argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Scotland’s Foreign Policy Footprint — House of Commons, 2018-12-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Carol Frances Monaghan (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): One of the great post-enlightenment scientists was James Clerk Maxwell, now known as the father of electromagnetism, which has gone on to become photonics and has led to the development of lasers and great science across the world. James Clerk Maxwell went to Cambridge University after Edinburgh University. At Cambridge, he was told he had to be up for 6 o’clock service on a Sunday morning and reputedly said, "Aye, I think I could stay up that late." Such is the contribution of Scots.
Scotland’s Foreign Policy Footprint — House of Commons, 2018-12-03
Topic: Civil Rights
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): That is a fantastic anecdote that proves the point Clearly, Scotland joined the treaty of Union in 1707, and we have heard contributions from both sides of the House about the benefits or otherwise that that brought. It is fair to say that many people did benefit after the treaty of Union and from the British empire, but something that has not been spoken about in terms of Scotland’s footprint as part of the British empire is that, unfortunately, some of that came from Scots also being involved in slavery and the exploitation of resources in other countries. Many Scots were part of the British Army, which was used to control indigenous populations and allow exploitation. We must admit this and reflect on that history, and always learn from what happened in the past At the church in the village of Newmilns, where I grew up, there flies an American flag. It is a replica of a flag awarded to the village of Newmilns by Abraham Lincoln in recognition of the support the Newmilns Anti-Slavery Society gave to the US union side. So while some Scots were involved in slavery, I am very proud to say that Scots were also very active in the anti-slavery movement. I also welcome the fact that there are now moves to further recognise Scotland’s involvement in the slave trade and what that meant at the time. I pay tribute to Glasgow University in this regard, because it has published a list of donors who gave money to the university and recognises the fact that some of the money came from their involvement in the slave trade.
Scotland’s Foreign Policy Footprint — House of Commons, 2018-12-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): My hon. Friend mentioned Glasgow University, which is in my constituency. The declarations that have been made about the university’s associations with the slave trade are hugely significant. Glasgow has had a global footprint since its founding, and it continues to do so even in today’s modern world.
Scotland’s Foreign Policy Footprint — House of Commons, 2018-12-03
Topic: Other
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. As someone who went to Glasgow University, I am proud that it has made that recognition. I am glad to see you back in the Chair, Mr Speaker. I might be winding up very soon.
Scotland’s Foreign Policy Footprint — House of Commons, 2018-12-03
Topic: Other
Gavin Andrew Stuart Newlands (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): As one of Renfrewshire’s MPs, I would not like my hon. Friend to sit down without clarifying for the record that both he and my hon. Friend the Member for Dundee West (Chris Law) are talking mince. William Wallace was born in Renfrewshire and educated at Paisley Abbey, no less. Does he accept those facts?
Scotland’s Foreign Policy Footprint — House of Commons, 2018-12-03
Topic: Other
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I would agree with that wholeheartedly. Mr Speaker, you were unfortunate not to hear all that I said about the contribution that my constituency and Scotland have made to the world, but you will be able to catch up with it in Hansard. I will now conclude my remarks Debate interrupted
Scotland’s Foreign Policy Footprint — House of Commons, 2018-12-03
Topic: Other
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I wonder whether you could instruct the Serjeant at Arms to do a check of offices, and in particular the annunciators in Conservative MPs’ offices. It strikes me, as someone who has sat through the entirety of the debate, that a number of Conservative Members who perhaps did not know the debate was ongoing have come in and made the same points again. Could you instruct that the annunciators in their offices be checked?
Scotland’s Foreign Policy Footprint — House of Commons, 2018-12-03
Topic: Other
Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): This is not a point order, but may I point out to at least half a dozen Government Members that, had they bothered to turn up at the start of the debate, they would know that almost every single point made from their Benches has already been covered—and, although I say it myself, covered in some detail?
