argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
William Nigel Paul Cash (Conservative, Centre-right): I said, "to a degree". Within the framework of international law, it is entirely a question of whether the degree to which it is done is commensurate with what is being proposed. The case of sovereignty goes to the heart of the extent to which we are entitled to take the action that we do This is less about breaking international law than about breaking the conditions in respect of state aid and in respect of the manner in which the Northern Ireland protocol would operate in the UK with respect to breaking the issues of contract and of the manner in which people work in this country. We are faced with a critical problem, the effect of which is that if we were not to pass these clear and unambiguous clauses, we would find that we were subjected to EU laws—that we were subjugated to them—in a way that would ensure that we would not be able to compete effectively throughout the world or support the workers of this country, particularly in the context of covid Section 38 was passed by every single person in this House and by the House of Lords. There is no doubt about that. The notwithstanding provision is inviolate; it is in an Act of Parliament. These enactments do the necessary job to ensure the future prosperity and competitiveness of this country, and the opportunity for its people to move forward in an enterprise society to enable future generations after Brexit to guarantee their jobs, their businesses and their future.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Karen Anne Bradley (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is making some powerful points. Does he recall that, when the first version of the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill was brought forward before the election last year, I and others tabled an amendment that would have put paragraph 50 of the joint report into the Bill, but that was not accepted by the Government?
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Karen Anne Bradley (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman will recall that there was an addendum to the withdrawal agreement that was agreed and would have been lodged in the international court that would have made paragraph 50 part of an international agreement, but that was rejected by this House.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): This has not been the most edifying spectacle for the House of Commons over the past few days, but I hope that, at the end of the day, we can find a constructive way forward. I say that it is not edifying because, although much of the purpose of the Bill is important and valuable, to act in contemplation of something that most of us would regard as unworthy—namely, to breach an international obligation—is not something that one should ever seek to discuss lightly. Equally, it is not something that can ever be an absolute, because there can be certain extreme and pressing circumstances where such a derogation is permissible, but the bar has to be a very high one. That is why the discussions that have taken place between some of us and the Government, and the Minister’s response, are important, as far as my thinking is concerned. On the face of it, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) observed, without safeguards and caveats, clauses 42, 43 and 45 would without more ado be unconscionable, and we could not support them I want also to speak to my amendment 4 and the Government’s amendment 66, which I hope will provide a means of reconciling that position with the need to find a constructive way forward.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): If my hon. Friend will allow me to develop my point a little, I will of course give way to him in a moment Without a parliamentary lock, I do not believe that it will ever be appropriate for a sovereign Parliament to contemplate breaking an international obligation. There has to be a test for the parliamentary lock to be met. I welcome, therefore, the Minister’s comments on Government amendment 66 and the test that he has adopted—and that was previously put out by Downing Street—at the Dispatch Box in respect of the high bar that would have to be met before the House could or should be persuaded to support such a course of action. For me and, I suspect, many other Members, the bar would have to be a high one.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
William Nigel Paul Cash (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon Friend agree that that bar becomes very apparent when dealing with the essential question of sovereignty and whether the EU is recognising sovereignty in the negotiations in the way that was clearly stated in the protocol and in the essential elements of the agreement? We are sovereign and our constitution is special in that respect, compared with some other countries that have provisions in written constitutions.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me put it this way: if my hon. Friend is saying that the test is something akin to that in article 46 of the Vienna convention on the law of treaties, which permits a departure from an international obligation if the violation that causes it is "manifest and concerned a rule of its internal law of fundamental importance", I am not a million miles away from him. It is not an exact analogy and I do not think my hon. Friend was trying to make one, but it would have to be something similarly fundamental From my point of view, one could conceive—I use my words carefully—that a Government might be able to persuade the House that there was such a threat to the position of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, and to the welfare of its economy and people, that one might take such a step. That is why, having thought and hesitated for some time, I am prepared to allow the Government the opportunity to make that case. None the less, it is a high bar, and I have to say that the fact that other jurisdictions—be it the EU or others—may have derogated from international treaties is not of itself persuasive. Many of us would need to be persuaded by the evidence that was brought in relation to the specific circumstances that might trigger the bringing into force of the three clauses under the arrangements set out in Government amendment 66. That is the point and will be the only test that will be relevant.