argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Yemen — House of Commons, 2016-12-12
Topic: International Affairs
Keith Anthony Vaz (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful to you for granting this urgent question, Mr Speaker, and to the Minister for his answer Until now, our foreign policy objectives in Yemen have been crystal clear: pursuing a cessation of hostilities and backing a UN mandated intervention. Last week, the Foreign Secretary was absolutely right to speak of his profound concern for the Yemeni people and correct to say that this conflict could not be solved by force alone. However, his words also revealed an inconsistency in our foreign policy, which if not addressed immediately, threatens to wreck everything that we are trying to accomplish Will the Minister please confirm that we would never be involved in any puppeteering or proxy wars anywhere in the world, including in Yemen? Our influence and credibility as an honest broker is now being seriously questioned. We criticised Russia’s bombing of Aleppo; the Russians accuse us of supporting the same thing in Yemen Further to the Minister’s reply, can he clarify that our objective is an immediate ceasefire, and can he lay out the detail of how we will get to that position? As the Foreign Secretary has said, we hold the pens on Yemen at the United Nations. There is already a draft Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, resumption of peace talks and humanitarian access. Where is that resolution now? Will it be tabled before the Security Council before the end of the year? We must not fiddle as Yemen burns. On Saturday, Islamic State bombed a military camp in Aden, killing 35 soldiers. The UN humanitarian co-ordinator, Stephen O’Brien, calls Yemen a "man-made brutal humanitarian disaster", with four fifths of the population in desperate need of emergency aid On Wednesday, the House, including the Minister, will show its support for the incredible work of the humanitarian agencies at "Yemen Day". Today, the Disasters Emergency Committee announced a long overdue emergency appeal, but if the fighting does not stop that will not be enough. The Government must speak with one voice and with one aim for Yemen, and that should be an immediate ceasefire. Anything else only plays into the hands of terrorist organisations, damages our diplomacy and increases the suffering of the Yemeni people.
Yemen — House of Commons, 2016-12-12
Topic: International Affairs
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you, Mr Speaker, for calling me in the circumstances. I also thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz) for securing the urgent question. The authority and passion he brings to the issue of Yemen is without equal in this House. For the last year and a half my right hon. Friend has been consistent and principled in his advice. Let us be clear that the difference between that and what we have heard this week from the Government could not be more stark. On Yemen, there is no consistency and no principle Last Thursday, we heard the Foreign Secretary say that Saudi Arabia was fighting proxy wars in countries like Yemen, and we know the consequences all too well: thousands of civilians killed, the country’s agricultural infrastructure destroyed, millions of Yemeni children facing starvation. Let us be clear: the Foreign Secretary was absolutely right on this, and we say, "Good for you, Boris." Yet he has still been slapped down by Downing Street and forced to go to Riyadh to "clarify his remarks"—and he has sent his junior Minister here today to support Saudi Arabia’s actions to the hilt. It seems that he will not support our calls for an independent UN investigation into Saudi Arabia’s alleged war crimes, and he will continue selling it arms to prosecute its proxy wars. There is no consistency, there is no principle, there is just more shabby hypocrisy There are many questions I would like to ask the Minister today, but let me just ask one. It is the same question asked of him by my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester East, and he has not had an answer, so I will ask it again. For two months now the UN Security Council has been waiting for the United Kingdom to present its proposed resolution to effect a ceasefire in Yemen to allow access for humanitarian relief. For two months, a draft resolution has been in circulation, so let me ask the Minister again: why has the resolution not been presented and who is holding it up, because the people of Yemen cannot afford any more delay?
Yemen — House of Commons, 2016-12-12
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen Twigg (Labour, Centre-left): On Saturday, Liverpool Friends of Yemen held our fourth monthly vigil in solidarity with the people of Yemen and for peace in that country. I have spoken to the Yemeni diaspora in Liverpool and their very clear message is that they fear for the lives of people back home. This is a country on the edge of famine. May I urge the Government—it is good to see the Minister of State, Department for International Development, the hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Rory Stewart), present—to ensure that we do everything we can as a country to relieve the humanitarian crisis in Yemen? And when will we support an independent UN inquiry into alleged violations on both sides of the conflict?
Yemen — House of Commons, 2016-12-12
Topic: International Affairs
Graham Peter Jones (Labour, Centre-left): What representations have Her Majesty’s Government made to the Iranian Government about stopping the flow of arms to the Houthis? At the same time, what representations have been made to facilitate with the Iranians the opening of the ports so that much-needed aid can get through to the Yemenis who are suffering in this civil war?
