argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Iraq Inquiry Report — House of Commons, 2016-04-14
Topic: International Affairs
James Dolan Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): I do not think we learn anything. Look at the situation in the middle east: Libya—a mess; Egypt—to some extent a dictatorship. We have learned nothing from these interventions, and all because we never planned any post-war reconstruction.
Iraq Inquiry Report — House of Commons, 2016-04-14
Topic: International Affairs
Paul Phillip Flynn (Labour, Centre-left): Can the hon. Gentleman, from his very knowledgeable position on this matter, clarify something that has been a great puzzle? While a case might have been made for saying that Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, was there any plausible case for saying in what scenario he would ever use them against the west without guaranteeing his own suicide?
Iraq Inquiry Report — House of Commons, 2016-04-14
Topic: International Affairs
Graham William Allen (Labour, Centre-left): To pick up on the point made by my right hon. Friend, if I may call him that, the Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis), once we have committed troops to action, should not the default position of the House be that there will be an inquiry, either in the midst of the action or once it is concluded? These are very serious matters; people die and there are very serious foreign policy issues involved. Should that not be the case, rather than the Government saying, "Oh, we might take a decision to have an inquiry if we think it is really necessary"? This House—the legislature—should have a default position that there is automatically an inquiry when we have committed people to war.
Iraq Inquiry Report — House of Commons, 2016-04-14
Topic: International Affairs
Graham William Allen (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman is very generous to give way again. He talks about the figures when peace was declared; what a disastrous and unprepared peace that was. Will he take into account that there have probably been at least as many casualties again since then, because of the opening up of the rift between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims, which allowed opportunities for an internecine warfare that is spreading into international guerrilla warfare? If he includes those numbers, will he not find an absolutely enormous death toll, running into the millions, and to who knows how many in the future?
BBC: Diversity — House of Commons, 2016-04-14
Topic: Technology
Gareth Thomas (Labour, Centre-left): Does the hon. Lady share my view that there will not be real change on a whole series of accountability questions until ordinary licence fee payers have the opportunity to have a direct say in who runs the BBC at the very top? BME licence fee payers are not really going to be able to hold the BBC to account on diversity at the BBC until they have the opportunity to directly elect at least one or two BBC directors.
BBC: Diversity — House of Commons, 2016-04-14
Topic: Technology
Chuka Harrison Umunna (Labour, Centre-left): I am loving my hon. Friend’s speech; she is so right. When she talks about programmes, I think of "Desmond’s" and the legendary "The Real McCoy". She illustrates the fact that it is not just who is in front of the camera that matters; commissioning editors and producers are equally important if our different communities are to be accurately portrayed on the BBC, rather than the stereotyping of different communities that, unfortunately, we have seen year after year after year.
BBC: Diversity — House of Commons, 2016-04-14
Topic: Technology
Dawn Petula Butler (Labour, Centre-left): I am coming to the end of my speech, Mr Deputy Speaker I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman. My ambitions for my community are always as big as possible and know no bounds My next plea relates to the "The Real McCoy". There has been a long-standing campaign for the BBC to bring the show back, but one of the reasons that has not happened is that the archive has apparently been lost. If so, that says to me that the BBC felt—[Interruption.] An hon. Member in a sedentary position just kissed his teeth, which I am sure Hansard would not be able to print, but it basically means that what happened was very bad. [Laughter.] Will the Minister please investigate whether the archive has been lost? If it has, it is a shame and it shows that the BBC had little regard for such a funny, legendary programme Finally, the BBC is under threat from the internet. Many groups and communities run their own programmes online because their voices are not being heard. I was part of Star Media and had a show to connect with the Somali community. It will be a shame if the BBC does not grasp the nettle and run with our suggestions.
BBC: Diversity — House of Commons, 2016-04-14
Topic: Education
Rupa Asha Huq (Labour, Centre-left): I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman. I think that at The Guardian newspaper, they have all been to one of the two greatest—sorry, oldest—universities in this nation. I went to one of them myself, so perhaps I should not say that—pot calling kettle and all that.
