argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): We are committed to no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. We are committed to the Belfast/Good Friday agreement. We are committed to a deal which actually delivers on the protection of people’s jobs and livelihoods. That is the deal that we have negotiated. The right hon. Gentleman refers to the issue of how one can operate on a trading basis with the European Union in relation to rules that the European Union set. Of course, what the Government set out was a proposal, and this is reflected in the balance identified in the political declaration—that if you want to restrict, reduce, or remove customs checks, it is necessary to make commitments in relation to the obligations that you are willing to sign up to. What we proposed in the proposal that the Government put forward in the summer was to do just that, but to ensure that Parliament had a lock on those votes—but of course, there would be a consequence, and we were honest that there would be a consequence if Parliament chose not to accept those rules. That is being open with people about the consequences of their decisions.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister has not yet confirmed when the meaningful vote will be held. My understanding from the House of Commons Library is that now that the Government have made a statement, as she has done, that the political agreement on the withdrawal agreement and future framework has been reached, the requirement on the Government to make a statement to the House by 21 January on no deal has been superseded because of her statement today. In its view, in practice, the latest date we could have a meaningful vote is 28 March. Is this what she intends? Can I get an assurance that the delay she is talking about is a matter of days, not weeks and months?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: Government Operations
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not believe that the scenario my right hon. Friend sets out is the correct one. The date of 21 January has been set in legislation—the vote on that took place last week—and we are conscious of the requirement that that places on the Government. It is right, however, that we recognise the concerns expressed in the House and attempt to find a way through them and to resolve them.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): No. We have recognised that a specific aspect of the deal is raising concerns here in this House, and we will seek reassurances on that specific aspect of the deal, but I continue to believe that overall this deal is the right deal for the United Kingdom.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Conor Burns (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister has been consistent since she assumed the premiership in stating that a bad deal would be worse than no deal, and we have had the time since June 2016 to prepare for leaving on WTO terms, yet Ministers consistently refer to the eventuality of our leaving without her deal as chaos. Are our preparations really so woeful?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): We have been making those preparations, we continue to make them, and, as I indicated earlier, we have been stepping them up, but on the impact of no deal, it is not just a question of what preparations we make in the UK; what happens at the border also depends on others, and we cannot determine what action others will take. There will be consequences if we leave with no deal, particularly if we leave with a sense of ill will between us and the European Union and without having made any decisions to mitigate the impact of no deal. It is not just about what we do here; it is about what others do.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: Foreign Trade
Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt (Conservative, Centre-right): On Friday, the Treasury confirmed to me that the House has approved £4.2 billion of planning for no withdrawal agreement and, in terms, that stability in a no-deal scenario partly depends on the EU taking a similar non-disruptive approach to planning. With the economic prosperity of one of its members—the Republic of Ireland—very closely engaged, and with £39 billion at stake, as well as the interests of the EU businesses that sell twice as much to us as we sell to them, why on earth would it not be planning with us a non-disruptive move to the certainty of WTO terms and the certainty of our having control over our economy and the ability to make future trade arrangements?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend asks "Why on earth would it not?" The fact is that the European Union has been making some of its own preparations for no deal. It has sent out certain notices in relation to certain matters. However, it has not been engaging with us on the aspect of determining, or mitigating, the impact of no deal on both sides of the border.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I will tell the hon. Lady what is going on. What is going on is that the Government are working to ensure that we can get over the line through this Parliament a deal that is good for the whole of the United Kingdom.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I believe that it is important for the Government to be listening to the comments that have been made to us in relation to this specific issue, and to be responding to those comments. If we want to ensure that we get a deal over the line that is good for the British people, I believe that that is absolutely the responsible approach for the Government to take.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Jo Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): The problem with the deal goes far beyond the backstop. May I ask my right hon. Friend what she intends to do about the fact that the Government’s own analysis shows that every region of the country will be left poorer, and that we will end up with less say over the rules governing huge swathes of our economy than we have at the moment?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: Macroeconomics
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): Actually, the Government’s economic analysis shows that in delivering on the referendum, this deal does not make us poorer than we are today. What it does—[Interruption.] Read it. What the economic analysis shows is that if we want to honour the referendum, the best deal for doing that and delivering for jobs and the economy is this deal.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: Foreign Trade
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend said in her statement that alternative arrangements making use of technology could be put in place that would render the backstop unnecessary. Will she therefore incorporate those arrangements and go back to the EU and ask for a free trade agreement along the lines that Michel Barnier proposed and said was the only way to ensure her red lines were not breached, and which would deliver on what the British people voted for?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: Foreign Trade