Yemen — House of Commons, 2016-12-12
Topic: International Affairs
Rosena Chantelle Allin-Khan (Labour, Centre-left): The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are vital in their lifelong development. Not only are Yemeni children’s basic human rights not being met now in this awful conflict, but they will not have a chance even when the conflict ends. What are the Government doing to ensure that Yemeni children have access to vital nutritious food for the duration of the conflict?
Savings (Government Contributions) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-12-12
Topic: Labor
Kelvin Peter Hopkins (Labour, Centre-left): I was a member of the Bill Committee and I made many of the points I wish to make at that time. I was not able to be in the Chamber for the first part of this debate, but I wanted to say a few words in support of what we have heard from the Opposition Front Bench. My hon. Friend the Member for Bootle (Peter Dowd) and the hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford), speaking for the Scottish National party, have expressed strong words of scepticism about the Bill. I reinforce those words The very poorest need a much bigger state pension. For many people, a compulsory earnings-related state pension scheme would be much better value and would guarantee that everybody saved some of their earnings for a decent old age. That would be a much more positive way forward. I echo what has been said by the Opposition Front Benchers and am grateful for this opportunity to speak.
Welfare Cap — House of Commons, 2016-12-12
Topic: Macroeconomics
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): It is always a pleasure to be here when you are in the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker As Members will probably gather, I take a slightly different view from the Minister, and I will go on to the details in a moment. However, as the Minister acknowledged, this is the second year the Government have been forced to come to the House to explain their failure not just in breaching their own social security cap but on the economy As a quick point of clarification, the Government spent £130 billion more between 2010 and 2015 than the previous Labour Government spent between 2005 and 2010. So this Government have spent more. That is absolutely—[Interruption.] It is very interesting that Government Members should take that approach, but I will go on. It turns out that the long-term economic plan is really nothing more than a slogan, and that probably "long-term economic failure" would have been slightly more apt.
Welfare Cap — House of Commons, 2016-12-12
Topic: Social Welfare
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): That is an interesting question, and I would have to look at the figures. I have tried to show that the high cost of housing is a real issue, as is low-paid work. There are a number of factors, but those are the key drivers. The Government really should have been more careful in their impact assessment when they set out their policy in the first place. To conclude, this breach of the Government’s self-imposed welfare cap every year for five years is further proof of their utter failure on the economy. They have refused to act on the fundamental areas that are driving the cost of social security spending, and they have made bankrupt attempts to meet their targets on the back of the most vulnerable. Only Labour has an economic strategy that will bring the costs of social security down without fraying the safety net that we all rely on. Now is the time to invest in the housing we need, offer a decent wage for a working day and support people to find a job, keep a job and progress in their chosen work. We will transform our social security system to ensure that, like the NHS, it is there for all of us in our time of need, as part of our plan to create a stronger, fairer economic settlement for all in our country.
Welfare Cap — House of Commons, 2016-12-12
Topic: Labor
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman rightly makes the point that the rate of employment among disabled people has risen, but the overall employment rate has risen as well, so the disability employment gap has not been reduced. Why has there not been any progress on that issue?
Welfare Cap — House of Commons, 2016-12-12
Topic: Social Welfare
James Dolan Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): I am sorry that I came in late and missed the earlier part of the hon. Gentleman’s speech. To be quite frank with him, it is not so easy for people with mental health disabilities to get benefits. I now have a number of cases of people with mental health and other disabilities who have had their benefits stopped without any notice and without a by-your-leave.
EU Data Protection Rules — House of Commons, 2016-12-12
Topic: Law and Crime
Daniel Stephen Zeichner (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister is making a deft response and I am listening closely to him. Could he say more about the impact of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, which has been raised, and the difficulty that it might present to achieving an adequacy agreement?
UK-US: Future Relationship — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the result of the US election on the UK’s bilateral relationship with that country.; Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will ask a question.Does my right hon. Friend agree that virtue signalling, while fashionable, is no basis for a productive international working relationship?
David Julian Winnick (Labour, Centre-left): As regards ambassadors for either country, may I make a suggestion? An excellent choice for the unofficial ambassador from the United States to Britain—I emphasise the word unofficial—would be Brandon Victor Dixon, the actor who spoke out to the Vice-President-elect about American values and was criticised by the future President. Mr Dixon is the sort of person who is associated with all that is best about the United States.