Government’s Welfare Programme — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the effects of the Government’s welfare programme on social and economic inequalities in Scotland.
Ian Murray (Labour, Centre-left): I start by echoing the comments of the Secretary of State and the leader of the Scottish National party, and pass on my heartfelt condolences to all those involved in the events in Brussels. We will defeat terrorism, but, as the Secretary of State said, it will take solidarity and resolve Last night, the House passed a Budget that was unprecedented. It contained a £4.4 billion black hole after the Chancellor was forced to reverse his decision to cut personal independence payments. The Government’s long-term economic plan is turning into a long-term economic scam. These savage cuts, following the £1,500 a year reduction in the employment and support allowance work-related activity group, affect over 60,000 Scots. Those cuts would have gone through had it not been for the resignation of the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith). Will the Minister guarantee that, when the Chancellor returns with revised public spending, no cuts will fall on the disabled and the most vulnerable?
Government’s Welfare Programme — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the effects of the Government’s welfare programme on social and economic inequalities in Scotland.
Ian Murray (Labour, Centre-left): It is clear from that answer, and from the previous answer, that the Government now have absolutely no idea what to do. They are creating untold anxiety for the people in Scotland who are affected. Let me remind the House what the former Secretary of State said: that the cuts in the Budget risked dividing society, put pounds ahead of people and were distinctly political rather than in the national economic interest. Does the Minister agree with her former Cabinet colleague, and many on her own side, that the cuts to disabled people in Scotland are not defensible? Does she want to take this opportunity to apologise, on behalf of the Scottish Conservative party, to the tens of thousands of vulnerable and disabled Scots affected by this shambles?
Economic Trends — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Labor
Elizabeth Anne McInnes (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State will be aware that about 400,000 workers in Scotland earn less than the living wage. The Government claim to be on the side of working people, so why have his Scottish Tory colleagues voted repeatedly alongside the SNP Government to thwart Scottish Labour proposals to extend the living wage?
CCS Funding (Peterhead) — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Energy
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and Ministers of the Scottish Government on withdrawal of funding for the carbon capture and storage scheme at Peterhead.
Clive Anthony Lewis (Labour, Centre-left): The Government’s own advisers on energy and climate change have warned that the cost of meeting our climate change targets could double without Peterhead and CCS. Given that the Government are having a good run on U-turns when it comes to saving the Chancellor, perhaps they would also like to make a U-turn when it comes to saving the planet—something that people feel is far more worth while.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): Government figures published only this morning show that the number of people with disabilities and who are homeless is now up by 39% since 2010, and that 300,000 more disabled people are living in absolute poverty. That is why people like Adrian are very worried. There has been big disarray in the Cabinet over the last few days, so can the Prime Minister now absolutely and categorically rule out any further cuts to welfare spending in the lifetime of this Parliament? Simply: yes or no?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): My question was actually about the poverty of people with disabilities, which the Prime Minister did not answer. In his failure to explain how he would fill the hole in his Budget left by the change of heart on personal independence payments, the Chancellor said: "We can afford to absorb such changes".—[Official Report, 22 March 2016; Vol. 607, c. 1394.] If it is so easy to absorb changes of this nature, why did the Chancellor and the Prime Minister ever announce them in the first place? Will the Prime Minister now listen and learn, and withdraw the £30 per week cut to disabled employment and support allowance claimants that his Government are pursuing?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): If it is all so fine and dandy, the question has to be asked: why did the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith) feel it necessary to resign as Work and Pensions Secretary, complaining that the cuts being announced were to fit arbitrary fiscal targets? He said that they were "distinctly political rather than in the national economic interest" In the initial announcement, he proposed cuts to PIPs then changed his mind. Is not the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green right when he says that this was a political decision rather than one made in the interests of people in this country?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): Let me invite the Prime Minister to leave the theatre and return to reality. The reality is that he has presided over a Budget that unravelled in two days and now contains a £4.4 billion black hole. He may wish to consult the Chancellor on yet another change of heart on this matter. Will he now consult the Chancellor and tell the country who is going to pay for the black hole? Will it be through cuts or tax rises? Where will the cuts fall? Where will the tax rises take place, as £4.4 billion has to be found from somewhere?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): The truth is that it was a Budget that fell apart in two days. The truth is that many people with disabilities went through the most unbelievable levels of stress and trauma after the PIP announcement was made. There are many people who are still going through stress and trauma in our society. There are still—[Interruption.] I am not sure that the Government Members who are shouting so loudly have any idea what it is like to try to balance a budget at home when you do not have enough money coming in, the rent is going up and the children need clothes.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): The Budget has to mean something for everybody in our society, however poor and however precarious their lives are. This Budget downgraded growth, downgraded wage growth and downgraded investment. The Chancellor has failed on debt targets and failed on deficit targets, as the official figures have shown. The fiscal rule is quite simply failing. The Treasury Committee scrutinised the Government’s fiscal rule and could not find any credible economist who backed it. Can the Prime Minister find anybody who backs a policy and a Budget with a big hole in it which downgrades every single forecast the Government set themselves before the Budget was made?
