argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The problem with that argument is that we keep hearing about the respect that was shown to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish people, but the right hon. Gentleman seems to ignore the fact that the SNP had 56 MPs elected to this Parliament on a platform of delivering home rule to Scotland. Conservative Members have vetoed every reasonable amendment that we have tabled to ensure that we deliver what the people of Scotland have demanded. Is it absurd that you are observing a veto on the people of Scotland, while we cannot vote—
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Civil Rights
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am delighted to try to assist the Leader of the House in that task. There is a very simple answer, which would take away a lot of the angst. If we want fairness and English votes for English laws, the solution is very simple: bring forward legislation for an English Parliament. That is what we would consider as fair. The point that the right hon. Gentleman has to address is that we were all elected on 7 May with equal rights, so why is that—
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The hon. Lady is right in saying that these are not the McKay commission proposals, and that the Government dismissed those proposals. Has she had a chance to look at the diagram that the Leader of the House has so helpfully distributed? In box 3, in a circle that is half orange and half green, there is a letter P, which apparently refers to "Further Ping Pong, if required" Has the hon. Lady any idea how many of the Bills that the Leader of the House is presenting will be subjected to the ping-pong procedure under his proposals?
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): We heard last week and we have heard in the run-up to this debate that there is massive unhappiness in this House about who is voting on whose issues. I want to come on to our concerns and difficulties. I hear the right hon. and learned Gentleman, but we are profoundly annoyed and upset that he and all the other English Members are voting down things that have been agreed in the Scottish Parliament and that are wanted by every party in the Scottish Parliament. Scotland sent 56 of us here and we are profoundly disappointed in the right hon. and learned Gentleman for voting those things down. It seems as though there are English votes for English laws, but also English votes for Scottish laws. When it came to foxhunting, we took the view that there was concern and interest among our constituents. We are saying to Government Members, this cannot go on.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I will not give way to the right hon. and learned Gentleman again The situation cannot go on whereby English Members continually and consistently vote down the expressed desires of Scottish Members of Parliament, with no consequences or response. That is why we have taken an interest. I want to deal with foxhunting, because I imagine that a few other comments will be made about it.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am grateful to my hon. Friend for pointing that out. I remember coming into the Chamber and seeing no Conservative Back Benchers present during Scotland Bill debates. There was one Parliamentary Private Secretary, but no Back Benchers. That shows the interest they took in our legislation. All of a sudden, when we take an interest in something that is considered to be English-only, there is fury. The proposal is withdrawn in a hurry, to be put back once the Government have changed the rules about how they deal with such matters.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I do not think I suggested that. I accept that. Why, therefore, was the vote on foxhunting withdrawn? All of a sudden the Scottish National party indicated that it would be taking an interest in it and the proposals were withdrawn. The Government have to win the argument; they cannot just decide that because the Scottish National party has decided to do something, that is it—been and gone. The Government have to win the argument in the House and it was shameful that they withdraw the proposals. They took us all the way to the top of the hill, prompting such great interest from our constituents, and now the proposals have been withdrawn.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Civil Rights
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am looking round the Chamber and I see the usual suspects—those who take a real and deep interest in these matters—but I expected the Chamber to be full. Apparently, this was one of the most important issues during the election campaign. English votes for English laws was the issue that most upset the Conservatives’ English constituents in the general election campaign, and the slogan was, "100 days to deliver English votes for English laws".
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): That suggests the tantalising picture of the hon. Gentleman rushing up to the barricades at the Scottish Parliament, demanding his say on devolved Scottish matters. I would pay to see that. It would be great fun, and I encourage him to think about doing just that.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am delighted at the praise being heaped on me by English Conservative Members. It is not necessary, but I am grateful for it. I will come to the hon. Gentleman’s point because it is important, and I will suggest a solution that I am almost certain will not satisfy him. It is called, "Doing it yourself." It is about getting a Parliament and deciding all those things.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): A few times in the debate, the impression has been given that we somehow do not represent our constituents on certain issues. I and my colleagues will represent our constituents on any issue they choose to write to us about or bring to us. We might not be able to vote or legislate on devolved matters, but I will speak up for my constituents on any issue they choose to bring to me.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Absolutely—that is what people have voted for us to do. They have voted for us, in the same way as people have voted for English Members, to come down here to represent their interests, and that is exactly what we will do I loathe foxhunting—I think it is barbaric—and cruelty to animals wherever in the world I see it. I do not want any succour to be given to the Tories’ toff friends, dusting down their red coats, getting out their silly little bugles and lustily shouting "Tally ho!" in the mirror as they prepare to savage and ravage poor, defenceless foxes in the name of sport. That appals me.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): We are going to do that. The plan to water down foxhunting legislation in England has given us an opportunity to examine our approach and perhaps tighten it up. The hon. Gentleman is right: we should be doing that. I actually did not know that we have more lax laws than England. We are going to do all we can to ensure that they are tightened.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am sorry to continue our earlier debate, but the Leader of the House said a moment ago that all Members are allowed to turn up to every Committee. That is not the case: the Scottish Grand Committee is restricted to Scottish Members of the House. It has not met for more than 10 years; none the less, that is the case. If the Leader of the House does not even know and has not mastered all these procedures, what hope is there for this total dog’s breakfast?
