argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Government Overseas Aid Commitment: Private Investment — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: International Affairs
Mary Helen Creagh (Labour, Centre-left): The global goals seek to end poverty, violence and hunger in all their forms in this country as well as overseas. The figure of 0.7% of gross national income on development assistance should be a floor, not a ceiling. Although I have some sympathy with the accounting issues that the Secretary of State is dealing with in terms of the reinvestment of any profits, I seek a guarantee from her that any investments that we make with that budget—either through the World Bank or the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank—are climate-neutral and environmentally friendly. I also say to her that not a single pension trustee in the country will invest overseas if they think that their investment is going to displace Government investment.
Government Overseas Aid Commitment: Private Investment — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: International Affairs
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour, Centre-left): This morning, I searched in vain for any content in the Secretary of State’s leadership bid—I mean, her speech. The only content that I found was the statement that she was going to start a national conversation. Her party has only just successfully lobbied the OECD to change the rules to allow the billions invested in CDC to be counted as aid upfront, and now she says that she wants another change. May I, for the purpose of clarity, ask whether, if the Government have invested £1 in CDC and it recirculates two or three times, she counts that once as £1 from the Treasury, or counts it three, four, five, six times and pats herself on the back while reducing the 0.7%? Will she commit herself to the 0.7% as a floor and not a cap?
Government Overseas Aid Commitment: Private Investment — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: Macroeconomics
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister’s cuddly, compassionate Conservative pitch has not even lasted the first day back: not only have we just had a totally unnecessary and gratuitous attack on the shadow Home Secretary from the International Development Secretary, but it is clear from the briefing that her speech this morning was a pitch to the right wing of the Conservative party as part of her leadership ambitions. The pitch is simple: we are going to roll in the private sector and roll back the state. That is what she has announced today, isn’t it?
Government Overseas Aid Commitment: Private Investment — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: International Affairs
Chinyelu Susan Onwurah (Labour, Centre-left): I chair the all-party group on Africa, which has been at the forefront of promoting greater good trade and investment links with Africa as being in all our interests. However, that must complement, not replace, our aid commitment. In treating pensions investments as aid, the Secretary of State is sending a signal that our pensioners should be dependent on returns on charitable donations and that trade with Africa is a question of charity. Is she really saying that we will be monitoring these new funding investments through company reporting, rather than making the investment fund managers accountable to this House?
Government Overseas Aid Commitment: Private Investment — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: International Affairs
Matthew Toby Perkins (Labour, Centre-left): There is a legal duty under the International Development Act 2002 to ensure that aid spending is spent on poverty reduction overseas. There is also a responsibility on investors to maximise returns for their pension holders and shareholders. Those are probably contradictory priorities. Does the Secretary of State recognise that, if she is talking about this investment in terms of aid rather than of investment, she is going to have to change that legislation? Alternatively, is she talking about something entirely different from what we currently understand aid spending to be?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: International Affairs
Keir Starmer (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. It is always good to see him in his place, but may I politely point out that it would have been much better if this statement had come from the Prime Minister? It is no good hiding behind the badging of the Salzburg summit as informal. It was the Prime Minister who pushed for Brexit to be on the agenda at Salzburg; it was the Prime Minister who was there to lead the negotiations, and it was the Prime Minister who failed to secure a breakthrough. So it should be the Prime Minister, not the Secretary of State, in Parliament this afternoon explaining what went wrong After all, while the Prime Minister was negotiating in Salzburg, the Secretary of State was busy writing gimmicky letters to me about Labour policy. The image of the Secretary of State writing gimmicky letters on the very day of the Salzburg negotiations speaks absolutely for itself. It would also have been better if today’s statement contained details of substantive progress. Instead, it is like groundhog day. We get the same old story. The Secretary of State pretends that everything is going according to plan; it is just a question of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s; everything will be all right in the end; and if it isn’t, we just crash out with no deal, stockpile food and medicines and declare that to be a great success I know that the Brexit Secretary will be tempted in reply to me to do what he usually does—to read out his pre-prepared attack lines about me and the Labour party. Can I urge him to resist that temptation and respond to the very serious questions to which this House and the country deserve answers? First, this Secretary of State repeatedly assured Parliament, including from that Dispatch Box, that a deal would be reached by the October Council—his words. Well, that is next week. The statement contains no such assurance today, so can he, first, update the House on when he now expects a deal to be put before Parliament Secondly, it is all very well the Secretary of State saying that we are "closing in on workable solutions" and listing the areas of agreement reached months ago, but we have been here before—many times—and that overlooks the fact that the remaining bit is the hard bit of agreeing the backstop in Northern Ireland. A solemn commitment to a legally binding backstop in Northern Ireland in all circumstances was made last December. Ten months later, all we are hearing is that the Government will publish updated proposals on the backstop at some unspecified date. There are nine days to go, so when will that be? There is no answer in today’s statement and we need an answer. Can the Secretary of State take the opportunity now to scotch rumours that the Government are not even intending to publish a backstop proposal by next week? [Interruption.] I am being repeatedly asked what I would do. I would happily swap sides at any stage, and a lot more progress would be made in the negotiations. [Interruption.]