Brussels Terrorist Attacks — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Law and Crime
George Edward Howarth (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Home Secretary agree that groups such as Daesh no longer distinguish between the near enemy and the far enemy, and that the twisted ideology that she referred to considers European values such as religious freedom, human rights and democracy as an offence against God?
Brussels Terrorist Attacks — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Law and Crime
John Derek Twigg (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Home Secretary for her statement. It became clear following the Paris attacks that there were deficiencies in intelligence and policing linked to what was happening in Belgium. Is she happy that we have learned the lessons of those failures and that they have been carried forward to the intelligence services in this country?
Brussels Terrorist Attacks — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Law and Crime
Daniel Owen Jarvis (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Home Secretary for her statement. She will know that the key to defeating this evil is to understand, disrupt and defeat its terror networks, and a key element of that is its funding. Can she assure the House that she is working closely with colleagues in the Treasury and across Government to target the funds that finance this murderous activity?
Brussels Terrorist Attacks — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Law and Crime
Rushanara Ali (Labour, Centre-left): Our thoughts are with the victims of the terrorist attacks and their families. The Home Secretary will be aware that the number of racist and Islamophobic incidents goes up following terrorist attacks, as far right and other extremist groups seek to exploit that space, and that takes up huge amounts of policing resources. Will she assure the House that the police will have the support they need to ensure proper security, support and reassurance in communities such as mine?
Brussels Terrorist Attacks — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Law and Crime
Khalid Mahmood (Labour, Centre-left): Regrettably, I stand again to condemn barbaric attacks, this time in Brussels and Turkey, and to say that these people are not of my faith and should not be considered by anybody to be linked to my faith I congratulate the Home Secretary on the budget for the intelligence and security services, but will she also look seriously at the issues with Border Force—in particular, people with e-passports who are validated but not checked properly to see where they have been? Will she reconsider the funding for local policing, particularly for community support officers and local police officers? They contribute hugely to tackling radicalisation and dealing with the intelligence they come across. Finally, will she look at the issues of hate crime affecting all communities and ensure that local authorities and police can deal with them?
Brussels Terrorist Attacks — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Law and Crime
Stephen James McCabe (Labour, Centre-left): It is believed that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was responsible for the Paris attacks, comes from the Molenbeek district of Brussels. I understand that he was able to visit Birmingham last October. Can the Home Secretary confirm that he did visit the UK? Does she know who accompanied him? Can she rule out that it was anyone associated with the present atrocity?
Brussels Terrorist Attacks — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Law and Crime
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): We need urgently to increase our number of armed officers so that we can rapidly respond to the sort of incident that tragically happened in Brussels. It would be a shame if that were delayed in any way by the need of police forces to take decisions about competing demands on their resources. Can the Home Secretary give an assurance that she is confident that the police have the resources they need to rapidly increase the number of armed police officers, as they are requesting?
