argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Bankers’ Bonuses and the Banking Industry — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Christopher James Evans (Labour, Centre-left): Does the hon. Gentleman think the Conservative party is being wise after the event? Was it not the Conservative leader, the current Prime Minister, who argued in 2007 for less red tape and less regulation for the banking industry?
Bankers’ Bonuses and the Banking Industry — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Helen Catherine Goodman (Labour, Centre-left): I do not think every last detail of the running of these things should be handed over to the European Union, as the hon. Gentleman describes it, but the fact is that all the time we hear from the bankers that they will whizz off to Geneva—some of them do seem to be whizzing off there—to Paris or to Frankfurt. The purpose of having a European-wide approach on bonuses is to avoid exactly that kind of behaviour.
Bankers’ Bonuses and the Banking Industry — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Shabana Mahmood (Labour, Centre-left): I am sorry, I will not because of time The Government have failed to provide answers on HSBC in a way that would inspire confidence and they have wasted money challenging the EU bank bonus cap. What can we do to turn this situation around? It is clear that we need to reconnect the level of pay and bonuses of some highly paid bankers with the wider performance of the banks and their wider economic contribution. A Labour Government would repeat the tax on bankers’ bonuses, which we introduced in 2009, to raise £1.5 billion to £2 billion. This tax—[Interruption.] I will come to that point in a moment for Government Members. This tax, alongside a restriction on—[Interruption.]
Bankers’ Bonuses and the Banking Industry — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Shabana Mahmood (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker This tax, alongside a restriction on pension tax relief, would fund a compulsory jobs guarantee. Let me deal with the point made by hon. Members chuntering from a sedentary position. The tax would be spent only once and only for one measure—that is, our compulsory jobs guarantee. That has been the case for as long as we have had our compulsory jobs guarantee policy. I find it interesting that the only line of attack that Government Members have on the compulsory jobs guarantee is to imply, incorrectly, that the bank bonus tax is being spent more than once. It is a weak line of attack from Government Members who do not want to engage with the substance of the policy—a compulsory jobs guarantee for the long-term youth unemployed Only one point was made about the substance of our policy, which was about the potential scope for tax avoidance. The first outing of the bank bonus tax introduced by the Labour Government had stringent anti-avoidance measures attached to it, and we would repeat those measures to make sure that the tax was not aggressively avoided and that all the revenue that we expect to be raised will be realised in order to fund our proposals for a compulsory jobs guarantee.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker, in the light of your ruling. The manuscript amendment was tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (John Cryer) in response to something that the Prime Minister said, in Prime Minister’s questions, that he wanted to happen. If the Leader of the House were to withdraw or not move his amendment to the motion, would it then be possible under Standing Order No. 31 for the manuscript amendment tabled by my hon. Friend to be moved?
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): I am going to carry on and make some progress with my arguments. I hope that right hon. and hon. Members will do me the courtesy of listening to them as I try to set them out.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): The right hon. Gentleman has picked on the wrong person. I have to spend a lot of time in this building as shadow Leader of the House, and I do not see him here very often on Thursdays.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Andrew Sawford (Labour, Centre-left): I hope that my hon. Friend will address the argument that a second job helps MPs to keep in touch. My view is that visiting local schools, going to local businesses and workplaces to talk to managers and the work force, spending time with local charitable organisations, and going to day care centres for the elderly is how we should keep in touch with our constituents. That is the work that we should value.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is right. There are many ways of keeping in touch that do not involve the exchange of large amounts of money An extremely bad and unfair impression of the motives of all Members of this House has now been formed, and it is being reinforced by this latest occurrence. Let me be clear: being a Member of Parliament is an extremely demanding and tough job, and it is done with integrity and dedication by the vast majority of colleagues in all parties. Unfortunately, however, the perception is growing that some MPs are in it only for what they can get, rather than for what they can give, and that is not an impression that we can allow to fester any longer. "You’re all in it for yourselves"—how many times have we heard that said?
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): I will come on to the details of the motion later. It is a little more flexible than the hon. Gentleman might assume. I shall explain the consultation process that we are going through, which it would benefit the whole House to consider.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Steve Rotheram (Labour, Centre-left): Some of the people watching the debate will be absolutely incredulous at the views of some Government Members. The Prime Minister said that the reasoning behind second jobs was that he thought they would give people a better understanding of the world outside. I think that more people need to have a better view of the world outside before they become MPs. Does my hon. Friend agree that nobody forces us to come here and get paid £67,000, which is a king’s ransom to many of the people we represent? Those Members do not need second jobs, but if they do there are food banks in every one of their constituencies. Go and volunteer in them.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Paul Phillip Flynn (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend believe that for the sake of clarity, particularly for people outside this place, everyone who speaks or intervenes should say how much they earn from outside sources and what they do with the money? I will start by saying that I earn £7,000 a year and for the past 27 years every penny of it has gone to charity.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): I have given way a lot, so I will not The Deputy Prime Minister said earlier today: "The principle is if you are devoting yourself to public service, that is what you should do…I don't think anyone finds it acceptable…people regard politics as nothing more than a part-time hobby." He went on to say that "the principle should be you are elected to do a job, that is your vocation, that is your act of public service, that is what you should be doing for your constituents" Well, I agree, and it is not often that I agree with the Deputy Prime Minister. In the light of that comment, perhaps he will confirm that he and his colleagues will join us in the Lobby tonight. If they do, we can really begin to make progress.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Fiona O'Donnell (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your guidance. I am sure that no Member would wish to contribute to the debate, given its subject matter, without declaring any relevant interests. What guidance can you give to Members, given the terms of the motion, on what they should declare before intervening or making a speech?