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: International Affairs
Keir Starmer (Labour, Centre-left): On the backstop, it is being reported that the Government are now willing to accept an indefinite UK-wide customs union as part of the Northern Ireland backstop offer—of course, it will not actually be using the words "customs union". So can the Secretary of State set the record straight: is a customs union now the Government policy, at least for the Northern Ireland backstop—yes or no Thirdly, the Secretary of State repeatedly told Parliament that the final deal this House votes on would include a "clear blueprint" for the future relationship with the EU. In recent days, the Government have been emphasising just how precise this will be, yet it is nowhere to be seen. The Chequers proposals have been widely rejected by the EU and by MPs from across this House, and there is growing concern now that the Government are heading for no deal, as recent warnings from businesses, including Toyota and BMW, underline. If it is not no deal, will it be a vague deal asking us to jump blindfolded into the unknown? Labour will not support that. So will he take this opportunity to rule out a vague or blind Brexit For all the warm words, the reality is this: the Government have had 18 months yet they have not even concluded the terms of the withdrawal agreement and they have barely started negotiating the details of the future relationship with the EU. A responsible Government would realise the fix they are in. Instead, this Government simply repeat the mantra, "It’s Chequers or no deal." It is not so much "nothing has changed" as "nothing can change". This is not a necessity; this is a political choice, and it is deeply irresponsible. No Government have the right to plunge the country into chaos as a result of their own failure. Time is running out, but there is still time to change course, and I urge the Secretary of State to do so.
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: International Affairs
Hilary James Benn (Labour, Centre-left): The more no deal technical notices that the Secretary of State published over the summer, the more he confirmed as correct the judgment of the Select Committee that a no deal Brexit would be chaotic and damaging. My question, however, relates to the outstanding issue in the negotiations, namely agreeing a legally operable and sound backstop to keep an open border in Northern Ireland. Given that the backstop, if it is used, will have to last until such time as another agreement is reached that achieves the same outcome, can he please explain to the House how on earth a backstop could be limited by an artificial time limit?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: International Affairs
Yvette Cooper (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State rightly ruled out a hard border in Northern Ireland and a customs border in the Irish sea, but is it not now time to be honest with people about what that means? He appeared to be ruling out a customs union in the backstop. Is he also ruling out a common external tariff in the Irish backstop—yes or no?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: International Affairs
Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (Labour, Centre-left): If the Tories want to know what Labour policy is, they should read the excellent motion that was passed recently at our party conference. Does the Secretary of State agree that any withdrawal agreement must include precise guarantees that Britain and the EU will enjoy frictionless trade in the event of Brexit, as the No. 10 Downing Street spokesman said yesterday?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
Elizabeth Louise Kendall (Labour, Centre-left): Let me try again, because the Brexit Secretary is trying to shimmy his way out of this. Yesterday, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: "There can be no withdrawal agreement without a precise future framework" on trade. Is that true—yes or no?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
Christopher Michael Leslie (Labour, Centre-left): I commend the Secretary of State for his frank answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester West (Liz Kendall), because it sounded as though he was finally ruling out the notion of a blindfolded Brexit and the idea that there would not be precise guarantees of frictionless trade in the withdrawal treaty on the future relationship. When he brings the motion before the House, if that is exactly what is presented, will he make sure that we have full details about the trade relationship for the future?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: Government Operations
Alison McGovern (Labour, Centre-left): My constituents are worried about the political declaration to come from the Secretary of State, because so far all they have heard is warm words and political rhetoric, which does not guarantee their jobs. I want to ask him a simple question. Can he define "frictionless"?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