High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Transportation
Jonathan Neil Reynolds (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister is giving a pretty fair assessment of how he sees this proceeding. The new clause provides for a permissive power, meaning that it would simply be available going forward. The proposal has been mirrored in previous legislation, such as that dealing with Crossrail, so what is the Government’s objection to a permissive clause of this kind?
High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): I am pleased to be able to contribute to this important debate and play a part in this Bill’s progress. We fully appreciate the importance of this vital piece of infrastructure and the benefits it will bring to our country for generations to come. It is not common to find such consensus in this House, but I am pleased that both the Government and the Opposition understand the need for this high-speed railway. HS2 was, of course, the brainchild of the previous Labour Government, but I readily acknowledge the work that the current Government have done in progressing the project. It is to be very much welcomed for the country that we have such consensus across the House on such important national infrastructure projects In that same vein, I shall discuss new clause 19, which stands in the name of the Minister, as well as in my name, those of some of his colleagues and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood). It deals with vocational qualifications.
High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Labor
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): I think I used the word "consensus" not "unanimity". I sincerely thank the Minister for his constructive approach to this issue and for adding his name to mine by way of support. There is agreement across the House that both jobs and skills are a core part of the case for HS2, and I note that the recent Shaw report calls for much deeper strategic engagement of trade unions across the rail industry. Accordingly, may I take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister and HS2 Ltd for their positive engagement with the TUC in securing an agreement to make sure that trade unions, HS2 and its suppliers work together to maximise HS2’s economic and labour market potential?
High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Labor
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): The right hon. Gentleman misses the point: this is about having a positive impact on capacity issues. That is the singular and most important purpose of this development In the words of the magnificent Frances O’Grady: "It is clear that trade union engagement is vital to ensuring that HS2 is delivered to time and to budget—and that it is delivered in a manner that reflects the best of socially responsible development." The agreement contains the commitment to pay the voluntary living wage—and the voluntary London living wage—and to offer a minimum number of apprenticeships and workforce skills development, among other things. The agreement is an excellent example of how industrial relations should be approached from the outset in projects of this magnitude, and indeed throughout the construction industry, and I hope that it can be the template for good practice throughout industry. The construction of such infrastructure projects places demands on a nation to provide the necessary skilled workforce, creating opportunities for people, and younger people in particular, to equip themselves with not just the vocational qualifications to assist in the construction of this railway, but the tools necessary to forge careers that will be of benefit to both themselves and the nation long after the completion of HS2. Labour Members welcome the fact that, following on from the success of the Kings Cross construction skills centre, a National College for High Speed Rail will be located both in Birmingham and Doncaster, providing specialist vocational training to the next generation of engineers working on HS2 and beyond. We also welcome the fact that HS2 Ltd will provide £4.1 million towards a Euston construction skills centre.
High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): I will give way in a moment According to the McNulty report, the fragmentation of our rail network has left us with an efficiency gap of between 30% and 40% compared with other European networks, which means that the money that should be used to address the cost of travel and to fund much needed investment is needlessly wasted.
High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): I am happy to answer the right hon. Gentleman. It was because the last Labour Government put record investment into the railways and made it the safest railway in Europe. We were clearing up the mess of that botched privatisation of Railtrack, which cost people’s lives. We made the network safe We have been left with a ticketing system that is the most expensive and confusing in Europe. Indeed, commuter fares are up by a quarter since 2010, having risen three times faster than wage growth. What the public clearly do not accept is that private and many foreign state-owned companies receive subsidies from the UK taxpayer and make significant profits at the expense of rail passengers.
High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-23
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): I will carry on, because I know that people want to contribute to the debate In illustrating the benefits of publicly owned operators, one could hardly ask for a better example than the recent east coast main line. The last Labour Government took the important step of bringing that back into public operation after the private operator reneged on its obligations in 2009. East coast proved itself to be one of the most efficient operators, returning more than £1 billion to the taxpayer in premium payments as well as investing every penny of profit back into the service. In addition, fares were kept down in real terms in 2014 at a time when no privately run franchise took the same step. East coast had record passenger satisfaction and its engagement with the workforce was an unparalleled success.