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): We did not vote on them, because the Tories withdrew them. I do not think I could have been clearer about why we intended to vote on foxhunting. We could not have got any more interest in it from Scotland—we were absolutely flooded with requests, not just from our constituents but from English constituents.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): With due respect, I do not think the hon. Gentleman actually gets what is involved for the Speaker. It will be in his power to decide whether we are going to be excluded or not. He is going to tell us when our second-class status kicks in and when it does not. That is a dreadful position to put the Speaker in. It is not like deciding amendments or deciding on money resolutions; it is deciding whether Members of Parliament can participate in the House of Commons.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I see the right hon. Gentleman shaking his head. Maybe we could explore that and see what we can do, but there is no opportunity for us as parliamentarians or for our constituents to address this and try to ensure it could be challenged.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Kirsty Ann Blackman (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The other point is that the Speaker will be required to certify whether something is England-only for everything that comes through, including amendments and anything that has been amended in the Lords and come back. That will be a hugely onerous task for the Speaker. Does my hon. Friend agree?
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): My hon. Friend has been following these issues with a very keen interest. She has already brought to attention some of the great things about this: she actually discovered, in the response from the Leader of the House to a written question, that the Scotland Bill was a piece of English-only legislation! I am grateful to her for discovering that amazing fact.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman has twice said "I would hope". Does he not cherish this precious UK constitution more than to hope that it would work after this Bill goes through? The constituents of England might be looking for something stronger than hope.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman not understand that he has put his finger on one of the most fundamental differences between our nations? In my nation, the sovereignty of Parliament and the sovereignty of the monarch do not exist; the people are and always will be sovereign in Scotland.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Callum McCaig (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The aspirations of the various peoples of these islands are being articulated in this debate. We are to believe that the English people want a way for their views to be represented. According to Conservative Members, that has been done through the recent election. Can we not accept that the same thing happened in Scotland? There is an overwhelming desire for enhanced devolution, and we in Scotland are not getting that. We are getting locked out in key areas of this place.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Civil Rights
Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing me the opportunity to speak on what is perhaps the most important democratic issue facing this House, the United Kingdom and this generation. The concept of English votes for English laws is, on the surface, uncontroversial, but what is proposed is English votes for English laws and English votes for Scottish laws—and English votes for Scottish lords. We will take no lessons from Government Members on a democratic deficit The debate last week showed that these shambolic proposals have not been thought through; they have been worked out on the back of an envelope. The answer to English votes for English laws is an English Parliament. There can be no democratic shortcuts. The proposals initially drawn up by the Government simply do not stand up to scrutiny, which makes it all the more important that proper scrutiny is undertaken According to the Library, of the approximately 3,800 Divisions between 26 June 2001 and 26 March 2015, only 0.7% would have concluded differently had the votes of Scottish MPs been discounted. One must then ask what is the reason for the urgency, for the indecent haste behind the move, even taking into account the pause until September The UK Government have published a list of 20 Bills passed in the previous Parliament that they said did not apply to Scotland. However, after careful analysis by the First Minister of Scotland, 13 of them were found to be relevant to Scotland. That is why her request for talks on English votes for English laws must be treated with respect We in the SNP quarter of the House are deeply concerned about what can only be described, and what can only appear, as an abuse of process behind the move. To implement such a profound and divisive measure, rushed through with the aforementioned indecent haste, and without proper scrutiny, by suspending the Standing Orders of the House, closing down debate via an English Grand Committee—incidentally, it will have powers that a Scottish Grand Committee does not have—and with the use of iPads for a separate layer of voting, would all be laughable were it not so serious and if it did not fly in the face of the democratic procedures we all hold so dear.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Martin John Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Has my hon. Friend noted the lack of attendance on the Government Benches, despite the seriousness of the matter before us? If English votes for English laws were so important to Government Members, those Benches would be full.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Michael Fraser Weir (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): My hon. Friend will also recall that in the previous list of Bills, it was discovered that some of them, as well as applying to Scotland, needed a legislative consent motion, yet they were still being put forward as England-only Bills.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Not in the slightest. I find the comments made earlier by the Leader of the House difficult to reconcile with the document produced yesterday. I will not go into the detail of the document, because it will take forever, but at one point, under the title, "How will it work for Bills?", it states: "Any bills that the Speaker has certified as England-only in their entirety will be considered by only English MPs at Committee Stage." It does not sound to me like the hon. Gentleman will be invited to consider it with them.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The hon. Member for Hyndburn (Graham Jones) has just described this as a mess. One of my favourite films is "Reservoir Dogs"; this, unquestionably, is a breakfast of dogs. When he questioned the Leader of the House and, indeed, invited him to intervene, I was convinced that he was phoning a friend. He had his phone at the ready, looking for an answer.