Stephen James McCabe (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State said in his conference speech that he would rather leave with no deal than negotiate any form of deal that involved a customs union. Did he run that past the management at Jaguar Land Rover? How does he think the poor workers at JLR, now enjoying a three-day week and a two-week total shutdown, will respond to such a stubborn, intransigent attitude?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
Stephen John Doughty (Labour, Centre-left): In contrast to some of the suggestions coming from parts of the Government Benches about a minimalist free trade-style agreement, the director general of the CBI told the BBC recently that a minimalist agreement would introduce friction at borders, would not solve the Irish border question and would damage our supply chains. Will the Secretary of State say whether he agrees with the director general of the CBI and therefore rule that out as an option?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: International Affairs
Anna Rhiannon McMorrin (Labour, Centre-left): With respect, can the Secretary of State hear himself? We are just weeks away from needing any deal, but he is no closer to an agreement; there is urgent no-deal planning, civil contingency planning and secret Cobra meetings; security in Northern Ireland is at risk; and businesses and industry are expressing grave concerns. Surely the only real democratic thing to do now is put this back to the people and let them decide.
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: International Affairs
Thangam Elizabeth Rachel Debbonaire (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Secretary of State have an example of any other process so monumental for our constitution, for our way of life, and for our businesses, jobs, trade and environment, that has taken place over such a minute space of time? Will he not consider whether this is insufficient time for our businesses, universities, healthcare services and so on to prepare for what might turn out to be a no-deal Brexit?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): When the Select Committee met Michel Barnier on 3 September, he set out four reasons why the EU could not accept the proposal on the facilitated customs arrangement and the common rulebook for goods. The Select Committee then published its evidence. Why, therefore, did the Prime Minister apparently not know when she went to Salzburg on 19 September that those key elements in her Chequers proposals had already been rejected by EU member states? It has been said that she was insulted, but she should have known that that was their position.
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
Lilian Rachel Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): Manufacturing accounts for 12% of jobs in the east midlands, and thousands of them are dependent on just-in-time supply chains. Can the Secretary of State explain to workers at Toyota, Rolls-Royce and Bombardier, and to the thousands more working for their suppliers, how the "countervailing opportunities" of no deal could possibly compensate for the threat to their jobs? If he cannot, why is he prepared to contemplate leaving with no deal but not to contemplate remaining in the customs union?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
John Eugene Joseph Dromey (Labour, Centre-left): Jaguar is on a three-day week and Land Rover’s Solihull plant is ceasing production for two weeks. The company, the workers and their union, Unite, are working together, but it is becoming ever more difficult. Will the Secretary of State rule out any deal that does not guarantee frictionless trade and access to the single market, which are vital to the future of the jewel in the crown of British manufacturing—automotive generally and Jaguar Land Rover in particular—and will he disown those on his side who, when faced with industry warnings about the potentially catastrophic consequences of a no-deal or hard Brexit, wrote them off, saying that they were "making it up"?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): In reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester West (Liz Kendall), the Secretary of State confirmed what the No. 10 spokesman said: there must be precise guarantees that Britain and the EU will enjoy frictionless trade after Brexit as a condition of the withdrawal agreement. The question is: does he agree with that position?
EU Exit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: International Affairs
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State mentioned that he is confident of reaching a withdrawal agreement in autumn. He also talked about a political declaration having a clear blueprint for a future relationship with the EU. When will the House be able to scrutinise both the withdrawal agreement and the blueprint, and what level of detail will they have?
