argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Industrial Strategy Consultation — House of Commons, 2017-01-23
Topic: International Affairs
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The Prime Minister’s strategy lacks concrete proposals for Wales. Considering our £5 billion of trade and good net surplus with the EU, Wales is set to suffer most from the pursuit of a brutal Brexit. Does the Minister accept that doing nothing to counter the loss of EU convergence funding will serve only to exacerbate the already significant geographical wealth and earnings inequalities that characterise the British state?
European Union (Approvals) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-07-04
Topic: Foreign Trade
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. I was not going to raise a point on CETA this afternoon, but as it has been raised by her colleagues I just wondered what estimate the UK Government have given to renegotiating a CETA-type Canada deal following Brexit.
European Union (Approvals) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-07-04
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The Government have already told the Exiting the European Union Committee, on which I served during the last Parliament, that following our withdrawal from the EU we will no longer benefit from, for instance, the information exchange agreements between our competition regulator and the Canadian Competition Bureau. That renders much of the Bill rather pointless, does it not? Can the Minister explain how pulling us out of global deals such as the one that we are discussing will be helpful?
Informal European Council — House of Commons, 2017-02-06
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): According to press reports, the Prime Minister’s master plan of being a post-Brexit bridge between Europe and the US was not well received. Does she really think it is in the interests of the British state to be increasingly isolated from Europe and in the hands of a President who is taking the United States on a very dangerous journey?
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-02-06
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I congratulate the hon. Member for St Helens North (Conor McGinn) for his considered and well-made speech; it was a pleasure to listen to it. I know that time is of the essence and I will therefore speak briefly to Plaid Cymru’s amendments in this group; they are new clauses 158, 159, 160 and 162 and amendment 90. With your permission, Sir Roger, we hope to press new clause 158 to a vote The Bill as it stands will be the biggest job-killing Act in Welsh economic history. It may be short, but it is loaded—loaded with a Brexit that pays no regard to the promises made during the Vote Leave campaign. This is not a Bill that ratifies the referendum result; it is a Bill that endorses the UK Government’s Brexit plan. We do not accept that the Prime Minister’s extreme Brexit is what drove people to vote leave. They were swayed by a torrent of false promises, and new clause 158 is designed to hold the Brexiteers’ feet to the fire. It would allow for proper scrutiny of the Government’s plans to uphold their pledge of continued levels of funding for Wales before triggering article 50.
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-02-06
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): That is a pertinent point, and I am happy that colleagues will support us in the Lobby if we get the opportunity to vote on my new clause later The UK Government’s White Paper, which was published only last Thursday, was a complete whitewash in relation to those pledges. Unsurprisingly, it made no commitment to uphold the funding pledges, which were no doubt very persuasive in Wales during the referendum. Let us remember that the estimated net benefit—I emphasise "net benefit"—to Wales from the EU in 2014 was around £245 million, or £79 per head. We will not accept a penny less from the UK Government, because that was the specific pledge by the leave campaign in our country. Not one single penny less Just over a week before the vote, amid huge publicity, the leader of the Conservatives in Wales said that "funding for each and every part of the UK, including Wales, would be safe if we vote to leave." That statement was made following an open letter written by Tory Front Benchers, some of whom have now been promoted to the Cabinet and hold Brexit portfolios. They made the same promise.
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-02-06
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s intervention, and I will be supporting the new clause tabled by the Labour Front Bench if it is pushed to a vote. He is completely right. At the moment, UK Government Ministers might as well go into those Joint Ministerial Committee meetings with their iPods on and their headphones in. They are not going to listen to a word that the Welsh or Scottish Governments say, or to the representatives from Northern Ireland. There is no leverage to what is discussed in those JMC meetings. We need to firm up those processes The extreme Brexit favoured by the UK Government takes no account of the geographical economic divergence that exists within the British state. The Welsh economy is heavily driven by exports, and two thirds of our goods go to Europe. To willingly block those vital economic arteries would be an act of calamitous self-harm, given that 200,000 jobs in Wales are sustained by our trade with Europe. As someone whose job it is to represent the interests of my constituents and compatriots, I have a responsibility to do all I can to mitigate this Bill’s intentions That brings me to new clause 159, which would require the Government to explore a differentiated deal for Wales within the European economic area. The unprecedented task that lies ahead for the UK will inevitably require flexibility and, indeed, imagination. We have made it clear on a number of occasions that if the UK Government give us the assurance that Wales will keep its membership of the single market and the customs union, we will support the Bill. The Government have already conceded, rightly, that flexibility will be required to avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The joint Welsh Government-Plaid Cymru White Paper makes the case for the continuation of full participation—that is, membership—for Wales in the single market and the customs union.
