argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Sue Gray Report — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Mixed Topics
Richard Gordon Thomson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Prime Minister said in his statement, "sorry for the things we…did not get right" and, "sorry for the way this…has been handled", which is a generic non-apology that will mean absolutely nothing to anyone who heard it. What I and millions of others want to hear is: apart from getting caught out in all of this, what is the Prime Minister personally sorry and genuinely regretful for in his own conduct? If he just resorts to that tired, hackneyed form of words that he used to begin with, does that not show that it is not a new Office of the Prime Minister that we need but a new Prime Minister in office?
Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stephen Mark Flynn (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): In the greatest traditions of this House, I intend to be brief, which I am sure will be to everyone’s pleasure The biggest issue before us is, of course, Lords amendment 1. I listened closely to what the Minister had to say, but I remain to be convinced. He has paid deference to the clause, which says, if I recall correctly, that ARIA "must have regard to", while the amendment simply seeks to ensure that ARIA "must". That is a strong difference to which the Minister should give cognisance, particularly given that, in effect, we could be talking about the crown jewels. We are all hopeful that ARIA will be an impressive institution that will reap rewards for all of us right across the four nations of this United Kingdom—while we remain within it, of course. I find it a little contemptuous that the Government do not want to be on that side of the argument The topic of equity has been raised. There are some very famous examples. For instance, though this is slightly different, the US Government provided a significant amount of money in a loan to Tesla. That money was subsequently paid back a number of years ago, prior to Tesla becoming one of the world’s wealthiest companies and, indeed, to Elon Musk becoming one of the world’s wealthiest men. There should be a lesson in that for the Government, and it is one that they should heed From what I have heard, the Minister seems to be in broad agreement. He thinks that what is in place will allow this to happen in any case. I hope that over the course of the remaining debate, to which I am sure there will be an extensive number of contributions, he may be swayed to agree to Lords amendment 1.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-01-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: The biggest factor driving up our fuel bills and cost of living is the sky-rocketing international price of gas, which is currently dancing to a tune set in Moscow. Does the Prime Minister agree that Labour’s short-term proposals to shift the burden from bill payers to taxpayers will not address the fundamental underlying problem at all, and that the crisis demands structural reforms to the energy price cap, rather than just resetting it to later this year, as well as energy self-sufficiency to uncouple us from Russian gas?
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): My goodness, Mr Speaker—we are talking about a Tory cost of living crisis. So much for a new year, a new start: it is the same nonsense from this failing Prime Minister. We have had the year of Tory sleaze, but now we have the year of Tory squeeze for family budgets. Economists have warned that UK living standards will worsen in 2022, with the poorest households hit hardest by Tory cuts, tax hikes and soaring inflation driven by his Government’s policy. Under this Prime Minister, the UK already has the worst levels of poverty and inequality in north-west Europe. Now the Tories are making millions of families poorer. In Scotland, the SNP Government are mitigating this Tory poverty crisis by doubling the Scottish child payment to £20 per week. I ask the Prime Minister this: will he match the Scottish Government and introduce a £20 child payment across the UK, or will the Tories push hundreds of thousands of children into poverty as a direct result of his policies?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2022-01-05
Topic: Other
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Yes, it is. I am disappointed that the Prime Minister has left the Chamber, because I informed him that I would be making a point of order at the end of his statement. During his statement, he twice asked me to withdraw remarks that I had made during the statement. I do not withdraw any of the remarks that I made in the statement, because I am happy to confirm that everything that we have said was truthful and was about making sure that the Prime Minister was addressing the comments that we were making. That is in sharp contrast—
Covid-19: Award of Contracts — House of Commons, 2022-01-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
James Neale Hanvey (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I reflect on the comments the Prime Minister made to me during Prime Minister’s questions on 18 March 2020, when I asked him whether the priority should be the prize of beating covid rather than patents and profits. Does the Minister not share my concern that there have been significant mark-ups on a range of products, from PPE to lateral flow devices, so that companies that prior to the pandemic were in deficit now enjoy enormous profits—in the multi-millions of pounds—for doing little more than purchasing and passing on products to the UK Government and trousering significant profits? Does that not disturb him?