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The alternative arrangements are specifically referenced in the withdrawal agreement, and of course what we are looking for, and have set out in the political declaration and the proposals the Government have put forward, is indeed a wide-ranging free trade area; it is just a better one than the EU was proposing to us.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): We will indeed, of course, be bringing the matter back when we have sought the reassurances from the EU, but I also say to the hon. Lady that it was right that we listened. In negotiating, we listened to concerns raised by Members of this House; that is why we negotiated a number of changes to the withdrawal agreement, before it was agreed, that recognised the temporary nature of the backstop. Those have proved not to satisfy Members of this House, and it is on that basis that I will seek further assurances.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Andrew William Murrison (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister’s grit and determination to get the best deal available is truly remarkable. Does she agree that in the event that the EU fails to give anything meaningful in relation to the backstop or a hard border that we all agree is not necessary and will not happen, it will not have demonstrated a scintilla of the good faith referenced in the political declaration?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an interesting point about good faith. I believe it is important that both sides move together at this point with that good faith and do negotiate, and that the EU recognises the need for further reassurance on this matter and responds to that positively.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): The United Kingdom is at the forefront of advocating democracy on the international stage. Indeed, colleagues on both sides of the House have regularly spoken in Parliament of the need for democracy in other countries, and Members on both sides regularly instruct MPs and legislators from other countries at seminars held by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Inter-Parliamentary Union on the importance of listening to the people they represent. Does my right hon. Friend agree that to have a second referendum now would ensure that the UK would lose all credibility on the international stage when speaking up for democracy?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman asks me to support a people’s vote, but he has heard me answer that question on a number of occasions. The Government will continue with their no-deal preparations, because that is the reasonable thing to do. On the question of time for debates in this House, there are accepted protocols in relation to that.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Robert Henry Halfon (Conservative, Centre-right): I respect the efforts being made by the Prime Minister, but will she tell me how many extra billions we would be paying per year if the transition period were to be extended by two years? Will she give the House a real say in determining how much money goes to the EU in that extra transition period, if it happens?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): First, the terms of that further extension of the transition period/implementation period, were it to be the way forward, would have to be negotiated. There would be an expectation on the part of the EU for a sum of money, and we would consider it necessary for that to be fair and proportionate. Of course, this is one of the differences between the backstop as it appears in the withdrawal agreement and the extension of the transition period, in that, in the backstop, no financial obligation is required from the United Kingdom.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): We are going to discuss with the European Union, the other party to this negotiation, the requirements that we are putting forward. Until those discussions have properly started, it is not possible to say the length of time that will be necessary for them. Reference has already been made to 21 January, which is within the legislation that this House has passed. I want to work as quickly and as urgently as possible—[Interruption.] My hon. Friend the Member for Moray (Douglas Ross) says, "When?" As I have just said, we need to enter those discussions with the European Union, and until we have done that, it is not possible to give a date.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The message that I get from people up and down the country, regardless of whether they voted leave or remain, is very simple: deliver on the vote, get on with it and let us move on.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Giles Francis Watling (Conservative, Centre-right): I speak as a remainer, which is probably a dangerous thing to do in this corner of the Back Benches. I respect the result of the referendum. However, I would like to ask my right hon. Friend what the point has been of all the pain and uncertainty of the last two years if, in the final analysis, the arbitration panel remains under the dominion of the European Court of Justice.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): This is, I believe, a misunderstanding of the situation. The arbitration panel does not remain under the dominion of the European Court of Justice; the arbitration panel will make its own decisions. But if a dispute involves the interpretation of European Union law, there is only one body that can interpret European Union law, and that is the European Court of Justice. The arbitration panel will be able to ask the ECJ for its opinion on that particular point, and the arbitration panel will then determine the dispute. The European Court of Justice will not be the arbiter of that dispute.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): We have stood up to the European Union. Perhaps a good example of our doing so was our absolute refusal, as a Government, to accept a customs border down the Irish sea, separating the United Kingdom into two customs territories. In February, that was what the European Union wanted, and they stuck to that until we argued them out of it in October. We have stood up to the European Union. We have got a good deal for the UK.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: Foreign Trade
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my hon. Friend that every Member of this House has a duty to deliver on the result of the referendum and take the United Kingdom out of the European Union. The Government have been working to ensure that on the table, as part of this deal, there is a free trade agreement with the European Union—but a better one than the basic free trade agreement that was proposed by the EU in the early stages of the negotiation.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is making an assumption about what will come back from the European Union. It is the task of the Government, obviously, to look to negotiate something that will be sufficient to give confidence to Members of this House in relation to the backstop not being able to be indefinite.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I think people voted to ensure that we bring an end to free movement, which the deal does; that we bring an end to sending vast annual sums to the European Union, which the deal does; and that we bring an end to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, which the deal does.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friends and Members across the House have been expressing anecdotal and unscientific assessments of their voters’ change of mind about the referendum result. In that spirit, I would like to highlight the conversations I have had both with friends and constituents who voted remain but are now determined that we leave the European Union in good order. Will the Prime Minister give me an assurance that she will go back to the EU, bang on the table, if that is what it takes, and get a deal that will have the support of this House and get us out of the European Union on 29 March 2019?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I can assure my hon. Friend that that is exactly what we intend to do. He is absolutely right, and I see many messages coming to me from people who voted remain but now say, "Actually, we accept the result of the vote. Let’s get on with it and let’s leave the European Union."