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-02-06
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The hon. Gentleman is correct, as always, and I will come to that point later in my speech when I talk about shared competence and some of the constitutional reforms that will have to be made following Brexit In a similar manner, concessions have reportedly been made in certain sectors of the economy. We have already heard about Nissan in Sunderland and, as we would expect, the City of London. New clause 159 calls on the Government to show Wales a similar level of consideration by committing to consult on a territorial exemption when the Prime Minister drags the UK out of the single market.
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-02-06
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The hon. Lady is right to mention the fears about Ford because it is a major employer. I pay tribute to her for having the courage of her convictions when she voted against the Labour Whip last week Vote Leave campaigned on a platform of sovereignty, claiming that it wanted decisions made as closely to the people as possible. New clause 160 would allow precisely that by requiring the National Assembly for Wales to endorse any final agreement on the terms of exiting the European Union, thereby ensuring that Wales is fully involved in the process and that its needs are met. The Supreme Court ruling, which concluded that the Sewel convention holds no legal weight, confirms our long-held suspicion that devolution, and the principles it champions, is built on sand. Indeed, the UK Government went out of their way in their submission to the Court to emphasise the supremacy of this Westminster Parliament over the devolved Parliaments. Within the UK, it seems as though some Parliaments are more equal than others. Indeed, the Supreme Court ruling is why new clause 160 is necessary. If the British state is a partnership of equals, this is an opportunity for the UK Government to prove it The Prime Minister obviously recognises her political duty to consult the devolved Administrations—if only to save her own reputation. After all, she does not want to go down in history for breaking up two unions. Without the leverage of a vote on the final terms, Wales’ input holds no weight. The Brexiteers are ploughing ahead with the hardest of brutal Brexits. The Prime Minister’s "plan" speech on 17 January came before Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government had an opportunity to submit their White Paper for consideration New clause 162 and amendment 90 deal with repatriated powers and the constitutional future of the British state. On the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, powers will be repatriated to the UK, as mentioned by the hon. Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn), and a determination will need to be made about powers in devolved areas. At the moment, there is little experience within the British state of shared competence. Serious thought and consideration must be given to the future of the UK’s constitutional structures. If not, we are in danger of constitutional turmoil.
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-02-06
Topic: Government Operations
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I completely agree. That is why new clause 162 is important in that wider debate. Government Members are riding roughshod over the views of Members of Parliament representing Wales and Scotland and setting a dangerous precedent.
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-02-06
Topic: Government Operations
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am not questioning the referendum result. I am trying to work out what happens next in the interests of all the people I represent in Carmarthenshire and the people of my country, Wales Powers repatriated that straddle both devolved and reserved subject areas must be dealt with effectively, and the National Assembly must retain its autonomy. By "taking back control" the Prime Minister must not mean rolling back on devolution. New clause 162 would provide an avenue for that by committing the UK Government to conduct a review of the UK’s constitution.
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-02-06
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I agree exactly with the hon. Gentleman, but I would go further. My great fear is that Brexit will be used by the UK Government and by the Conservative party to derail and undermine devolution in its entirety In a similar manner to new clause 162, amendment 90 seeks clarity on laws repatriated from the EU.
Article 50 — House of Commons, 2017-03-29
Topic: International Affairs
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I thank the Prime Minister for giving me advance sight of her statement. She referred to "the British spirit" and to a "fairer", "united" Britain, but fairness is a proper respect for all views from all parts of the islands, not just, as she put it, "taking account of the specific interests" of nations and regions beforehand, and not just consulting about which repatriated powers should stay in Westminster and which should be dribbled down while she drives through her extreme version of Brexit. As we leave the European Union, there must be a better way than just her way.
