argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-03-19
Topic: Mixed Topics
Richard Newby (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am following the noble Lord with great interest. He says that the people will be outraged if they were to be asked again. Why then, when they are asked in opinion polls do they say time after time that they want a vote on the outcome? Why do over two-thirds of all Conservative voters who were recently polled say that they want a vote on the outcome?
Cambridge Analytica — House of Lords, 2018-03-19
Topic: Civil Rights
Jane Bonham Carter (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I think we all agree that these allegations against Cambridge Analytica, if correct, indicate a shocking betrayal of people’s personal data and that this could be the tip of a large iceberg. All campaign work linked to Cambridge Analytica must now be scrutinised, including any links to elections in the UK. Will the Minister ensure that, as part of the investigation, the Information Commissioner takes steps to look into links between the breach of data privacy and elections and referenda in this country? I join in thanking him for encouraging cross-party co-operation on this matter, which I agree is very important.
Cambridge Analytica — House of Lords, 2018-03-19
Topic: Civil Rights
Paul Tyler (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, can I take the Minister a step further on the question raised by the noble Baroness and my noble friend? He has referred extensively to the Information Commissioner, but in one very important respect this is a matter of concern to the Electoral Commission. We have a vehicle for improving the powers of the Information Commissioner but we do not at the moment have any vehicle to improve the powers and investigative processes of the Electoral Commission. Will the Minister confirm whether the Electoral Commission is looking at the issue of whether Cambridge Analytica employed at any stage, or gave advice at any stage to, any of the participants in the leave campaign during the referendum? If so, has he received any advice from the Electoral Commission as to whether the law needs to be tightened up in that respect, too As we understand it, one of the companies concerned may well be not a UK-owned company—in which case it would of course be an ineligible contributor to any campaign such as a referendum. Given that it is possible that, within a matter of months, we may have another referendum, I suggest to the noble Lord and to the Government that this is a matter of some urgency, and therefore cannot be left simply to improving the powers of the Information Commissioner.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-03-19
Topic: Other
John Kevin Sharkey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Perhaps I can help on the point about whether the Commons can reconsider something that it has not actually considered. I hate to have to refer to the Strathclyde report again, given what has been said, but there is a suggestion in the report of exactly how that is taken account of. The two committees could easily agree a sequence for consideration so that it was already possible for the Commons to reconsider something. We simply have to introduce a slight delay to make that happen.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-03-19
Topic: Other
Alan Beith (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The situation that the noble Baroness described, in which the sifting committee has made a recommendation that the Government have rejected, is surely not one in which the confidence in the committee will be undermined. It is for the Government then to see whether they can persuade the House as a whole that the committee’s recommendation is unnecessary or undesirable. That is the scenario, not the one that she presented.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-03-19
Topic: Mixed Topics
John Kevin Sharkey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): On the urgent procedures, why in the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill is there a 60-day period, whereas for SIs generated urgently by this Bill there is a 28-day period? The Minister has talked about the necessity for speed. I do not understand why one Bill has 60 days and the other has 28.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-03-19
Topic: Other
John Kevin Sharkey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Yes, I feel able to withdraw my amendment, but want to make one comment before I do so. The Minister has pointed out that the proposal for a reconsideration period marks a major change. She is quite right about that, because the circumstances seem to require exactly that change. I think that we will come to discuss this matter again, but, in the meantime, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-03-19
Topic: Other
Alan Beith (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I should like the Minister to envisage that she is responding on behalf of the Government to a debate on a statutory instrument which the House in general is saying that we need to have but which has a fundamental flaw that has been identified by many noble Lords. At that point, is she really going to say to the House, "The proper course for you to take is to reject this instrument, and then I will be forced to take it away and come back with a corrected instrument"? Or will she say, "We’ve no time for that now, you will just have to accept it as it is"?
