of users of the No.32 bus service in Torbay, Declares that the change of service for the number 32 bus service between St Marychurch-Torbay Hospital/The Willows will have a detrimental impact on local residents, in particular, elderly residents The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges Torbay Council to commit to re-instating the service route of the No.32 service for the sake of the local residents as soon as possible And the petitioners remain, etc [P002083]
Guards on Merseyrail Trains — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Madam Deputy Speaker I congratulate the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Dan Carden) on securing the debate, and also on delivering his thoughts in such a cogent and well-balanced way. I am pleased to see that so many Members from both sides of the Mersey and, indeed, slightly beyond it are present this evening: I think that that demonstrates the importance that so many in the Mersey area attach to the issue. I suspect that I am not the hon. Gentleman’s whole intended audience, and I am sure that many more will pay attention to it in the area of the city region As I am sure all Members know, Adjournment debates give Members worthwhile opportunities to raise important constituency matters, and the hon. Gentleman has certainly done that this evening, but he will probably not be surprised to hear me say that their value can be weakened when the issue under discussion falls not just without the jurisdiction of the responding Minister, but without that of—in this instance—my Department Since 2003, matters concerning Merseyrail have been entirely devolved, and have been the responsibility of the transport authority, Merseytravel, and the train operator itself. Although that prevents me from commenting directly on many of the points raised by the hon. Gentleman, I will do my best to give him a worthwhile response that deals with the broader issues that he has raised. Sadly, tempted though I am to try to engage with his wider points about Labour party policy, time probably does permit me to explain fully why I think that the idea of a state monopoly should fill every single passenger with nothing but dread.
Guards on Merseyrail Trains — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): I heard the hon. Gentleman’s point earlier. My response is that that is not Government policy and nor do I ever see it being Government policy while my party remains in power. The opportunity to have a public monopoly on our railways may be in the interest of the Labour party, but it is not in the interests of passengers The agreement with Merseytravel is worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Indeed, the grant for 2017-18 alone is close to £82 million. This framework gives the transport authority the confidence necessary to plan major long-term investments. That is why the quality of train services, stations and the whole experience of travelling on the Merseyrail network have been transformed since 2003. Indeed, Merseyrail has to be seen as an exemplar for the value of devolution and for local decision making where that is appropriate and practical On the day of devolution, Merseytravel rightly stated that its ambition was to shed the label "Miseryrail" by putting passengers first. Within a year, the first results of this transformation were apparent. Passenger satisfaction was up, particularly in relation to punctuality and the way in which passenger requests were handled. By autumn 2004, Merseyrail was top of the national customer satisfaction league for the first time in its history, and since 2008, satisfaction has never dropped below 90% A major contributor to this success story has been the collaborative partnership between the operator and Merseytravel within a concession agreement that also sets out a demanding service specification. The flexibility of local control has allowed both parties to develop a stream of initiatives to increase capacity, to tailor fares and services to local markets, to enhance trains and stations—such as Liverpool South Parkway, which I know well—and to improve punctuality.
Guards on Merseyrail Trains — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have said, we have committed £82 million in this calendar year, which will give Merseytravel the confidence to make investments in rolling stock. It can choose how to invest that money. I think that Labour Members would be deeply disappointed, or indeed apoplectic, if I were to start questioning the decisions of the elected city Mayor of Liverpool or of the city region Mayor. The point of devolution is that local people have to take these decisions, through their representatives, and that is what they are doing. The investment that we have made facilitated the operation of longer trains in 2008 and the doubling of Liverpool to Chester services in 2010. In 2014, Merseyrail also invested £3 million to make a second fleet refurbishment possible. Those are all examples of investment occurring in Merseyrail. Indeed, Merseytravel and Merseyrail have regularly jointly funded extra late-night trains during special events and trains on Boxing day, and this approach has been a great success. Passenger demand has consistently exceed targets. It has grown over 30%, from 27 million passengers a year to well over 35 million now, and it is approaching the point where the current train fleet, one of the oldest in the UK, will need the £460 million investment in new trains that will be rolled out for passengers by 2020 In closing, I hope that I have been able to demonstrate how the public-private partnership between Merseytravel and Merseyrail has helped to transform rail services in Liverpool over the past 14 years, and that there is no reason to suspect that local politicians in Liverpool are unable to take decisions in the interests of their city region.
Guards on Merseyrail Trains — House of Commons, 2017-11-22
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): The topic of our discussion tonight is the presence of guards on Merseyrail trains. As Labour Members will know, they have a multiplicity of local Labour politicians to discuss this matter with, including the chair of Merseytravel, the elected city Mayor in Liverpool and the elected city region Mayor, all of whom have stood behind this decision. If we truly believe in devolving transport powers, we have to respect the decisions that are taken Let me restate my congratulations to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton on securing the debate. I am sure that he has had a ready audience across Merseyside for his comments—as I have said, I am sure that I was not the intended audience for those comments—and I am sure that the discussion will continue among his colleagues around Merseyside. We will monitor with interest what occurs Question put and agreed to.