Child Sex Abuse: Compensation — House of Commons, 2017-09-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): If it is a criminal offence to have sex with a child, how is such an offence anything but a crime of violence? To say that child victims cannot receive compensation for their abuse is simply victim blaming. The definition of a crime of violence was last reviewed five years ago. When will this be reassessed to ensure that sexually abused children are not denied compensation?
Korean Peninsula — House of Commons, 2017-09-05
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I was glad to see the emphasis on diplomacy in the Secretary of State’s statement today and to hear him say in media comments yesterday that there is no easy military solution. Considering that the North Korean regime above all craves security guarantees and normalised economic and diplomatic relations, does he agree that those are the key bargaining chips that might bring the regime back to the negotiating table with other partners to de-escalate this crisis?
Legislating for UK Withdrawal from the EU — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Plaid Cymru is demanding a continuity Bill in the National Assembly for Wales to enshrine appropriate European law in Welsh law. Will the Secretary of State confirm today that Westminster will not block or undermine our Parliament’s full right to legislate for Wales? My message to the British Government today from the people of Wales is this: hands off our Parliament.
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Will the Financial Secretary confirm that the Office for Budget Responsibility report that accompanied the most recent Budget downgrades growth forecasts for each year in the forecasting period, by comparison with that which accompanied last year’s Budget?
Terror Attacks — House of Commons, 2017-06-22
Topic: Law and Crime
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Will the Home Secretary join me in wishing a full recovery to Lisa Bridgett, of Mynytho, who suffered multiple injuries in the Manchester attack while waiting for her daughter? Of course, we sympathise with all victims of the recent atrocities. I note the Home Secretary’s recent announcement, but will she commit to consider undertaking an independent review of policing resources as a whole, not only to maintain public confidence in counter-terrorism and efforts to tackle cyber-hate, but to underpin essential community policing?
Leaving the EU: Effect on Wales — House of Commons, 2017-04-26
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: Wales has a number of technological hotspots, around Cardiff and elsewhere. Does my right hon. Friend not think that, after Brexit, they will benefit from the bilateral trade deals that we will be able to make with the United States and Canada, as well as with the European Union?; In leaving the European customs union, Welsh manufacturers and farmers will lose the solid protections offered by the bloc. Why does the Secretary of State not come clean today and admit that it is the Tories’ intention to sell Welsh producers down the river in order to open up markets for the bankers of London?
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Welsh food and drink exports to the European Union will face eye-watering tariffs on leaving the single market. Will the Minister simply guarantee that, as part of a World Trade Organisation deal, the home market will not be flooded with cheap food imports such as Australian sheepmeat?
Leaving the EU: Effect on Wales — House of Commons, 2017-04-26
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: Wales has a number of technological hotspots, around Cardiff and elsewhere. Does my right hon. Friend not think that, after Brexit, they will benefit from the bilateral trade deals that we will be able to make with the United States and Canada, as well as with the European Union?; In leaving the European customs union, Welsh manufacturers and farmers will lose the solid protections offered by the bloc. Why does the Secretary of State not come clean today and admit that it is the Tories’ intention to sell Welsh producers down the river in order to open up markets for the bankers of London?
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I would have a great deal more confidence if the Minister answered the question. On Monday I visited one of the largest and most successful high-tech businesses in Wales, which told me that, post-Brexit, it is hoping against hope to be able to export to its European partners, as at present, without all the red tape and expense of being outside the customs union. Why are this hard-Brexit Government so determined to make life more difficult for our key exporters?
Great Repeal Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-26
Topic: Government Operations
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I have been an MP for only two years, but during that short time I have seen two Secretaries of State and five shadow Secretaries of State for Wales fob off my country with crumbs from the Westminster table. Now, the Government are preparing to claw back devolved powers. When will the present incumbent announce a Wales Bill that brings power back to Wales?
Prison Officers: Recruitment and Retention — House of Commons, 2017-03-07
Topic: Law and Crime
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I rise to speak as chair of the cross-party justice unions parliamentary group. As the Secretary of State mentioned, HMP Berwyn opened its doors and accepted its first men last week, but how can she condone paying newly recruited prison officers in north Wales £8,000 less than new recruits in south-east England?