Grenfell Tower: Insulation Materials — House of Lords, 2018-02-05
Topic: Housing
John Warren Shipley (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, I remind the House that I am a vice-president of the Local Government Association There are 10 points in the Government’s response. Paragraph 2 says that the Building Research Establishment was contacted by Celotex last week. However, the reply does not say why this problem occurred in the first place. Why was the testing inadequate With regard to paragraph 5, the Minister has made clear that this was not a test of the aluminium composite material cladding system that was understood to have been present at Grenfell Tower. However, weekend media reports said that Celotex RS5000 insulation was on Grenfell Tower. Was that the case Thirdly, on paragraph 8, the Minister says that the advice currently given to owners of high-rise blocks and public buildings still stands, but I suggest to him that it is not enough. As of 10 January 2018, there are 312 residential buildings over 18 metres high in England, and public buildings are part of that total. All those have aluminium composite material cladding but, of the 312, 299 have aluminium composite material cladding that the MHCLG’s expert panel advises is unlikely to meet current building regulations guidance, and therefore presents fire hazards on buildings higher than 18 metres Does the Minister feel that that situation is acceptable, and does he understand the frustration of building owners that the Government are not being sufficiently clear on fire safety measures that are essential, nor on exactly where the finance for essential works will come from?
Role of Women in Public Life — House of Lords, 2018-02-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Sarah Virginia Brinton (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am glad that there are others who are prepared to affirm it On business, I am delighted that the noble Baroness, Lady Finn, talked about the need for deeds not words. She referred to the work of the coalition Government, and I particularly want to highlight the work of my honourable friend Jo Swinson, who steered through parental leave. This is important, and it is not just about maternity leave. My son and daughter-in-law have two very small, premature babies. He works for L’Oreal, to which he moved just as the babies were born. He was told that there were no meetings after 4.30 pm because all young parents should have the chance to be at home to put their babies to bed. With examples like that, we have the pipeline that other noble Lords have been talking about. The responsibility for helping women move on entails an understanding that all parents, regardless of their gender, have a role in helping to bring up their children. Parental leave will take off as soon as organisations start asking young men what they are going to be doing when their baby is born The other fun person who I just wanted to raise briefly in the last couple of minutes—I think she has been mentioned in passing—is Marie Stopes. It is not fashionable to recognise her as a heroine but she was. I think her true recognition came in the 1960s, when her contribution was finally recognised for what it was. Mary Stocks wrote—I do not have enough time to quote her—that Marie Stopes did not just want contraception, she clearly changed women’s views about sex. One woman, speaking to Marie Stopes, said: "He’s a good husband, he only troubles me once a week" In the 1920s, that was the common view. We talk about the outside and external achievements, but we must remember that the suffragists and suffragettes who went on to run birth control clinics also changed the lives of women around us—the entire world I must correct the view from some noble Lords on the Labour Benches that the Liberal Democrats have not introduced all-women shortlists. We have. Some 58% of our target seats in 2015 and just over 50% in 2017 had women in them. Unfortunately, when you lose seats, the chance of moving forward in other areas is somewhat difficult. We remain committed to that for exactly the same reasons as the Labour Party, because we know that it will improve diversity in other ways. It will improve the representation of disabled, BME and LGBT women in Parliament In conclusion, we have talked a lot this evening about deeds, not words. I ask every one of your Lordships to make your own deeds about what you will take out of this debate today. Write yourself a postcard with your top three actions, give it to your Whips Office and ask them to post it back to you in three months’ time to see what you have done. I will tell your Lordships why. I spoke about my granddaughters; they will be two this summer. At the current, glacial, rate of change they will be in their ninth decade before we have parity in the House of Commons. That is not good enough.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-05-08
Topic: Immigration
Sarah Ludford (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, for continuing to champion this important cause, which is dear to the hearts of these Benches. There are several invidious features of this matter. First, it creates a division among United Kingdom citizens. Not only do people in Northern Ireland have the right to acquire Irish citizenship and thus EU citizenship, but many other British citizens have the right to, or are already pursuing, dual citizenship in order to get the passport of another country. I believe that I have the right to an Irish passport because my mother and my grandmother were born in Dublin. That creates two sets of British citizens: those with the additional political expression and practical advantages of EU citizenship and those who are unable to continue to enjoy them Another feature of this matter is hypocrisy. Do the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, and the Minister agree that the following is deeply hypocritical of the leading voices in Legatum? It is reported that the co-founder, who is of New Zealand extraction, and the chief executive have managed to acquire Maltese passports. How they have done so, I have no idea. That will give them EU citizenship, including the right of free movement. As advocates of the hardest of hard Brexits, they have had the ear, we believe, of many leading members of the Government. They have been pushing hard for Brexit so as to deprive the rest of us of EU citizenship, but they have made sure that they are feathering their own nest by obtaining citizenship of another EU member state and thus EU citizenship and free movement.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-05-08