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said earlier, we will obviously be working hard in relation to the negotiations. I am sure hon. Members of this House, as a number have indicated, would want to make sure that we are putting our case in the most forceful way.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: Foreign Trade
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): On Friday I visited a haulage business in my constituency, and the owner told me how worried he is about the possibility of no deal and how it will affect his business. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, when we come to vote on the withdrawal agreement, we must remember the importance not only of honouring the referendum result but of the jobs and livelihoods that depend on trade with the European Union?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): It is very important both that we deliver on the result of the referendum and that we recognise the need to do that in a way that enables us to leave in a smooth and orderly way and that does, indeed, protect those many jobs that depend on the trading relationship with the European Union.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: Foreign Trade
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): What this Government have been negotiating, and what is present in the deal, is a good future relationship in trading terms in relation to the border and, in relation to not being a member of the customs union and not being a member of the single market, delivering on the vote of the referendum. I believe that is what we should be doing for the people of this country.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Abimbola Afolami (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister when she says no deal would be bad for the UK, but it would also be bad for the European Union. With that in mind, would she agree that the European Union, as it and its diplomats watch this debate, needs to decide whether it wants a deal or not, because without changes to the backstop, a deal will not pass this House?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has made an important point. I believe, from all my discussions with European Union leaders, that they do indeed want a deal, but he is absolutely right: it is about recognising the concerns that remain in relation to the backstop to ensure there is a deal that this House will accept.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): No, that is absolutely not the case. Throughout these negotiations, this United Kingdom Government have been very aware of the responsibility we have to the people of Northern Ireland. It is that responsibility that leads us to want to ensure that in the circumstances set out in the withdrawal agreement it will be possible to assure people in Northern Ireland that there is no hard border between them and Ireland.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend speaks with passion on behalf of his constituents and he is right to do so. It is frankly unacceptable for Members in this House to try to suggest to people that they simply did not understand what they were voting for. The people of this country understood what they were voting for; they knew what they wanted in terms of leaving the European Union, and we should listen to that and deliver on it.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I say to the right hon. Gentleman that this is a theme that has been raised by a number of Members on the Opposition Benches, but it is not the case. What we have said on Northern Ireland is that we remain committed to the Belfast Good Friday agreement, and that we remain committed to no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and that we refuse to accept the European Union’s approach of carving Northern Ireland out as a separate customs territory from the rest of the United Kingdom.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister has been on her feet taking questions for 11 hours with regard to this deal. It may not have escaped her attention, and it will not have escaped my constituents’ attention, that Members across the House are saying, on the one hand, that they speak for the people with a second referendum and, on the other hand, that they speak for the people when they want a no-deal. Obviously, that cannot be correct. Does she agree that when it comes to leadership we need the art of compromise? She has shown that and the European Union has shown that. If Parliament wishes to take control, we need to show compromise as well, otherwise we will be responsible for the damage that ensues to our constituents.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: Macroeconomics
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In any negotiation, it is necessary to compromise; it is necessary to know what your vital interests are and to stick to them, but also to be willing to compromise in order to achieve those vital interests. It is for all of us to recognise the damage that can be done to our constituents if this House does not deliver on the referendum and do so in a way that protects people’s jobs and livelihoods.
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: International Affairs
Julian Carlton Knight (Conservative, Centre-right): The parts in an average Land Rover cross the continent 37 times. My 9,000 car workers need an orderly withdrawal from the EU. Does my right hon. Friend agree that if the withdrawal agreement is rejected, we may get no deal, a "permanent Norway", not a temporary one, or––a stain on the soul of this House––a second referendum?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2018-12-10
Topic: Labor
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend puts it very well. Members of this House need to consider the importance not only of delivering on the referendum but of doing it in a way that, as he says, protects people’s jobs and their and their children’s futures.