argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Safety of Journalists — House of Commons, 2021-06-10
Topic: Civil Rights
James Neale Hanvey (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I will be as quick as I possibly can One of the most outstanding achievements of the 2014 referendum movement was the creation of new media. One of the strongest voices in that new media was former British ambassador and former Dundee University rector Craig Murray. Craig—a man who is over 60 and in poor health—has recently been sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment for the contempt of jigsaw identification, which is imprecise, ill-defined and unable to be demonstrated or tested rigorously because it would identify people who are meant to remain anonymous. Various opinion polls have been conducted, including two by Panelbase. None has identified Craig Murray as a source of jigsaw identification. In fact, the top hit on that Panelbase poll was a journalist, Dani Garavelli—
Net Zero Strategy and Heat and Buildings Strategy — House of Commons, 2021-10-19
Topic: Mixed Topics
Deidre Leanne Brock (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The north-east of Scotland is the home of the offshore industry and the obvious location for a carbon-capture project. Years ago, the Tories pulled the plug on the carbon capture and storage competitions before Peterhead won through, and it is now clear that the UK Government have put the holding of seats in the red wall of northern England ahead of saving jobs in Aberdeen and the north-east. How can the Government say they are delivering a just transition if the Tories put pork barrel politics ahead of supporting the ideal location for CCUS at St Fergus?
Independent Expert Panel Recommendations for Sanctions and the Recall of MPs Act 2015 — House of Commons, 2021-10-19
Topic: Other
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman is a very effective Chair, and I think we all respect and admire the work he is doing. On the legislation versus Standing Orders issue that he raises, he is right that Sir Stephen did indeed want legislation, which I would support, but the concern was that such legislation might be subject to legal challenge, and I do not know exactly where that leaves us. I am interested in his view if we were to go down the legislative route. What would be his concerns if legal challenges were to emerge because of that?
Supporting Small Business — House of Commons, 2021-10-19
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): If the hon. Member does not understand what the Federation of Small Businesses thinks about his Government tearing up their manifesto promise and increasing the burden of national insurance, if he does not understand what small businesses are saying about the impact that Brexit has had on them, if he does not understand that the energy crisis that the United Kingdom still faces, with massively increasing energy costs that then increase costs for every single business on these islands, and if Conservative Members do not understand that all those things are purely the result of their party’s policies, each and every one of which is devastating for the wellbeing of small business, then we have to wonder why on earth they are still in Government.
Supporting Small Business — House of Commons, 2021-10-19
Topic: Other
Alyn Edward Smith (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): On the hon. Gentleman’s point about Princes Street, did he manage to make it along to the new, shiny, marvellous St James Quarter, where a number of the businesses he talked about relocated to? He is making a point in isolation about one street in the country, not the entire nation, and it is possibly unwise to draw too many conclusions from one street.
UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement — House of Commons, 2021-11-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Kirsten Frances Oswald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Brexit-induced labour shortages are having a real impact on several sectors of the Scottish economy, with social care, hospitality, and food and drink among the worst hit. For some, the impact has been catastrophic, with up to a third of Scotland’s harvest of some crops left to rot in the fields. Those are the direct consequences of this UK Government’s hard Brexit deal and their ideological decision to abruptly end freedom of movement. The Secretary of State knows that, and he knows that the EU provided over €1 billion in Brexit support to Ireland, so will he back Scotland’s employers and support a compensation fund to mitigate the Brexit damage inflicted on Scotland against our will?
UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement — House of Commons, 2021-11-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Secretary of State will remember that Scotland voted to remain part of the European Union, and that despite every compromise offered, this Government ploughed ahead with Brexit, knowing full well the damage that it would do to Scotland and that it was against the wishes of the people in Scotland. Now, the Office for Budget Responsibility has projected that the UK’s economy will be 4% smaller because of Brexit, and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs found that Scottish exports were actually higher last year, during the height of the pandemic, than they are this year, after Brexit I know that the Secretary of State mentioned the pandemic, but that means that Brexit is having a worse impact on Scottish exports than the pandemic. Although he could have fooled me with his lack of mask, Mr Speaker, I am going to presume that the Secretary of State is not in favour of the pandemic and its effects. Given that the effects of Brexit are worse, why does he support it?
Committee on Standards — House of Commons, 2021-11-03
Topic: Other
Martin John Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Leader of the House started with a quote, and I am often reminded that what is false exists on the same judicial footing as what is right. I make no judgment about those who signed the amendment but, given that six of them have had allegations upheld against them by the Standards Committee in the last year, can he differentiate between how what was good enough for them is not good enough for the right hon. Member we are discussing?
Committee on Standards — House of Commons, 2021-11-03
Topic: Other
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. We only have an hour and a half to discuss this. This is the time that the Government gave us to discuss this matter. There is huge interest in this debate. Is there anything that you can do to encourage the Leader of the House to wind up his remarks?
Committee on Standards — House of Commons, 2021-11-03
Topic: Civil Rights
Martin John Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way on the Government’s approach: seeking to introduce mechanisms to neutralise court rulings of the Supreme Court, seeking to defy the European convention on human rights, seeking to reform the Electoral Commission, and now this. Does he, like me and I am sure many others on the Opposition Benches, agree with the litany of Giovanni Capoccia that this is a dire warning of the pillars of democracy being undermined by the Conservative and Unionist party for its own nefarious needs?