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. As I understand the rules—perhaps I could get some guidance on this—a Member should declare what those interests are, as opposed simply to referring the House to the "register".
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Paul Phillip Flynn (Labour, Centre-left): Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. Very briefly, would it not solve the problem, and be in the spirit of "Erskine May", if Members gave us not a long catalogue of interests, but an approximate total of the money they receive from them every year?
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Ian Murray (Labour, Centre-left): Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. For clarity, although "Erskine May" does give direction in this House, I received a complaint from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority for saying in this House, "I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests", and the complaint was upheld on the basis that I did not say what the interest was. Practically, in this parliamentary term I had to apologise to the House for declaring my interests but not saying what those interests were.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Frank Gordon Dobson (Labour, Centre-left): Everybody has been amused by the points that the right hon. Gentleman has been making, quite rightly, but I do not think the public will be particularly amused. The public’s real concern is not about people with a continuing interest; it is about people who become Members of Parliament and then obtain directorships and consultancies and who are perceived as being in something like a system of outdoor relief for grasping MPs.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Karl Turner (Labour, Centre-left): The Leader of the House has been very generous in giving way. He made a point that he thought was funny—frankly, the electorate would not think it was funny—about the former Prime Minister Jim Callaghan. My hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald) made it clear that Ministers, which would of course include the former Prime Minister, have to put directorships into trust while serving as Ministers. The right hon. Gentleman’s point was not funny, and it was not correct, was it?
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Fiona O'Donnell (Labour, Centre-left): I draw the attention of the House to my entry in the register; I have an income from a rental property in Edinburgh Will the right hon. Gentleman dissociate himself from the remarks of the Father of the House today at Prime Minister’s questions, when he asked what kind of person would come to this place if they could not have a second job? There is and always should be a place in this House for people who have never dreamt of earning £67,000 a year.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Graham Peter Jones (Labour, Centre-left): The House would appreciate it if the right hon. Gentleman would explain how much he gets from outside jobs, and how much time he spends on them away from Parliament. It would illuminate the debate for the House.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Dawn Primarolo (Labour, Centre-left): Order. Will the hon. Lady sit down for a moment? I will stop the clock. I am getting a bit fed up with Members, including Whips, shouting across the Dispatch Box at Members who are speaking.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Dawn Primarolo (Labour, Centre-left): Actually, Mr Wishart, I told them off at that point as well, and made them stop, so you could conclude your speech. I was just about to say that that goes for both sides. There are strongly held views: express them strongly when you have the floor, but please do not shout at one another. Liz McInnes.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Ian Murray (Labour, Centre-left): That is a completely ridiculous misnomer from Conservative Members. It is a smokescreen to cover up some of the practices that they anticipate doing in this place. Being a Minister or the Chair of a Select Committee is part of the job of being in this place. It is part of the remit of being a Member of Parliament.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Ian Murray (Labour, Centre-left): I am not giving way. Some Government Members say that these jobs bring additional flavour and experience to this place, but I do not need to have a £250,000 non-executive directorship of a major business to tell me what my constituents want me to bring to the Floor of this House. I know what my constituents want me to bring to the Floor of this House because I ask them—I knock on their doors, I do surgeries, and I put out questionnaires and surveys. That is how we in this House know what the public are thinking, and to think otherwise is just bonkers.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Dawn Primarolo (Labour, Centre-left): Order. There appears to be something wrong with the clock, and I hasten to add that it was not the Government Deputy Chief Whip who turned it off. I hope that it will stick to five minutes this time, but if not I will help Members by saying how much longer they have. The next speaker is John Hemming, and we are still on a five-minute time limit.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Dawn Primarolo (Labour, Centre-left): Order. I am taking the time limit down to three minutes as interventions have slowed us down. Dr Lee, you got nine minutes. I do not know how that happened, with the clocks going wrong. It was not your fault. The time limit is three minutes from now.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Jon Hedley Trickett (Labour, Centre-left): No, I am not going to take any interventions If we do not respond to the current mood in the country, we will be lost as a House of Commons. I do not for one minute think that most voters imagine that their elected representatives are somehow superhuman and never make mistakes, and the Leader of the House rightly paid tribute to the two Members who have got themselves into trouble this week. I echo much of what he said. However, voters will judge us on how we respond to our mistakes. We need to show that we have reflected on any errors that we have made and learned the lessons, and that if necessary we will change the rules.