Bombardier — House of Commons, 2018-11-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for advance sight of the statement In the light of the 57% increase in profits announced earlier this year, the announcement of job losses is clearly a real kick in the teeth for the workforce. Our sympathies obviously go out to the 490 employees and their families. The latest news follows a longer-term pattern, with the 220 jobs lost in 2015, 630 lost in 2016, nearly 400 lost in 2017, and close to 500 lost now. Given that pattern, what discussions have the UK Government had with Bombardier over this period about stemming job losses and about the plant’s long-term future? What money can be made available either to protect these jobs or to help with redeployment? It is not good enough for the Government to say that it is a private company and a commercial decision, because they need to do everything to protect jobs from being lost We hear from the Government statistics about record employment and record low unemployment, but such statistics hide serious issues such as this one at Bombardier and the recent announcement of 850 job losses at Michelin in Dundee. What steps are the Government taking to make sure that the industrial strategy is fit for purpose and will protect manufacturing jobs One of the Brexit dividends so far has been the plummeting of the pound, which is actually supposed to help manufacturing exports. What assessment has the Minister made of future currency fluctuations and inflationary pressures in the sector and what that can mean for jobs Finally, the Minister’s statement confirms that the UK Government provided £20 million of research and development grants to the plant in Belfast, and this was to be used to bring in efficiency measures. Can he confirm that, when the Government give R&D grants for efficiency measures, they do an impact assessment to see what that means for jobs and that the grants are only for protecting jobs? Any job losses must come with transitional arrangements and plans for workforce redeployment.
Progress on EU Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-11-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the Prime Minister for an advance copy of her statement This Government really are spluttering forward in a haphazard, chaotic way. There are of course outstanding political concerns still to be addressed by the EU27 this Sunday. Central to this political declaration remains the matter of fishing rights—a matter critical to Scotland. A week ago, Scottish Conservative Members in this place wrote to the Prime Minister and said: "At the end of the Implementation Period, we must be able to negotiate access and quota shares with the EU and other third countries independently...This means that access and quota shares cannot be included in the Future Economic Partnership." Paragraph 75 of the political declaration agreed today states: "Within the context of the overall economic partnership the Parties should establish a new fisheries agreement on, inter alia, access to waters and quota shares." There we have it: Scotland’s fishing community is once again a bargaining chip used by a Tory Government in Brussels Worse, the detail in the draft withdrawal agreement has pitted fishing against aquaculture—access to waters versus access to trade—making plain once again that Scottish interests are expendable. When the UK entered the then European Economic Community, under the leadership of Ted Heath, the Conservatives traded away our fishing rights, and they have done so continuously since then. Scotland’s fishing rights—thrown overboard as though they were discarded fish. So much for taking back control; more like trading away Scotland’s interests This is an absolute dereliction of the promises Scottish Conservative Members and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs made to Scotland. Shame on them! Will the Prime Minister tell the House if her Scottish MPs and Secretary of State have agreed to this political declaration? Is it not the case that she has just lost further critical votes on the deal, because the Scottish Tory MPs could not possibly vote in favour of this sell-out of Scottish fishing interests?
Progress on EU Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-11-22
Topic: Immigration
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I congratulate the Prime Minister, because she has managed to satisfy her immigration obsession and to deal with the EU queue jumpers. Is it not the case that what we do to them they will do unto us? Her agreement aims to provide visa-free travel only for short-term visits to the EU. Is it not the case that the rights the Prime Minister and I have enjoyed to live, work and love in a continent of 27 nations will be denied to the next generation of young people?
Progress on EU Negotiations — House of Commons, 2018-11-22
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Lisa Cameron (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): We have heard at the all-party parliamentary group on textiles and fashion, which I chair, that the industry has grave concerns about services, intellectual property rights and brand control. Instead of "Choose Life", there was a newly designed T-shirt about the Prime Minister’s deal bearing the slogan "Fashion hates Brexit". Can the Prime Minister reassure this massive industry, which contributes £21.9 billion to our economy annually?
Leaving the EU: Legislative Consent Motions — House of Commons, 2018-11-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the granting of legislative consent motions for legislation on the UK leaving the EU.; What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the granting of legislative consent motions for legislation on the UK leaving the EU.
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Two of the Secretary of State’s own loyal Back Benchers have specifically asked him what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government, and he has refused to answer. Are we to take it from that that he has had no such discussions and that he has no intention of having further discussions with the elected Government of Scotland?
Leaving the EU — House of Commons, 2018-11-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Martin John Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): It struck me this week that the juxtaposition of the festive season with the Brexit negotiations could help the Secretary of State kill two proverbial birds with one stone. It comes to the House’s attention, via the Glasgow Herald, that his good friend and former chair of the Scottish Tory party is to be summoned imminently to give evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee about his dodgy donations during the Brexit referendum campaign. I was wondering whether the Secretary of State, being a parsimonious chap, was going to save money on postage and deliver his Christmas card to his former friend, Mr Cook, in person at Westminster.