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Member says it is not the fault of the EU, but can we just remind ourselves that it was the United Kingdom Government who gave an absolutely cast-iron guarantee that we would put up no infrastructure on the border between north and south in Ireland? It was the EU that kept threatening to do that, even though alternative arrangements could be developed to obviate that need. I fail to understand why people just do not want to believe that, except that they want to blame the United Kingdom Government, not the EU.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Steven John Baker (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much agree with my right hon. Friend, but does he agree with me that it is also contrary to the European Union’s conceding to the UK that Northern Ireland is in the UK’s customs territory? That raises additional considerations that are very material to these clauses. I want to take this opportunity to say that of course I shall therefore support the Government.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Andrew William Murrison (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very pleased to hear that expression of confidence in this good Bill, which is being made better by the amendment tabled by the Government. I agree with my hon. Friend’s point I have already gone over my five minutes, Dame Eleanor, but it is important to note the extreme hardball attitude that the EU has recently adopted and what that says about what might be in store for us in the future. The points that the hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) made about state aid are extremely germane to this. I remember well, as Northern Ireland Minister and Chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, the issues relating to Bombardier. It was plain as a pikestaff that this might be used in the event that the UK decided to support Bombardier in GB, because, as things stand, the EU would claim that it is unfair and unlawful because of Bombardier’s presence in Belfast. That is a clear and present danger It is also important to get real about what we are up against. I have every respect for the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn), who quite rightly expounded at length on the fact that the negotiation has to be bounded in good will and said that this will cause difficulty for us in Brussels, but I am clear that this negotiation is no love-in. It is a bare-knuckle affair. Pique is never far away, nor is the desire to make an example of an errant UK pour encourager les autres. As my hon. Friend the Member for Stone said, international law is 40% law and 60% politics, as it is here—this is politics in the raw I am sorry that, throughout this whole torrid process, hon. and right hon. Members have shackled the UK Government in our negotiations in Brussels. The British public know that. The hon. Member for Sheffield Central shakes his head, but he should know that more than anybody else, because the British public spoke loud and clear on this issue in December. They understand what we often forget in this place, and they get this business in the way that many of us do not. His party needs to learn that lesson. That is why it suffered so badly in December.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: Foreign Trade
Laurence Anthony Robertson (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure, as always, to follow the right hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson). He may well have gone over his five minutes, but every word was well worth listening to. I will make sure that I stick to five minutes I had the pleasure and honour of chairing the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee for seven years, and our first report was to encourage the Government to explore ways in which corporation tax in Northern Ireland could be reduced to the levels in the Republic so that Northern Ireland businesses could compete on a level playing field. We were told by the European Union that it would be against its rules to do that: it had to be devolved and the Northern Ireland Assembly had to do it, and even then it would be very restricted when it tried to do it. Such taxation, which normally we would claim as our responsibility in this place, comes under the state aid rules. When we talk about bringing powers over state aid back to this Parliament, we are not necessarily talking about bailing out lame ducks. I am showing my age when I mention that phrase; I think it was first used in the early 1970s. We are not even just talking about giving boosts to certain parts of the economy. We are actually, in some cases, talking about the control of taxation. We are all familiar with the phrase, "No taxation without representation." It is very important, therefore, that the Government stand firm on this issue When I was working to prepare the Committee’s report, I said that it was very important to cement the relative peace that had been achieved in Northern Ireland by having