argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend, notably for his recent mission to Zimbabwe. I was very interested to hear of his meetings there. I know that he personally, in a way, incarnates the historic ties between our two countries. He knows whereof he speaks. Zimbabwe has fantastic potential. It is a country with a very well-educated population, and it has a great future if it can secure the right political system. That is all it takes. They have fantastic natural resources, and my right hon. Friend can be absolutely reassured that the UK Government—who, as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said just now, contribute about £80 million or £90 million in DFID spending—will be continuing to invest in Zimbabwe and its future.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): The British Council will certainly be involved in the life of Zimbabwe and giving its people the opportunities to which they are entitled. In the last few hours I have been concentrating mainly on liaising with our embassy in Harare, but in the course of this afternoon I will be talking to the South Africans, who play a crucial role in the future of Zimbabwe, and who can be indispensable in making sure it has free and fair elections next year.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
James Philip Duddridge (Conservative, Centre-right): Although we have great fondness for the Minister for Africa, may I congratulate the Foreign Secretary for deciding to come to the Dispatch Box to update the House on this important issue While it would be tempting to rush towards a Government of national coalition to provide stability, will the Foreign Secretary advise caution? We should see through the ZANU-PF conference planned for December. Elections have been planned for August, but there has already been talk about bringing them forward to February and March. It is important that those elections take place, that ZANU-PF goes through a proper process, and that they are multi-party elections, to make sure that there is the stability required to move forward.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Clearly, there is a great opportunity here for the international community to come together, perhaps under United Nations auspices, to ensure there are free and fair elections. We will be making sure the UK Government are in the lead, as we would expect, in ensuring that the people of Zimbabwe have that opportunity.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Henry Bellingham (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the Foreign Secretary agree that this could be the beginning of the end of one of the most flawed regimes the world has ever seen? Does he also agree that the key priority, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) has just pointed out, is having a pathway to free and fair elections? Also, what is going to be done to try to recover the many billions of dollars stolen by Mugabe and his cronies?
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): The first priority is free and fair elections, and then to get the Zimbabwean economy back on its feet so that the great natural potential of that country can be unleashed. That should, I am afraid, come before any attempt to take back huge sums from a country that is already in the throes of bankruptcy.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): The UK, in the year to March I believe, supplied £80 million or £90 million and has helped educate possibly 80,000 children and supplied sanitation for 1.4 million people. We are in the lead in trying to help the Zimbabweans and in alleviating the humanitarian crisis they face as a result of the economic mismanagement in that country. The caution my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) urges is absolutely right as it is too early to say whether there is an opportunity in this situation, but if there is, DFID and all the organs of UK foreign and overseas policy—of global Britain—will be there to serve.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): The timetable has been well spelled out by my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge). We need to go forward now with the ZANU-PF conference and then the elections scheduled for next year. It is crucial that they should now go ahead and be free and fair. At this stage, it would not be right for us to speculate about personalities; what matters is that the people of Zimbabwe have a free and democratic choice.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): I appreciate that events are very fast-moving, but will the British Government work closely with the African Union to try to get it to put pressure on Zimbabwe, both not to continue as an authoritarian state and to respect human rights, particularly of those from overseas, such as from Britain?
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for that excellent point. The AU is an increasingly important and valuable interlocutor in Africa, and I have a good relationship with Mr Faki, president of the commission. I will be going to the AU summit in Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire next week, and I have no doubt that Zimbabwe will be top of the AU agenda in Côte d’Ivoire.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I say to the 20,000 UK nationals in Zimbabwe and to the 200,000 Zimbabweans here in the UK that, as far as we know, no one is under any threat at the present time. The important advice that we continue to give to those in Zimbabwe is to stay in their homes wherever they are and not go out on to the street—do not get into any trouble. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports of any suffering or any violence against UK nationals in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I admire my hon. Friend’s spirit. I have no doubt that we could do such a thing if we needed to, but a better option would be to work with the Southern African Development Community and the African Union under a UN framework to ensure that we deliver free and fair elections. That is probably better at this stage.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): Most of us would see the outcomes for Zimbabwe of Robert Mugabe’s disastrous rule as heartbreaking, and it is clear that future decisions about who governs the country must be taken by ballots, not bullets and military coups. What discussions will the Foreign Secretary have with the Secretary of State for International Development about building Zimbabwe into a democratic and prosperous country?