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I could not possibly say that the Leader of the House looked vacant. What I will say is that the Leader of the House has shown a remarkable proclivity to flee the field during the past week of debates on this subject Last week, there was a rout in a vote, and of course we all came in to make our points of order. Normally, on such occasions, Members roust the Government by making points of order, and then the Leader of the House stands at the Dispatch Box and comes up with some explanation of what has happened. On that occasion, the Leader of the House did not come up with an explanation because he was not here. Now he is not here again, and it is very unfortunate that he is not here again—although I am sure that there is a good reason for it—because I was going to compliment the young hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) on not allowing himself to be patronised by him The Leader of the House said that the hon. Gentleman did not have parliamentary experience and that, when he knew more about the procedures of the House, he would understand these things. The hon. Member for Belfast East rightly drew attention to the explanatory notes—a misnomer, if ever I have seen one—that were distributed to us all yesterday and read out exactly what was in them. Let me just do that again. The explanatory notes say: "Any bills that the Speaker has certified as England-only in their entirety will be considered by only English MPs at Committee Stage." It should be noted that they do not say, "will be considered by any Member of the House, but voted on only by English MPs" I had been in the House for 14 years before the Leader of the House was first elected—if we are going in for patronisation—so let us have a little bit of history. I was looking at my iPad earlier. Incidentally, if these ridiculous proposals are passed, iPads will become much more necessary, in the Division Lobbies as well as the Chamber.
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): On the subject of reflection, and in the interests of the hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) and me, the explanatory notes distributed yesterday state: "Any bills that the Speaker has certified as England-only in their entirety will be considered by only English MPs at committee stage." Given what the Leader of the House told us earlier, does the Deputy Leader of the House want to make a drafting amendment to that claim?
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-15
Topic: Other
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Minister is claiming support from the McKay commission for her arguments. Is it possible for the House to ascertain from the McKay commission whether or not that is the case, because many of us believe that it is not the case?
Creative Industries — House of Commons, 2015-10-22
Topic: Immigration
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Minister will know that Scottish companies are leading the world in the design and export of video games. Does he agree with Chris van der Kuyl, the chairman of Dundee video games company 4J Studios, who told the Scottish Affairs Committee this week that UK immigration policy could prevent companies such as his from recruiting the very best of talent from overseas? Why is this Government’s regressive immigration policy harming world-class Scottish businesses?
Party Conferences — House of Commons, 2015-10-22
Topic: Other
Questions: If he will make it his policy that the House not adjourn for the period covered by the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat party autumn conferences.
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): These are disappointing comments from the Deputy Leader of the House. There is now a real willingness in this House to reconsider its recess plans. It is simply absurd that we abandon our business for one week to accommodate eight Liberal Democrat Members of Parliament. When we come to consider the recess period, may we also look at when the recess starts? Surely it is within the wit of this House to have a summer recess that includes all the summer holidays of every nation of the United Kingdom, including Scotland.
China (Human Rights) — House of Commons, 2015-10-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I welcome a lot of the words we have heard from the Minister today—when they are turned into actions we start to get somewhere. As well as making the point that the nations represented here give a good example of the fact that dissent and disagreement from official Government policy does not represent a threat to national security, does he agree that the right to life is the most fundamental of all human rights and so any nation that carries out wholesale executions of its population is in breach of fundamental human rights? During this week’s visit, will the Government be specifically encouraging the Chinese Government to take steps towards the complete abolition of the death penalty? When was the last time the Government made similar representations to the Government of the United States of America, which executes more of its citizens than almost any other nation on the planet?
Standing Orders (Public Business) — House of Commons, 2015-10-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Angus Brendan MacNeil (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): A few weeks ago, the Leader of the House was talking about English votes for English laws, whereas today it has been about English and Welsh votes for English and Welsh laws. Will he develop this a bit further: can we have Scottish votes for Scots laws? Might I hope that he will support a 10-minute rule Bill by the end of November containing a triple lock that would enable the Scots Government, the Scots Parliament and Scots MPs here to say what should be happening for Scotland and that it will not be blocked by Conservative Members?
Standing Orders (Public Business) — House of Commons, 2015-10-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Angus Brendan MacNeil (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. He correctly identifies a problem. It is a minor problem and he goes back to 2004 to identify it. The problem is very different. When the Scotland Bill came through this Parliament this year, when 95% of Scottish MPs, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament backed amendments, they were blocked by English and Welsh Members, despite Scotland wanting its power. That is where the problem is for this Parliament. It is not English votes for English laws.
Standing Orders (Public Business) — House of Commons, 2015-10-22
Topic: Other
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The shadow Leader of the House has been on his feet for half an hour. The House will not hear from a Scottish Member of Parliament until the sixth speaker. This is being done to us, because it is we who will become second-class Members. Is there anything you can do to speed up proceedings so that we can hear from Scottish Members of Parliament?