Topic: Immigration
Sarah Ludford (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I take the noble Lord’s word for it. I have no reason to doubt that. I have a feeling that there may be many people in similar positions who are saying one thing and doing another. I find that pretty reprehensible We strongly advocate that all UK citizens should continue to have the opportunity of EU citizenship. Many of us feel particularly for young people. Those of us who are getting long in the tooth have for 45 years had the advantage of the freedom to move to and work in another EU country. It is extremely sad that the young people of this country are going to be deprived of that opportunity.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-05-08
Topic: Other
John Kevin Sharkey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): In fact I was thinking of government Amendment 83N—I am sorry that I did not make that clear—which deals with Amendment 72. I was about to ask a question. Amendment 83N says that in the case of a failure of a Minister to give the reasons that he or she should give for urgency, the Minister must write explaining why he has failed to do that. The only thing missing at this point is some indication of when he might write to do that. I ask the Leader of the House to try to help the House by indicating when a Minister should write to indicate his sorrow and apology for not doing what the amendment asked him to do. With that, I beg to move.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-05-08
Topic: Immigration
James Wallace (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Minister is repeating what he said in response to my Amendment 30. It was pointed out by me and the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, that the word "protection" has a statutory basis in the 2006 legislation.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-05-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alan Beith (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Before the noble Baroness sits down, I assume that she is going to answer the questions I put to her, not least about Third Reading but also about the importance of Ministers recognising that the inclusion of policy choices is something we would prefer not to see in delegated legislation.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-05-08
Topic: Other
Alan Beith (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I wonder whether the noble and learned Lord could help the House, or those of us who were not following quickly enough, as to how Amendment 117 relates to Amendment 116, which, as I understand it, the Government did not move, and what the effect would be of having Amendment 117 without Amendment 116. Would that affect the Francovich damages time limitation?
Civil Liability Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-05-10
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jonathan Marks (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, perhaps I may add to what the noble Baroness, Lady Berridge, has just said. I agree with her and stress that this is not just a case of racketeering lawyers. One problem that we need to grapple with at this stage of the Bill is that the cold-calling racket and the encouragement of claims comes from claims management companies as well, often from abroad. They can also come from those who offer free hire cars to those who will pursue claims, and they can add a personal injury claim. The same applies to people who repair cars. There is all that potential for racketeering to jack up these claims, and we accept that there is a very serious problem I come back to the point about the definition. I agree with all those speakers who have said that the definition has to be in the Bill. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, very concisely just explained why it has to go in the Bill and why it is insufficient for it simply to be in draft regulations at this stage Perhaps I may say a word or two more about the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra. I served on it for three years when my noble friend Lady Thomas of Winchester chaired it. The general practice then was for the Government to accept the recommendations of that committee. We took the responsibility of considering the delegated powers in every Bill that came through this House extremely seriously and in an almost entirely non-partisan manner. We were guided and assisted by clerks who were astute to ensure that their advice was based on precedent and on principles, and the principles were published.
Civil Liability Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-05-10
Topic: Other
John Kevin Sharkey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Does the Minister accept that that is not really an explanation? It is simply a statement that the Government have done something. I was asking for the basis on which they arrived at these numbers. In fact, oddly, the numbers changed between the impact assessment and the SI published yesterday. There must be a reason for that; there must have been some discussion. There must be some basis on which these amounts were constructed, but it is not clear from his answer what they are.