Downing Street Garden Event — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims across all four nations gather for iftar events to break their fast. In May 2020, they did not. In the evenings during Ramadan, Muslims gather at the mosque to pray Taraweeh. In May 2020 they did not. And on Eid al-Fitr, they pray Eid Namaaz together and celebrate with family. On 24 May 2020, they did not. Yet on 20 May, just days before Eid, those who were making the rules at No. 10 were breaking them. If Muslims and people of different faiths listened to the rules and did not celebrate religious events, why were the rules different for those in No. 10 for social events?
Downing Street Garden Event — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Joanna Catherine Cherry (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I was pleased to hear the Paymaster General tell us earlier that the Prime Minister has recently visited a police station. I hope he will be visiting another one soon, this time with the benefit of his solicitor I want to return to the issue of fixed penalty notices that was raised by another hon. Member. Last April, the Joint Committee on Human Rights issued a report saying that the fixed penalty notices issued during the height of the crisis, which could be as much as £10,000, were "muddled, discriminatory and unfair". The incident that is currently being investigated—I use the word advisedly—only goes to show that we were right in our concerns about unfair enforcement of the rules during the pandemic. The Paymaster General acknowledged earlier, as one would expect from a former Law Officer, that one of the most important principles to a democracy is that of equality before the law. So will the Government now commit to reviewing all the fixed penalty notices that were issued during the height of the crisis, as recommended in our report, and consider pardons for those who have been held to a higher standard than those who govern us?
Downing Street Garden Event — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): My constituent Frances called my office this morning, angry and upset that while she was unable to visit her brother with learning disabilities during lockdown, the Prime Minister and his staff were partying it up in the Downing Street garden. Her brother was unable to understand why his family could not visit and he believed that they had died and was in great distress as a result. What has the Paymaster General got to say to Frances and her brother?
Downing Street Garden Event — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Other
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Some think that the Paymaster General’s performance in stonewalling at the Dispatch Box for almost an hour and a quarter now is something to be congratulated, or revered, in politics. I do not. This is not a courtroom. The Paymaster General is not representing a client to whom he owes an absolute duty to represent their best interests. That Dispatch Box is where Ministers come to tell the truth with complete candour, holding nothing back. Does the Paymaster General not realise that, regardless of the Prime Minister’s non-existent reputation, his own reputation has been shredded in the past hour and 15 minutes? Does he not realise that, as a result, not only is the Prime Minister finished, but his own position has become almost untenable?
Downing Street Garden Event — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Richard Gordon Thomson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I think that if someone was hosting a gathering in my back garden, I, like most people, would probably notice at some stage. I am also fairly sure I would remember whether I was there. Does the Paymaster General agree that the failure of the Prime Minister to confirm whether he knew about this gathering, or whether he was there, is the reason why his authority is draining away even faster than the number of Back Benchers prepared to stand up during this sitting to support him this afternoon?
Downing Street Garden Event — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Other
Stephen Mark Flynn (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): We have all seen the footage on Sky News of the Prime Minister smirking, even chuckling, at the suggestion that he attended this party in his own back garden, so may I ask the Minister a straightforward question: is it not the case that the Prime Minister has not just been laughing at the public but has also been lying to them?
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Housing
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Does the shadow Chancellor share my incredulity at the suggestion by the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin) that, somehow, giving assistance to people in big houses is the wrong thing to do when the Conservatives are giving them £300,000 of levelling-up money to do up their driveways?
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I was not aware of that, but it appears from recent figures relating to the impact of Brexit that the protocol is protecting Northern Ireland, and it is not taking the same hit to its economy as the likes of Scotland. It is swings and roundabouts. The Northern Ireland economy is doing much better than it would have as part of Brexit Britain I have said that I certainly support the VAT holiday, but I am not sure that some of the rest of Labour’s £6.6 billion package and rhetoric has been completely thought through. The real windfall tax should be levied on the Treasury. As our energy bills have increased, so have VAT returns to the Treasury; as fuel prices have increased, the Treasury has raked in more money in fuel duty and VAT; and as for the North sea, it was confirmed in the Red Book for the November Budget that this financial year the Treasury will receive an extra £1.1 billion in oil and gas revenues compared with the March 2021 prediction, and the Treasury will receive an extra £2 billion from oil and gas revenues in this coming year and £6 billion in total over the Parliament. The Treasury should release the additional windfall revenue it has received Although to impose a windfall tax directly on oil and gas companies is an easy political soundbite, it has potential implications, so what discussions has Labour had with the industry? What assessment has Labour made of the levels of investment—which could be part of the decarbonisation agenda—that might be clawed back because of such a tax? The harsh reality is that every previous windfall tax on the oil and gas industry has led to a drop in capital investment In our transition to net zero, we do need to get off our dependence on oil and gas, but the reality is that carbon capture and storage is part of the pathway to net zero. What assessment has Labour made of the potential impact on such projects, and particularly on the Scottish carbon capture cluster, which has already been sacrificed to reserve status by the Tory Government?