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): DFID will certainly want to support the transition, and I hope that it will be a transition to a free and democratic country. The people of Zimbabwe have suffered for too long, and it is fascinating to see quite how many Members want to ask questions on this subject, about which the British people really care. For many people, this is a moment of hope, but it is too early to be sure that that hope will be fulfilled, so we need to work hard now to ensure that there are free and democratic elections next year.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): To the best of my knowledge, I do not think that we are engaged in that way in Zimbabwe for historical reasons that I am sure my hon. Friend will understand. If we can achieve the reform that we want and if Zimbabwe goes down the path that is now potentially open to it, that is not to say that the UK could not in the future be engaged in exactly that kind of assistance.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): As constituency MPs, I am sure that many of us have met Zimbabweans who are in exactly that situation. If the hon. Gentleman has any particular cases that he wants to raise, I would be happy to pass them on.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Craig Mackinlay (Conservative, Centre-right): Many people in the UK and, indeed, in this House will have friends and family either currently living in or with close links to Zimbabwe, and the hon. Member for Vauxhall (Kate Hoey) referred to the diaspora. Will the Foreign Secretary assure me that the UK, working with our international partners, will be at the forefront of seeking a democratic and prosperous future for Zimbabwe? We should seize this opportunity as one that does not come around too often; it is a chance for us to make a difference.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely. That is the key point. This is potentially a moment of hope, and many people in this country will be looking at it in that way. We must ensure that we do not jump the gun and that we are not premature, which is why I have been cautious with the House today. However, my hon. Friend can be absolutely certain that if our hopes are fulfilled, the UK will be at the forefront of helping to turn Zimbabwe around.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not aware of Morgan Tsvangirai or other opposition figures being involved in what is going on, but the opportunity is there in free and fair elections for them to put their case to the Zimbabwean people. That is what we want to see.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): The answer is simple. We can work with our friends and partners, with the African Union and with SADC to get their agreement, which I am sure will be readily forthcoming, that the best future for the prosperity of the people of Zimbabwe is to have free and fair elections. That is the way to unlock the wealth and prosperity of the country.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful for that question. I am fixed to talk to the vice-president of South Africa at the earliest possible opportunity, but I must regretfully inform the House that I have not had much time to talk to any others. As I said to the hon. Member for North East Fife (Stephen Gethins), the South Africans will be crucial in this.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Neil Quentin Gordon Parish (Conservative, Centre-right): I was an election observer in Zimbabwe in 2000, when Mugabe stole the election from the Movement for Democratic Change through persecution and brutality, and for my sins I have been banned from Zimbabwe Not only have the farms of black and white farmers been destroyed in Zimbabwe, but corporate governance across the piece has been destroyed. There will be a stage when we need to re-engage to rebuild that country, because Zimbabwe should be feeding most of Africa; it cannot even feed itself now. There will be a time to engage, but it probably is not yet. We have to be ready to get in there and put the situation right, because Zimbabwe is a beautiful country with lovely people, and it has been absolutely destroyed by a madman.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted that my hon. Friend has been to Zimbabwe, and he is right in his analysis of what went wrong. I remember seeing how fantastic farms were ruined, with irrigation systems melted down to make saucepans, or whatever. It was an economic catastrophe, for which the people of Zimbabwe are now paying The best way forward is through free and fair elections. As my hon. Friend has experience as an election monitor in Zimbabwe, I wonder whether it is too much to hope that he might volunteer to go back next year to monitor the free and fair elections we hope to see.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Atta-Ur-Rehman Chishti (Conservative, Centre-right): I have read the Foreign Secretary’s excellent book on Winston Churchill, and he will be familiar with the great words of our great former Prime Minister: "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." The Foreign Secretary is committed to seeing Zimbabwe back as a democratic state. Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth in 2002, and it withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2003. As Zimbabwe goes back to being a democratic state, it would be great to see it become part of the Commonwealth again.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Would it not be wonderful to see Zimbabwe as part of the Commonwealth again? It would be an absolutely wonderful thing, and that is what we should work for. My hon. Friend sets an important and noble ambition for our country.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Ross Thomson (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Secretary of State confirm the UK’s commitment to the people of Zimbabwe and to ensuring that their future is strong and prosperous? Zimbabwe is a former member of the Commonwealth, so does he have any intention of speaking to other Commonwealth leaders about exerting their influence and support to help us to ensure that reality for Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): The Commonwealth, along with the other multinational, multilateral institutions I have mentioned, can play an important role in encouraging Zimbabwe on that path. We have a wonderful Commonwealth summit coming up in April 2018, as my hon. Friend will know. April might be too early to welcome Zimbabwe back into the Commonwealth, but the summit may be a useful moment to bring Commonwealth nations together to exhort Zimbabwe to set Commonwealth membership as a target.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Robert Alexander Courts (Conservative, Centre-right): Zimbabwe a National Emergency—ZANE—is a wonderful charity based in Witney that provides much needed care to the people of Zimbabwe. Will my right hon. Friend please confirm that he will have any discussions necessary with the charitable sector to ensure that, during this period of political instability, much needed aid still gets through?