a sound economy. Obviously one of the best ways to achieve a sound economy is through trade. It is therefore very important that we do everything we can to protect trade in the United Kingdom, and, as far as I can make out, that is exactly what this Bill is trying to do. It not only connects the four countries of the United Kingdom and paves the way for them to continue to trade with each other very easily; it also makes sure that Northern Ireland can trade, as the right hon. Member for East Antrim said, with its largest trading partner, and that is Great Britain. As I said on Second Reading, north-south trade is very important, but it is not as valuable as east-west trade or west-east trade. That is something we have to be determined to protect I do not anticipate the European Union working from a position of bad faith. I am sure that it will continue to do everything it can to protect its businesses by coming to a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom. If we achieve that, none of what we are discussing tonight becomes important. In case it does not act in good faith, however, we need an insurance policy so that we can cement the relative peace in Northern Ireland through prosperity and continue to secure the Union of the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to have caught your eye, Dame Rosie, so that I can respond to some of the comments that the right hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green) was just making. I respect that he feels passionately about these matters, but to equate these clauses with genocide or the annexation of territory against the will of a sovereign state is absolutely ridiculous. It completely misunderstands the degree of doubt that exists about what international law means when interpreting international agreements.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): I apologise to my right hon. Friend. His name was in my mind because it was on the monitor before the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth spoke It is important to see these clauses in the wider context. My heart sank when I picked up the first draft of the agreement, because this was not the departure from the European Union that I had expected to see expressed in the text of the agreement; it was the same oppressive, impenetrable text with endless references to the treaties as they exist. The withdrawal agreement was clearly a concerted attempt by the European Union to continue its influence, even through the direct applicability and direct effect of European Union law on the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): No, I am not going to give way. I am going to be very brief The important perspective is to ask ourselves how this debate is going to be regarded in 10, 20 or 30 years’ time. These controversies will be seen as the growing pains of the re-establishment of our national sovereign independence as a national democracy. I dare say that none of us has studied the debates on the Great Reform Act of 1832, but I bet they went through exactly the same kind of painful introspection that we have seen in the Chamber this evening. Today we look upon the 1832 Reform Act as a great stride towards the democratisation of our constitution, and history will look back at these debates in the same way and see this moment in our history as the time that we decided to take back control of our own constitutional arrangements and our own national democracy I would go further than that. There is no doubt that this Bill will get through this House intact, but some people are suggesting that there will be more of a problem in the other place. There will be those who continue to resist the consequences of leaving the European Union and the consequences of having signed a highly unsatisfactory agreement that attempts to sustain the influence of the European Union far beyond any legitimate role it has in making the laws of our country. That is what we are talking about, in relieving ourselves of these clauses. However, I can assure the House that, in the long run, nothing is going to stand in the way of the British people re-establishing and reclaiming our independence, and if the other place chooses to stand in our way in that respect, I suspect that in the longer term this House, as the democratic House, will prevail.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Brendan O’Hara). My reservations about clauses 42, 43 and 45 of the Bill were expressed, I hope clearly, on Second Reading, so I do not need to repeat them. Those of us who have reservations and understandable concerns about the effect on the rule of law of what the Government are proposing need, I think, to answer one question, which is whether there are any conceivable circumstances in which international law could properly be broken by this country. I cannot come to the conclusion that there are no conceivable circumstances in which that might be the right course of action. If there were to be a fundamental threat to the social or economic fabric of this country and breaking the international law was the lesser evil, I can accept that that might be the right thing for this country to do it, but if we were to contemplate such a course of action three things would need to be true The first thing would be that there was specific authority to break international law, not general latitude. It seems to me that we have made progress on that. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Sir Robert Neill) and others on negotiating with the Government in the way that they have. I am delighted to see amendment 66 brought forward in the Government’s name as a consequence; and as my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green) said a moment or so ago, it is perfectly right that the House of Commons should have the opportunity to give its specific view on the specific circumstances that may obtain at that point.