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): That will come out. There have been some initial announcements. I presume from that intervention that the hon. Gentleman does not welcome the development of a £500 million fund that will serve his area and that he does not support any calls for the UK Government to add to that. Does he not welcome it?
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am not responsible for the administration of the £500 million fund, but the hon. Gentleman should just be grateful that it is there. It is for a 10-year investment period, so clearly it is for long-term planning.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): This is the second day in a row that the Chancellor of the Exchequer appears to have been posted missing. At the beginning of the pandemic, he was absolutely everywhere: we could see all his branding on Instagram and he was clearly trying to pump himself up in advance of a Tory leadership bid. This Government often talk about their plan for jobs, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the Chancellor has a plan for only one job: his next job, which the Prime Minister seems to be doing his best to expedite today Yesterday, I met Age UK and Age Scotland, which told me that 96% of respondents to their snap survey last week were worried about their energy bills. People are already making really tough choices between heating and eating: for example, some people are making the decision just to live in the one room in their house that they can heat The Government need to reflect that, when people fall into destitution, the state bears the cost anyway, so there is a preventive argument as well. What we need from the Government is not just a plan for jobs, but a plan for their cost-of-living crisis and a plan to tackle pensioner poverty. We need a one-off payment to low-income households, which could be identified by way of the council tax reduction mechanism. We need to increase and extend the warm home discount, delivered through customers’ bills and funded by the Government. We need the April benefits uprating to better reflect inflation rates and certainly to reinstate the £20 that was cut from universal credit, which was so callous on the Government’s part We need to reinstate the pensions triple lock, on which the Government broke their own manifesto commitment only a couple of months ago, because pensioner poverty is on the rise and the UK already has one of the poorest pensions in the OECD. We were told that an 8% rise in pensions would be disproport- ionate, but reasonable economic forecasts now expect inflation to run at 7% in April. We need bold action on pension credit. Over 3,000 constituents in Glasgow East are eligible for pension credit but do not take it up, so we need more action from the Government to promote it The Department for Work and Pensions needs to look again at the £500 million household support fund. Initially, we had £41 million of that Barnettised to the Scottish Government. Rather than winding the fund down, the UK Government should increase it. We need to reintroduce and mandate the social energy tariff, reinstate the free TV licence for over-75s, who largely spend more time at home, and reduce or remove VAT and environmental levies on energy bills Those are just some of the things that could be in the Chancellor’s plan for the cost-of-living crisis but, as we all know, his only plan for jobs is for his next one. This place is clearly not going to deliver anything for Scotland, so the only way to do it properly is with Scottish independence.
Reducing Costs for Businesses — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Margaret Ferrier (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I have raised the case of a certain business in my constituency before. It is a well-known family-run company that is about to reach its centenary. When the time came for the business to renew its energy tariff last year, it was increased by £30,000—almost 500% more than in the previous year. That was an astronomical cost, which has caused considerable stress to the owner at a time when he should be celebrating the achievement of the business reaching its 100th birthday. I wrote to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy at the end of October seeking advice and support, but it has not yet responded. Like many local business owners, the owner of this business employs local staff, and like many of his peers, he feels a great deal of responsibility to keep them in their jobs. When businesses suffer, however, there is a domino effect on everyone involved—employees, contractors, investors and suppliers. That, in turn, has an impact on both the local and the national economy. Not to provide this essential support now is incredibly short-sighted In recent months, I have been contacted by a number of constituents who are feeling the impact of that domino effect, such as those working in the hospitality sector whose hours were cut in the run-up to Christmas because their employer could not afford to pay them for their regular hours. Yes, restrictions in my constituency were imposed by the Scottish Government, and yes, the Treasury did announce a package of support, but not until the eleventh hour, when many of those decisions had already been made I urge the Government to commit themselves to giving businesses much more comprehensive support. That is vital to the prosperity of the UK. We cannot continue to rely on rushed, last-minute solutions to very clear and long-standing issues.