Civil Liability Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-05-10
Topic: Other
John Kevin Sharkey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I think this is a misunderstanding. I was not trying to imply that there was an element of certainty involved here. I simply wanted to know how the figures had been arrived at. Why not some other figure? Instead of 235, why not 200? Why not 400? How were these figures arrived at?
Civil Liability Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-05-10
Topic: Other
John Kevin Sharkey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Minister will forgive me if I say that that sounds a bit like the back of a political envelope. The question still remains. We are interested in what these figures are, and it would help our discussions if we had a clearer idea of how they were arrived at. I am sure that we will want to pursue that as the Bill makes progress. In the meantime, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-03-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Sarah Ludford (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the noble Lord for giving way; I was anxious to ask him this before he sat down. I respect his professed commitment to the rights of families and children, but he appears to be saying that a rather ideological commitment to escape the jurisdiction of the European court and the other enforcement mechanisms should prevail above the needs of divorcing people and especially children who need maintenance obligation enforced and who may have been the subject of abduction. As the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, said—as a judge, she has vast experience in this area—it was much easier once EU law provisions came into force than under the international conventions. Can the noble Lord honestly tell me that he could look children in the eye and say it is better to be outside the reciprocal EU arrangements?
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-03-05
Topic: Other
Sharon Bowles (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Perhaps I may make an observation. Leaving general principles out of it, if you categorise all the legislation as secondary legislation and then deem that some of it can be amended only by Act of Parliament, you do not have to sort it all. You would have to sort it only when you wanted to amend it—and at that point you would look at the basis on which it was made.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-03-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Claire Tyler (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I rise to lend my support to this group of amendments on children’s rights and to briefly say one or two words on Amendments 37 and 69, to which my name is attached. Like the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, I want to talk about this group because my fundamental feeling is that the voices of children and young people are simply not being heard in the Brexit process. Frankly, that is ironic when we consider that they are the population group who will be most affected by this—and for the longest time The Government’s plan not to retain the European Charter of Fundamental Rights through the EU withdrawal Bill is a real concern to me, particularly in relation to children. As we have heard, the charter enhances rights for children that already exist in the European Convention on Human Rights, such as the right to education. It also includes key rights enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, such as the rights to care and protection, to express views freely in accordance with their age and maturity—the principle of best interests being a primary consideration—and the right to know both parents. I know that others have said this, but I make the point that these are not small, trifling matters or marginal extras; they are fundamental things we should be very concerned about The charter contains certain provisions of great importance to children and young people that are not protected in domestic law at constitutional level. Children’s rights enshrined in the charter have been translated into practice through EU legislation, policy and case law. This includes legislation on child-friendly justice systems, and the charter has strongly influenced the development of EU regulations relating to cross-border family law. We heard an awful lot about this earlier in our debate on family law and I certainly do not intend to repeat that because we heard it in great detail. I simply make one point, which was my key point in that debate. It is crucial that children, including children born to families where one parent is from the UK and the other is from an EU member state, feel that their voice is heard in this process and that their wishes and feelings can be expressed, so that they feel that a fair decision is being made about what happens to them regarding these crucial decisions in their lives, particularly if they are to be returned to a parent in another country Finally, the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, is not in his place to talk in more detail about Amendment 69, to which I added my name because I felt it very important that a government body or right in statute exist somewhere to ensure that children’s physical and psychological needs are being met and considered, particularly when they are a victim of any form of neglect, exploitation or abuse. As many in the Chamber will know, no group of children has suffered more neglect, exploitation and abuse than children in care. That is why this amendment, which I know was tabled as a probing amendment, is so important.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-03-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Sarah Ludford (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I think I heard the noble Lord refer to prisoners’ votes. That was the judgment of the Strasbourg court about the European Convention on Human Rights; it was nothing to do with the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. In any case, the way in which it has been demonised is wrong, because it said only, "Please have a scheme", and not, "All prisoners must vote".