Members’ Paid Directorships and Consultancies — House of Commons, 2015-02-25
Topic: Other
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): claimed to move the closure (Standing Order No. 36). Question put forthwith, That the Question be now put Question agreed to. Question put accordingly (Standing Order No. 31(2)), That the original words stand part of the Question.
UN Human Rights Council — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Civil Rights
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful to the Minister for his answer, but does he not see that Government attempts to undermine the European convention on human rights damage our international reputation on this issue and diminish our influence on human rights?
Yarl’s Wood — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Civil Rights
Barry John Sheerman (Labour, Centre-left): I am disappointed that the Minister is reacting in the way that she is. This is a very important issue. It is a stain on our country’s reputation for human rights. Does she agree that we all have to learn from the tradition of using these big, monopolistic companies? G4S let us down at the Olympics, Serco is involved in this case, Capita was involved in the tagging of individuals and now the Government are putting our probation service out to one of these companies. When will we learn that these companies have poor management, the wrong ethic, the wrong culture and the wrong priorities? It is about time we changed all that.
Yarl’s Wood — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Public Lands
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): In her opening remarks, the Minister said that a recent inspection had found Yarl’s Wood to be safe. Clearly, it is not. Could she explain the discrepancy between the reality and the inspection report, and what is she doing about it?
Housing Costs (Reformed Welfare System) — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Housing
Margaret Anne Begg (Labour, Centre-left): Actually, there is a need to ensure that people are appropriately housed and that they move, but very little of that responsibility lies with local authorities. The wrong way to go about it is just to take money from people who are over-occupying and would love to move but are not in a position to do so.
Housing Costs (Reformed Welfare System) — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Housing
Sheila Gilmore (Labour, Centre-left): The fundamental problem with this whole policy—I think the hon. Gentleman is taking this position as well—is whether it is about saving money or making better use of houses. The amount being saved even on the Government’s own initial estimates was not enormous, and when we factor in discretionary housing payments and all the other things that have to be taken into account, the savings diminish even further. This is not really something that will save a lot of money. [Interruption.]
Housing Costs (Reformed Welfare System) — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Housing
Helen Catherine Goodman (Labour, Centre-left): Is the hon. Gentleman aware that when the bedroom tax was introduced, 19,000 people in his constituency were already on the waiting list, of whom 8,000 wanted one-bedroom flats? There was already a long queue of people before the bedroom tax was introduced,
Housing Costs (Reformed Welfare System) — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Housing
Teresa Pearce (Labour, Centre-left): It is true that solutions can be found. Sadly, no one seems to have found them yet in my part of south-east London The Work and Pensions Committee looked at the problems that are faced by people on housing benefit. They are discriminated against when looking for private rented accommodation. For families, that makes trying to find a roof over their heads an uphill struggle. Given that tenancies typically last for six to 12 months, private renters often have to move just as they have settled in. Children who live in such places have their life chances restricted and their education disrupted, and are often not registered with a doctor. That cannot be acceptable Private landlords may be reluctant to rent accommodation or provide temporary accommodation to claimants for a number of reasons. It might not just be general discrimination, but might be due to constraints that are imposed by mortgage lenders, who say that they are not allowed to provide longer tenancies, or due to fears that local authorities will fail to allocate housing benefit in a timely manner. Giving private renters the option of allowing the housing benefit component of their universal credit payment to go directly to their landlord might allay those fears and enable private renters to control their finances more easily. The Government must work with private sector landlords to address their concerns about universal credit and offer greater support to those who rent property to housing benefit claimants. That work must start now.
Housing Costs (Reformed Welfare System) — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Housing
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): I grateful to my colleague on the Work and Pensions Committee for giving way. I met my key local social housing provider on Friday. It said that there was a 15% gap in rent collection between those on universal credit and those not on universal credit. That is manageable over a year or so, but over the longer term it will create huge problems. I wonder whether my hon. Friend wants to comment on that point.
Housing Costs (Reformed Welfare System) — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Housing
Teresa Pearce (Labour, Centre-left): I will finish by saying that I think this is a most urgent issue. I do not usually quote from Conservative manifestos, but the 1951 Conservative manifesto said: "Housing is the first of the social services. It is also one of the keys to increased productivity. Work, family life, health and education are all undermined by overcrowded homes." That was true then, and it is true now.
Housing Costs (Reformed Welfare System) — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Housing
Sheila Gilmore (Labour, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention In Scotland, the priority given to people who are homeless—a much wider definition of homelessness has been adopted by the Scottish Government—means that there is real competition for smaller houses. The majority of people who present as homeless are single people, so they too need the small houses that other people are trying to fit into.