Leaving the EU: Economic Analysis — House of Commons, 2018-11-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Lisa Cameron (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): It is clear that Brexit makes people poorer. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group for disability, I have been inundated by correspondence from concerned people with disabilities up and down the country. What will the impact be for people with disabilities? Will an equalities impact assessment be undertaken? Given that many of those people are already living on a shoestring and could become poorer, what safeguards will the Government put in place?
Universal Credit Managed Migration — House of Commons, 2018-11-19
Topic: Immigration
Questions: What steps her Department is taking to identify people on legacy benefits with high support needs who will be required to transfer to universal credit managed migration.
Stuart Campbell McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Does the Minister agree that the system of implicit consent is absolutely essential for claimants with high support needs under the legacy system, and that it must be rolled out and extended to universal credit urgently and before managed migration begins?
Universal Credit: Rent Arrears — House of Commons, 2018-11-19
Topic: Housing
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Thenue housing association in my constituency tells me that errors in universal credit, such as the system retaining the wrong landlord details despite the claimant having asked for that to be corrected, have meant that some tenants have ended up two months in arrears through no fault of their own. What will the Minister do to fix the system before people end up in debt as a result?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2018-11-19
Topic: Civil Rights
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. You have no doubt been observing with alarm and great concern the events in the House of Lords in which Members of the other place have overturned a decision of the Lords Privileges and Conduct Committee to suspend one of its Members for the most serious of sexual allegations. This sends the appalling message that these Houses of Parliament are not serious in tackling sexual harassment, and that we as an institution are prepared to defend our own and not take complainants seriously. Mr Speaker, I know that you have no responsibility for that undemocratic disgrace of an institution down the corridor, but there were allegations that a place in the House of Lords, in our legislature, was offered in return for sexual favours. You will know that the appointment of places in the House of Lords is a matter for the Prime Minister, supplied by lists from party leaders who all have a place in this House. What can this House do to ensure that this matter is robustly and effectively investigated?
Finance (No. 3) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-11-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Kirsty Ann Blackman (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): New clauses 3 and 7 both ask the Government to say exactly what the effect of entrepreneurs’ relief will be. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it would be best for reliefs to be targeted to ensure that the most jobs are created, the most people benefit and the most businesses can grow as a result of the changes? Does he therefore agree that it would be good for the Government to explain why their proposal is better than any other proposals?
UK Entry Visas — House of Commons, 2018-11-19
Topic: Immigration
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am pleased to have secured this debate. I start with a slight sense of déjà vu, because in June 2016 I led a short debate in Westminster Hall on visas for visitors from sub-Saharan Africa. It was a different Minister in that debate, mind you; he went on to become the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, so who knows what awaits the Minister for Immigration if she can improve on the answers that I received then Sadly, many of the issues that I raised that day are still relevant today, and if anything the situation has deteriorated further and goes beyond the experiences of those in one region of Africa. The Minister will know that at Prime Minister’s questions on 24 October I raised the increasing concerns among academics, the creative industries, businesses, non-governmental organisations and basically anyone and any organisation with links to overseas counterparts who might want to travel to the UK. The experience of the visa system of both individuals and organisations stands in stark contrast to Home Office rhetoric and the Government’s stated ambition of building a "global Britain". The situations that I hinted at in PMQs barely scratch the surface, but they all exemplify the huge frustrations created by both practical failures in the visa application system and the overall policy failure of what essentially remains a hangover of the hostile environment policy Throughout the summer of this year, the media were full of reports of festivals disrupted by the denial of visas to artists from different parts of the world. The director of the Edinburgh international book festival described the problems faced by over a dozen authors seeking to attend as "humiliating". Peter Gabriel, the founder of WOMAD, expressed alarm after at least three acts were unable to perform, saying that "our UK festival would now have real problems bringing artists into this country," many of whom "no longer want to come to the UK because of the difficulty, cost and delays with visas, along with the new fear that they will not be welcomed." That is borne out by the experience of Celtic Connections, which has been a major highlight of Glasgow’s cultural scene for the past 25 years. Its director Donald Shaw has recently said that visa refusals are undermining the festival’s musical internationalism, and that at least two major world acts have pulled out of next year’s festival simply due to the hassle and stress of the visa application process.