UK-US: Future Relationship — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: Environment
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the result of the US election on the UK’s bilateral relationship with that country.; Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will ask a question.Does my right hon. Friend agree that virtue signalling, while fashionable, is no basis for a productive international working relationship?; Diplomats require diplomacy. Does my right hon. Friend agree that there should be no place for anyone who expresses inflammatory views and views that could sometimes be considered to be bordering on racist in representing this country in discussions with the United States?; Will the Foreign Secretary give a clear indication to the new US Administration that we value the Baltic states and their independence highly? As part of our responsibilities in NATO, will he support and encourage the new Administration to say the same things?
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): As we meet today on the 53rd anniversary of John F Kennedy’s death, we have the prospect of a very different president about to enter the White House in a matter of weeks. Nevertheless, the Secretary of State said last week, and has said again today, that this new president is "a liberal guy" with whom he shares many values. He does not end there; we have, he tells us, "every reason to be positive" about a Trump presidency. Will he tell us what reasons there are to be positive about the attitude of the new president to climate change?
UK-US: Future Relationship — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: Environment
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the result of the US election on the UK’s bilateral relationship with that country.; Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will ask a question.Does my right hon. Friend agree that virtue signalling, while fashionable, is no basis for a productive international working relationship?; Diplomats require diplomacy. Does my right hon. Friend agree that there should be no place for anyone who expresses inflammatory views and views that could sometimes be considered to be bordering on racist in representing this country in discussions with the United States?; Will the Foreign Secretary give a clear indication to the new US Administration that we value the Baltic states and their independence highly? As part of our responsibilities in NATO, will he support and encourage the new Administration to say the same things?
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): The reality is that we have a new president who says that climate change is a hoax invented by the Chinese, who has repeatedly promised to scrap the Paris treaty and whose top adviser on the environment calls global warming "nothing to worry about". There is no doubt that that is a hugely dangerous development for the future of our planet, so let me ask the Secretary of State this: when the Prime Minister goes to see the new president in January, will she have the moral backbone to tell him that he is wrong on climate change and must not scrap the Paris treaty, and will she lead the world in condemning him if he does?
Leaving the EU: Bilateral Relations — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: What assessment his Department has made of the effect of the UK’s decision to leave the EU on its bilateral relations with (a) EU and (b) non-EU countries.
Emma Elizabeth Reynolds (Labour, Centre-left): I studied closely what the Prime Minister said yesterday at the CBI conference. She said: "people don’t want a cliff edge" It is encouraging that the Government are now acknowledging that in March 2019 we risk falling back on World Trade Organisation rules and tariffs. Following the Prime Minister’s comments yesterday, will the Foreign Secretary confirm that the Government are looking at a transitional deal that will give us time to negotiate a trade deal with the rest of the EU and to arrange other matters, such as security?
Leaving the EU: Bilateral Relations — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What assessment his Department has made of the effect of the UK’s decision to leave the EU on its bilateral relations with (a) EU and (b) non-EU countries.
Khalid Mahmood (Labour, Centre-left): In between insulting the Italian Foreign Minister last week, showing that he has no understanding of the treaty of Rome, saying that he would not pressure Turkey over the death penalty and having a major bust-up with the head of the European People’s party, the Foreign Secretary managed to make one serious announcement. He told the Czech media that Britain would retain free trade with Europe, while leaving the customs union. Is that now the Government’s proposed plan and how does the Foreign Secretary intend to achieve it?
West Bank — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: International Affairs
Catherine Elizabeth West (Labour, Centre-left): As we approach the centenary of the Balfour declaration, we must renew our commitment to both aspects of that historic statement: the preservation of the state of Israel as a safe and stable national home for the Jewish people, but also the protection of the "civil and religious rights of…non-Jewish communities in Palestine" With that in mind, will the Minister make it clear today that the United Kingdom Government oppose proposals to legalise outposts in the west bank retrospectively, or to build new illegal settlements?
Iraq — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: International Affairs
Graham Peter Jones (Labour, Centre-left): What conversations have the Minister and the Foreign Secretary had with their counterparts in Iraq about a power-sharing agreement in the Mosul region, including Tal Afar, to ensure that we secure the peace after the liberation of the city and the region?
Israel-Palestine Conflict — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: International Affairs
Helen Elizabeth Hayes (Labour, Centre-left): The US election result has created a new sense of urgency in relation to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Will the Foreign Secretary set out what he is doing to secure a new UN resolution before 20 January, and beyond that date how the Government will be seeking to ensure that genuine progress is made towards a two-state solution and real and lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis?