Baby Loss Awareness Week — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Gareth Thomas (Labour, Centre-left): I echo the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood) made by commending the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Antoinette Sandbach) on her joint leadership of the all-party group on baby loss and her support for the charities that have come together once again to initiate Baby Loss Awareness Week. Will she praise the intervention of a councillor in my constituency, Sarah Butterworth, and her husband Jon, whose baby, Tiger Lily, was stillborn in June 2005? They have joined in the support for Baby Loss Awareness Week to encourage more debate about this sensitive issue.
Baby Loss Awareness Week — House of Commons, 2018-10-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Lilian Rachel Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful contribution, as he always does, and I congratulate him and all the members of the APPG on their work. Will he join me in congratulating a local Nottinghamshire charity called Forever Stars? Not only is it doing fantastic work supporting parents who have lost a child, but it has managed to raise £300,000 to create two new bereavement suites at the two Nottingham hospitals over the past year. I know that that has already been touched on in the debate, but it makes such a difference to parents who have experienced the loss of a child when they have somewhere suitable to be with their baby and deal with the aftermath of a terrible situation.
Equipment Plan 2017 to 2027 — House of Commons, 2018-06-11
Topic: Government Operations
Graham Peter Jones (Labour, Centre-left): The Public Accounts Committee said in a recent report: "The Equipment Plan for 2017 to 2027 is not realistic and the Department lacks cost control." Does the Secretary of State share my deep concern about his Department’s equipment budget being in such an appalling state?
Cyber-attacks — House of Commons, 2018-06-11
Topic: Technology
Madeleine Moon (Labour, Centre-left): The further east one goes, the greater the awareness of the cyber-threat in individual countries. Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and Sweden have all published advice on how to deal with that threat. What do this Government intend to do to build resilience among the British people and understanding of botnets, hacktivists and all the other ways in which Russia is attacking our political and social institutions?
Security Threat: Russia — House of Commons, 2018-06-11
Topic: International Affairs
Barry John Sheerman (Labour, Centre-left): I tabled this question before the disastrous consequences of the failure of the G7 in Canada. Does it not seem as though this country is back in the 1939—isolated from Europe, with NATO under threat and with a big gulf between us and our traditional United States ally? What is the Secretary of State going to do about it?
Afghanistan — House of Commons, 2018-06-11
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen John Doughty (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister will be aware that, just today, 12 civilians, including women and children, have been killed in a suicide bombing attack outside a Ministry in Kabul. This is part of a string of attacks that have happened despite ceasefire efforts by President Ghani. Does the Minister agree that we very much need to protect the gains that we have made at the expense of blood and treasure in Afghanistan over many, many years, and will he consider looking at whether we need to provide more support to the Afghan security forces?
Leaving the EU: Aerospace Industry — House of Commons, 2018-06-11
Topic: Foreign Trade
Charalambos Charalambous (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Minister agree that a clear commitment to stay in a customs union with the European Union would provide certainty to industry and investors that they will not be hit by needless tariff barriers after Brexit?
Leaving the EU: Aerospace Industry — House of Commons, 2018-06-11
Topic: Foreign Trade
Alexander Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): American-owned Darchem in Stillingham is just one of the manufacturing firms in my constituency providing aerospace and other engineering products to the military. It really needs certainty about future tariff-free trading with the EU. Will it get that tariff-free trading?
Armed Forces: Personnel Levels — House of Commons, 2018-06-11
Topic: Labor
Alexander James Jorden Norris (Labour, Centre-left): Regarding Capita’s performance on the recruitment target, the Secretary of State was very clear when he said: "do you have to give them a red card at some point if they don’t deliver? Yes, you do" Capita is not delivering, so when is it time for the red card?
Yemen — House of Commons, 2018-06-11
Topic: International Affairs
Keith Anthony Vaz (Labour, Centre-left): (Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the reports of an imminent attack by the Saudi-Emirati-led coalition on the port of Hodeidah and the humanitarian impact of such an attack.