Fuel Poverty — House of Commons, 2017-03-21
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): What consideration have the Government given to developments in currency levels? We live in an age in which sterling is devaluing. The harder the Brexit, the more sterling will have to devalue. The US dollar, on the other hand, is likely to strengthen as a result of Trump’s expansionary fiscal policy, and the Fed has increased interest rates. Oil is traded in dollars, and the gas price is pegged to oil, so those two developments inevitably mean that energy prices in the UK will increase significantly. What are the Government going to do to mitigate that?
Fuel Poverty — House of Commons, 2017-03-21
Topic: Energy
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): If I heard the hon. Lady correctly, she said that 15% of households in the UK live in fuel poverty. In Wales, the figure is considerably worse at well over a third. The Welsh Government have failed to make any inroads into that over the past 20 years or so, despite Wales being an energy-rich nation and a substantial exporter of electricity. Does she agree that for the people of Wales, at least part of the answer should be Welsh communities getting control over their own energy resources?
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-02-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Does the hon. Gentleman expect any Treasury modelling to concur with that of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which says that EEA membership is far preferable for the economic growth of the British state than a free trade agreement?
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Labor
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): It will interest the House, I am sure, to know that the Scottish Government announced last week that they are lifting the pay cap. The Labour Welsh Government have the ability to do exactly the same thing, but in reality Labour in Wales is the Conservative Government’s gwas bach, taking their lead from Westminster. Thirty thousand Welsh nurses are having their pay cut in real terms. I ask those on both the Government and Opposition Front Benches to explain to thousands of Welsh workers why Wales remains the poorest paid country in the United Kingdom.
Taylor Review: Working Practices — House of Commons, 2017-07-11
Topic: Labor
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Disappointingly, the report does not go far enough on the issue of zero-hours contracts. The Labour Welsh Government have failed to support the prohibition of zero-hours contracts in devolved areas on seven occasions. Is it not the case that vulnerable workers in Wales are being let down by both the Tories and the Labour party?
European Council — House of Commons, 2017-03-14
Topic: International Affairs
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I was glad to hear the Prime Minister say that she has been working with the devolved Administrations, but I was also slightly puzzled because the "Joint Ministerial Committee on Exiting the EU is less organised than a community council" Those are not my words, but those of an actual participant: the Welsh Government Minister Mark Drakeford. How is she ensuring that the interests of the devolved Governments are reflected in the article 50 notification?
Energy Price Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-03
Topic: Energy
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): We produce far more electricity in Wales than we use, yet we pay the highest electricity prices in the British state. More than a third of our households are in fuel poverty. Does that not suggest that Westminster control over Welsh energy policy is not working?
Northern Ireland: Political Situation — House of Commons, 2017-07-03
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): If the impasse is not broken, and if direct rule is imposed, can the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations perform its role without the participation of one of the constituent parts of the British state?
Health, Social Care and Security — House of Commons, 2017-06-28
Topic: Law and Crime
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I have been listening with great interest to the Secretary of State, and she will surely welcome the private Member’s Bill being introduced by my colleague Lord Wigley in the other place, which calls for an independent resource audit for Welsh and English police forces. Will she look at that Bill and offer Government support?
Magnox: Early Contract Terminations — House of Commons, 2017-03-27
Topic: Energy
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Under current plans, Trawsfynydd power station will lose most of its jobs in less than 10 years. The Government are now in a position to commit to a programme of continuous decommissioning, as recommended by the Select Committee on Welsh Affairs. When will the Secretary of State publish revised plans following today’s announcement, and will he agree to meet me to discuss the future of the Trawsfynydd site?
Article 50 — House of Commons, 2017-03-08
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: A hard Brexit would be bad for jobs in Wales. Blaenau Gwent has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, yet the Department for Work and Pensions proposes shutting Tredegar jobcentre. Will the Secretary of State meet me to talk about supporting the people of Blaenau Gwent into work?
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): In his evidence to the Brexit Select Committee yesterday, Cabinet Secretary Mark Drakeford also said that the Welsh Government were, disgracefully, not made aware of the UK Government’s 12-point Brexit plan or their White Paper. What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that the Plaid Cymru-Welsh Government Brexit White Paper is fed into the article 50 letter and accompanying documents?