Israel-Palestine Conflict — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: Thed comments in the House make clear the anxiety felt by colleagues on all sides that the peace process should not be allowed to drift still further. The greatest danger is not to keep bringing it forward, and we must keep trying to make sure that the parties most closely involved understand that they have worse enemies than each other now in the region. That is why this time must be taken either to put forward a new resolution or to support the French initiative, but certainly not to give people the sense that somehow this can just be managed and will go away.
Louise Joyce Ellman (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Minister agree that a resolution can be helpful only if it leads to direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians? Does he agree that it is most unhelpful that the Palestinian Authority has recently named a fourth school after Salah Khalaf, the person who masterminded the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics?
Incoming US Administration: Iran Nuclear Agreement — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: International Affairs
Gerald Jones (Labour, Centre-left): As the Foreign Secretary may know, people sometimes say things during election campaigns that are falsehoods or exaggerations in order to win. Can he provide any assurance that that was the case when President-elect Trump called the agreement with Iran "the worst deal ever negotiated"?
Incoming US Administration: Iran Nuclear Agreement — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Anne McInnes (Labour, Centre-left): The agreement with Iran was hard won and hugely important both to remove the threat of Iran gaining nuclear weapons and to start a process of normalising relations with Tehran. Even those who originally opposed the deal, such as Prime Minister Netanyahu, now urge President-elect Trump not to tear it up. Can I press the Secretary of State to join those calls today and make it clear that the deal must continue to be honoured by all sides?
Education and Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: Education
Angela Rayner (Labour, Centre-left): I beg to move, That this House believes that every child throughout the UK must be given the opportunity to reach their full potential; further believes that there is no evidence that additional academic selection in the school system will improve social mobility; and calls on the Government to instead concentrate on providing the best education possible for all children Thank you, Mr Speaker. I hope to be brief but substantive in my comments. I start by thanking the emergency services across the UK who helped many of our constituents during the floods yesterday, particularly my constituents and businesses across Tameside and Oldham It should be the duty of all Governments to provide the best education for every child. Today we call on the whole House to show that it shares this commitment. Only last Wednesday, we heard that Britain has a "deep social mobility problem"; that for this generation of young people, in particular, it is getting worse, not better; and that this is the result of an unfair education system, a two-tier labour market, an imbalanced economy, and an unaffordable housing market. That is not an accusation from the Opposition, but the conclusion of the Government’s own Social Mobility Commission. The commission made many recommendations on how we can offer the best start in life for every child— but, crucially, new academic selection was not one of them.
Education and Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: Education
Angela Rayner (Labour, Centre-left): As a parent, as a school governor, and as a Member who used to represent trade union members, I have visited many grammar schools. My contribution to this debate will be based on fact and evidence. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will look at the facts and evidence and vote accordingly. In fact, the Social Mobility Commission offered a clear recommendation to abandon any plans for further academic selection. It did so because it knows that social mobility is facing a crisis and that further academic selection is simply not the answer; in fact, it will only entrench the problem.
Education and Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: Education
Angela Rayner (Labour, Centre-left): In my contribution, I hope to explain exactly why we need to move away from selection and towards inclusion in our education system The conclusions of the Social Mobility Commission will find much support in this House, not just among Opposition Members but, I hope, among Government Members as well. We still have not heard from the Prime Minister whether any of the recommendations will be adopted.
Education and Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: Education
Ian Austin (Labour, Centre-left): Before we have to listen to the sixth-form debating points from Conservative Members, does my hon. Friend agree that what they ought to do is to set out the evidence for this policy? They should tell us where these schools will be, how many of them there will be, how much the policy will cost, how these schools will select their pupils, where the resources will come from, what the pupils will learn and how the schools will differ from existing ones.
Education and Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: Education
Angela Rayner (Labour, Centre-left): I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. There are clearly many questions to be answered about the evidence for such a policy I want to give the Education Secretary the chance to end this uncertainty in our school system. Can she tell us which of the commission’s recommendations she will be accepting, and whether the Government have rejected the recommendation on schools, in particular? The challenges that we face as a country go much further than this one misguided policy.
Education and Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2016-11-22
Topic: Education
Gloria De Piero (Labour, Centre-left): Last year in Ashfield 66% of children from disadvantaged backgrounds did not get five A* to C GCSEs. We are the 13th lowest constituency at sending 18-year-olds to higher education. That is the real scandal, is it not—not the grammar school proposals?