UK Entry Visas — House of Commons, 2018-11-19
Topic: Immigration
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Absolutely, and I would have thought that if anyone was going to honour their visa requirement to come here for a short period and then go back to their country of origin, it would be members of religious orders whose vows of obedience and stability mean that they need to remain where they are based Departments at the University of Glasgow frequently encounter difficulties in bringing over visiting academics. Last year, the Home Office denied a UK entry visa to Dr Nazmi al-Masri, the vice-president for external relations at the Islamic University of Gaza, despite the fact that he had a 30-year history of entering and returning from the United Kingdom, and that he was due to travel to support research programmes funded by the UK Government’s own research councils. The situation is perverse and the list goes on Examples emerge from all around the world on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. No fewer than 17 researchers were reported as being unable to attend the Women Leaders in Global Health Conference hosted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine last week, which the organisers said was tantamount to discrimination and bad for science research in the UK, and means that they may have to consider hosting events overseas in the future. Pioneering anti-poaching female rangers from Zimbabwe were denied entry to collect humanitarian awards on 3 November. The Syrian journalist Humam Husari was granted entry, again to collect an award, only after high-profile complaints. Here in Parliament, on a weekly if not daily basis, events I have been to recently hosted by the Industry and Parliament Trust and various all-party groups all have similar stories which are heard frankly with embarrassment and cringing by the UK-based participants.
UK Entry Visas — House of Commons, 2018-11-19
Topic: Immigration
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): That is a very real concern and I will touch on Brexit just before I finish. It is no wonder that I heard a very senior official from the African Union, who himself had had to produce a marriage certificate and bank statements even though he was invited to attend an event by the Lord Mayor of London, tell one such meeting recently that he is not surprised when he sees business class flights from Addis Ababa to Brussels full, but similar flights to the UK more than half empty. These are not examples of a UK that is open for business. These are not examples of a global Britain. These are not examples of a Home Office that has abandoned the hostile environment. These are examples of failure across the board: failure of policy and failure of practice Will the Minister confirm what the Government’s policy on entry visas actually is? Can she explain why so many stakeholders feel that an effective travel ban is in place for certain countries and regions, particularly Africa and Asia? Can she explain why the reality experienced by so many sponsoring organisations is so different from the rhetoric of global Britain? Will she confirm or deny whether there is any connection with the net migration target and the rates of rejection for visitor visas? Do the Government really believe that everything on these islands is so wonderful that they must presume that everyone who applies for a visa secretly wants to abscond; that musicians, authors, academics, scientists, business owners and senior civil servants will take one look at the streets of mother Britannia paved with gold, and abandon their families and careers for a job in the UK’s gig economy? Laughable although that idea is, that is the impression that is being given.
UK Entry Visas — House of Commons, 2018-11-19
Topic: Immigration
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The short answer to that question is no. Perhaps the Minister has that evidence. Certainly, when I have tried to ask for similar evidence in written questions I have had very little back, because the Government do not seem to keep a track of this data. It is simply a hostile environment hangover The policy has to change and that means the practice should also change. The Government need to do more to respect the bona fides of sponsoring organisations. It is not in the interests of festival organisers, universities, churches, or, for example, the City of London Corporation for their guests to abscond. The Government should be prepared, either as a matter of policy or through some kind of formal accreditation, to start from a principle that guests invited by such organisations are coming for good reasons and can be expected to abide by their visa conditions and return in due course The Incorporated Society of Musicians has recommended that if freedom of movement for musicians cannot be preserved after Brexit, then the UK and EU should develop a two-year multi-entry touring visa for UK and EU musicians. I know that the City of London Corporation also expects to publish a major report on visas and immigration in the very near future, and I hope the Minister will look out for that and pay attention to its recommendations. I will also send her extensive documentation from the Scotland Malawi Partnership on this issue, which she may already have seen, and I look forward to her response. I hope, most importantly, that she will be willing to meet some of the all-party groups that are particularly interested in this issue. I have mentioned the all-party group on Malawi. I am also secretary of the all-party group on Africa, and I know that they would very much appreciate the opportunity to discuss this in more detail.
UK Entry Visas — House of Commons, 2018-11-19
Topic: Immigration
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): There is also a huge issue in my constituency with people not getting the visas that they require. The Central Gurdwara Singh Sabha has found it very difficult to get Sikh priests to come over. They have tried on numerous occasions, but they have not got in, which is also a concern of the all-party group on UK Sikhs.