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I have had the good fortune to meet representatives of ZANE over the years, as I am sure have many hon. Members on both sides of the House. ZANE does fantastic work, in common with other voluntary organisations that have kept the flame of hope alive for 37 years. Now is the moment when there really could be a new dawn. There is an opportunity and a moment of hope. We must not overdo it, but we must foster and sedulously protect what could be a real opportunity for the people of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Andrew Campbell Bowie (Conservative, Centre-right): As my right hon. Friend and others have said, events in Zimbabwe are very much in flux. Events are fast-moving, and we do not quite know how they will end. Will he confirm that the United Kingdom sees the future of Zimbabwe as a prosperous country playing an active role in the region? Does he agree that, if we are seeing the end of Mugabe’s rule, that is a much more realistic prospect and something about which we can be very hopeful?
Zimbabwe — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am worried that in my last answer I slightly overdid the note of hope, because hopes have been disappointed so many times, but there is hope. There is now a real chance that things will change in Zimbabwe, but it is by no means a foregone conclusion. Everybody will have to work hard together to achieve it, and there will have to be free and fair elections. Nobody on either side of the House wants to see simply the transition from one unelected tyrant to another. No one wants to see that; we want to see proper, free and fair elections next year, and that is what we will be working towards.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: Labor
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her point of order, and for her characteristic courtesy in giving me advance notice of her intention to raise it There are two points. First, policy announcements, particularly when a change is involved, should first be made to the House. Secondly, my understanding is that there is a debate tomorrow in the Chamber that is being led by, or taking place under the auspices of, the Chair of the Select Committee on Work and Pensions. That debate will be an obvious and perfectly proper platform for an exchanges of ideas, and indeed for any announcement that the Government might have to make If there is an announcement to make, and I do not know whether there is, it should be made in the Chamber; it should not be briefed out to the media first. I very much hope that that has not happened, and it should not happen. I imagine that the hon. Lady or a member of her team will be present for tomorrow’s debate—in all likelihood she will be present—and I trust that she will make her views on that point and others with her characteristic force.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that point of order. That motion is effective and it is binding upon the Government. About that there can be no further argument—I was asked about it and I ruled on it. What I can say to the hon. Gentleman is that I know that the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union is in contact with the Chair of the Brexit Committee about publication and when that is likely to happen. They are also discussing the question of form of publication and the attitude that the Brexit Committee might take to that. Those discussions cannot long continue The hon. Gentleman asks me to put a date on the matter; I can say to him only that I was given to understand—if memory serves me, at the beginning of last week—that the material would be published no later than three weeks from that date. I think we are a little under halfway through that period. Thereafter, publication can, will and should be very widely expected. If it is any comfort to the hon. Gentleman and others, I can say that I am very focused on that matter, in the interests of the House as a whole, and I can tell him that the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn), who chairs the Select Committee, is, too. It will not be let go.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Michael James Tomlinson-Mynors (Conservative, Centre-right): I have been listening carefully to the hon. Gentleman’s speech. Does he accept that so many of these rights existed before we joined the EU and will still be there after we leave the EU? They are not, and need not be, dependent on the European Union. It is this place that will and can safeguard those rights.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: Government Operations
Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is right. It is the curiosity of this legislation that laws that the public, if we were to raise these issues with them, would regard for the most part as being of very considerable importance are being brought to the lowest possible status on their return here, and without there really being an opportunity, for obvious reasons, to revisit this issue domestically in a way that might lead us to enact fresh legislation.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: Labor
Jacob William Rees-Mogg (Conservative, Centre-right): I am flattered that the hon. Gentleman pays such close attention to my speeches. I was talking about regulation in the City of London, not employment regulation. I think there is now consensus across the political firmament that employment regulations will remain in place, which is one of the reasons why his new clause is not necessary.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure again to be able to participate in this debate The new clause in the name of the Leader of the Opposition raises a really important issue about the way in which the Government have approached the whole question of retained EU law. To be clear at the outset, and it is worth repeating, the Government’s aim—to bring EU law into our own law, retain it there to ensure continuity and then, over time, to take such steps as this Parliament wishes to take to replace it or change it—makes absolute sense. But as we discussed yesterday, the difficulty that arises is that the origins of EU law mean that it has come into the law of this country in ways that are totally different from our usual process of primary and secondary legislation. [Interruption.] Does my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) wish me to give way? I thought that he said something from a sedentary position.