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Georg John Tugendhat (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted to follow my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) and my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Jeremy Wright), who I very much agreed with Today we are talking about the answer that Margaret Thatcher gave to Dean Acheson’s famous question, "What is Britain’s role in the world?" She was right: our national mission is upholding the rule of law. That lesson served her and our nation exceptionally well. It gave moral legitimacy to the courageous defence of British nationals in the Falkland Islands and strength to the treaty that she signed two years later with China to protect British nationals in Hong Kong. Trust in the treaties allowed Margaret Thatcher to start down the road of peace in our own nation and conclude the Anglo-Irish agreement with the then Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Tobias Martin Ellwood (Conservative, Centre-right): I was not expecting to participate in this debate, but I never thought I would hear a Minister in this Chamber say that we might be breaching international law. I am grateful to Lords Howard and Lamont for quashing the myth that somehow those who speak against part 5 of the Bill are part of a tactic to support the EU or promote a remain cause. We have left the EU already. I voted for it, it was part of our manifesto and I supported that This debate is being watched far and wide, and I spent last week speaking to counterparts from my Defence Committee in the United States and to Washington DC, explaining to Senators and Members of Congress—they were bewildered—that we will continue to honour the Good Friday agreement. It is so important that we recognise what we have done in the past and where we are today and that we do not damage our hard-fought reputation We do not need the integrated review to understand that the world is getting more dangerous. The threats are getting more complex and more diverse. We are approaching great geopolitical change—an era of danger that we have not seen since the cold war—and at the same time the west is becoming more risk-averse and less consolidated in what we believe in and what we actually stand for. As we fight hard to secure a deal, let us not forget who we are and what we fought for. We are the founding fathers of international democracy and of the rule of law as well, so I am very pleased that the Government have conceded to grant Parliament a vote, were the powers in this Bill ever to be considered, but I am sorry that we have taken a very damaging route to get here As we finally conclude Brexit, let us not lose sight of the international moral high ground. The world is once again getting more dangerous. British leading leadership is once again in demand. Let us secure Brexit with our reputation repaired.
Business without Debate — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): With the leave of the House, we shall take motions 2 to 6 together Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)), Exiting the European Union That the draft European Structural and Investment Funds Common Provisions and Common Provision Rules etc. (Amendment) (EU Exit) (Revocation) Regulations 2020, which were laid before this House on 13 July, be approved Infrastructure Planning That the draft Infrastructure Planning (Electricity Storage Facilities) Order 2020, which was laid before this House on 14 July, be approved Representation of the People That the draft Representation of the People (Electoral Registers Publication Date) Regulations 2020, which were laid before this House on 15 June, be approved Environmental Protection That the draft Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020, which were laid before this House on 21 July, be approved Exiting the European Union (Financial Services and Markets) That the draft Equivalence Determinations for Financial Services (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, which were laid before this House on 25 June, be approved.—(David T. C. Davies.) Question agreed to.
ARM: Foreign Acquisition — House of Commons, 2020-09-21
Topic: Technology
Caroline Julia Dinenage (Conservative, Centre-right): I start by thanking the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) for securing this debate on an important matter, to which he is right to bring the attention of the House. His constituency is a vital part of our nation’s tech environment, and I fully understand that many of his constituents’ jobs are in the sector The Government are incredibly passionate about protecting a vibrant, successful and growing tech sector in the UK, and about remaining at the cutting edge of innovation. A key part of that is the design of microprocessors, which are crucial for building reliable and predictable chips for worldwide customers. ARM is at the heart of that semiconductor ecosystem. As one of the largest tech companies in Europe, it is hard to overstate ARM’s significance to the wider sector, as the hon. Gentleman articulated beautifully. It has massive potential to give our country an advantage in a wide range of sectors and technologies The Government closely monitor all acquisitions and mergers. When a takeover may have a significant impact on the UK, we will not hesitate to investigate further and take appropriate action. In this case, we are working hard to understand the full impact of the move and the potential impact it may have on the future. From there, we are able to consider what steps we may wish to take.