Building Safety — House of Commons, 2022-01-10
Topic: Housing
Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I wish to echo the sentiments from across the House on the work Jack Dromey did on this issue and his campaigning to get justice for those affected It has been almost five years since the Grenfell fire. In that time, we have had four Housing Secretaries and several different policies and approaches to this issue. First the Government would pay, then leaseholders would pay and now developers will pay, all because the Treasury has for so long refused to act further on this issue. The confusion is not only harming homeowners facing a Tory cost of living crisis, but affecting the ability of devolved Governments to plan their responses appropriately. Can the Secretary of State guarantee that this latest policy will be acted on, and will he commit to working with the devolved Governments to provide further clarity? Additionally, can he make it clear when already promised funding will fully and finally be delivered to the devolved Governments for this matter?
Building Safety — House of Commons, 2022-01-10
Topic: Housing
Margaret Ferrier (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Since last April, I have been seeking answers for a constituent in Cambuslang who has been trying to sell a flat between 11 metres and 18 metres, which was wrongly assessed to have failed the EWS1 form because of cladding. The Scottish Government have launched a free-of-charge assessment pilot, but details about the full roll-out and remediation payments are still pending. What discussions has the Secretary of State had with the devolved Administrations about remediating buildings across the UK at greater pace?
Small Boat Channel Crossings — House of Commons, 2022-01-17
Topic: Immigration
Stuart Campbell McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I wholeheartedly endorse the Home Secretary’s comments about the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington The Home Secretary should have pointed out that, unlike the endless Downing Street parties, arriving in the UK to claim asylum is not unlawful, as the Court of Appeal reminded her just last month. It is only her atrocious anti-refugee Bill that will see Afghans, Syrians and Uyghurs arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned for up to four years. Why does she see relentless flouting of lockdown rules as forgivable for the Prime Minister but seeking safety here from Assad, the Taliban or genocide as worth four years in prison?
Small Boat Channel Crossings — House of Commons, 2022-01-17
Topic: Immigration
Stuart Campbell McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): That answer was about as convincing as the Prime Minister’s apology. The Home Secretary has quite a nerve to talk about political gimmicks, given that she is the first person to be sent out to the Dispatch Box to further Operation Red Meat; the proposals leaked out over the weekend have absolutely nothing to do with saving lives and everything to do with saving the Prime Minister’s career and her political career. The Home Secretary sending in the Royal Navy against small boats full of refugees and asylum seekers is pathetic, inhumane and an abuse of the Royal Navy, and her grubby shopping around for places to offshore asylum seekers to is an outrageous and dangerous big white elephant. Instead of ripping up the refugee convention and locking up refugees, why does the Home Office not start working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and others to live up to our humanitarian obligations?
BBC Funding — House of Commons, 2022-01-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
John MacKenzie Nicolson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for an advance copy of the statement, not that we needed it; she shared her thoughts with Twitter. Plus ça change. We all know that the timing is to distract from the Prime Minister. The Secretary of State claims that the move will protect pensioners from court cases, but that argument is disingenuous nonsense. It was this Conservative Government who abolished automatic free television licences for the over-75s. If pensioners are struggling with the BBC fee rate of 43p a day, imagine how they will cope with the cost of a Netflix or Sky subscription model. Everyone knows it means less programming at a greater cost The Secretary of State has spoken about exploring the options for the BBC, but in reality I suspect her mind is well made up. She let that slip in the Select Committee when she said to me: "How do I even know if the BBC is going to be going in 10 years?" Some custodian of public service broadcasting. The hostility towards the BBC and its future does not stem from a desire to protect pensioners, but rather from a visceral loathing of the Prime Minister’s critics. The Tory right hates the BBC almost as much as it hates Channel 4. That is why the Culture Secretary, a doting prime ministerial loyalist, is so determined to destroy both. She does not want to see Krishnan Guru-Murthy lead presenter of Channel 4 News, or Nick Robinson—a former chair of the Young Conservatives no less, and now lead presenter on the "Today" programme—pin down the Prime Minister or his slippery apologists. She knows, does she not, that the Tory right wants the broadcast media to be as sycophantic as most of the print press, offering fawning adulation to their leader. If the BBC is felled, and Channel 4 privatised, free speech will be the victim, and we know—do we not, Mr Speaker?—that the result will be yet more obsequious, unquestioning news.