Armed Forces Bill — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Civil Rights
Carol Frances Monaghan (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Does the hon. Gentleman share the other concern raised regarding the gender composition of courts martial? Unless we have gender parity, it is very difficult for all-male or majority male courts to understand properly the experience women may have had in that situation.
Subsidy Control Bill — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Kirsty Ann Blackman (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Actually, what the legislation does is to give the business a responsibility to keep the letter. It does not give the business much more responsibility, in my mind, although I will go back and have a look at the clause the hon. Gentleman points me to. I think having the subsidy on the subsidy control database would make all the difference, but if he wishes to come back in, he can.
Subsidy Control Bill — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Kirsty Ann Blackman (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I completely agree that there is not a level of parity here. There should be because the Government recognise that the Scottish Parliament has responsibility for some things—the Government recognise that most days. They recognise that in relation to the other devolved Assemblies, too. This is not about any of those Administrations having a veto; it is simply about the right to refer this to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in order for it to be looked at. It is not about any of those authorities being able to cancel subsidies, or to veto them in any way. It is simply about being able to raise that challenge. It is something that was raised by the witnesses in the Bill’s evidence sessions, so it is not something that I have just somehow invented, or that the Welsh Government have invented, or that the Scottish Government have invented. It is a real worry for people, so the more the Minister could say on this the better I will not speak for too much longer. I have just one more amendment—amendment 11—to cover. There are two schedules—schedules 1 and 2—in relation to the subsidy control principles. The subsidy control principles are set in the Bill, and it is clear that they are the principles that authorities need to look to in guiding the decision making about giving subsidies. There are two schedules: one for the general principles and one for the environmental principles, which relate specifically to subsidies around energy and environmental matters.
LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Sport — House of Commons, 2021-11-18
Topic: Civil Rights
Hannah Mary Bardell (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I very much share the Minister’s sentiments regarding Josh Cavallo, who has bravely come out, but he is still the only male gay footballer in the professional game in the world. Given the fact that we still do not have any other openly gay male footballers, what message does the Minister think it sends that Qatar—a country that strictly represses homosexual people, with homosexual acts punishable by a decade in prison for non-locals and death for local Muslims—is set to hold the next World cup? Does he agree that nations that treat LGBTQ people in such an abhorrent way should not be gifted international competitions like the World cup?
LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Sport — House of Commons, 2021-11-18
Topic: Civil Rights
John MacKenzie Nicolson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am sure the Secretary of State will join the Minister in congratulating Josh Cavallo, the only top-tier footballer in the world currently playing to have come out publicly as gay. He will be an inspiration for LGBT kids everywhere who love football. Does she agree that it is a damning indictment of football in this country that no professional player in the game who is currently playing has felt safe enough to come out publicly? Will she join me in calling on football bodies on these islands to look urgently at why that is and to do all they can to create an environment in which players feel safe to come out and be the role models we all need?
Harmful Content Online — House of Commons, 2021-11-18
Topic: Civil Rights
Owen George Thompson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): A Facebook whistleblower recently revealed that hateful political ads are five to 10 times cheaper for customers in what has been referred to as subsidising hate. Facebook has since banned companies from targeting ads based on users’ political beliefs, sexual orientation or religion, but these decisions should not be left to tech billionaires who could change their mood at any time. It is the Government’s job to regulate, so what proposals can they come up with to take account of the views of the whistleblower in calling for further action to end subsidising hate online?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-11-18
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Ronald Jack Cowan (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The actions of Football Index can only be described as scandalous. The Scottish National party called for an inquiry, and that has been delivered. Can the Minister guarantee that the actions the Government take as a result of the inquiry will ensure that such shameful behaviour by the gambling firms will never be repeated?
Supreme Court Judgments: Scottish Parliament Legislative Proposals — House of Commons, 2021-11-18
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the implications for the Government's policies of the Supreme Court judgments of 6 October 2021 on the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament relating to its legislative proposals on the (a) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and (b) European Charter of Local Self-Government.
Stuart Campbell McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): To return to the original topic, perhaps the Attorney General should take this opportunity to congratulate the Scottish Parliament on voting unanimously to incorporate the convention on the rights of the child, and follow Holyrood’s example, instead of trying to stymie it. Three little subsections of the Act were ruled incompetent, as they would limit the powers of this Parliament and reserved public authorities to contravene children’s rights. Will the Attorney General explain why her Government fought so hard for the powers to breach children’s rights, and will she ensure that the powers are transferred to Edinburgh to complete the job? In short, let us prioritise children’s rights instead of this Parliament’s rights to trample all over them.
Asylum Seekers: Channel Crossings — House of Commons, 2021-11-18
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: Whether she has had discussions with the Home Secretary on proposals in the Nationality and Borders Bill to intercept small boats and return asylum seekers to France.; What recent discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the Nationality and Borders Bill proposals to intercept small boats and return asylum seekers to France.
Martyn Day (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): There is a duty on ships to rescue persons who are in danger at sea, in both customary international law and in binding international conventions such as the 1974 international convention for the safety of life at sea and the 1982 UN convention on the law of the sea. Given the UK Government’s supposed commitment to an international rules-based system, how does the Minister square that with clearly flouting those rules?
Critical Benchmarks (References and Administrators’ Liability) Bill [Lords] (Allocation of Time) — House of Commons, 2021-11-18
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I do not intend to oppose the motion. As I mentioned earlier, for once the time allocation of six hours is likely to be enough. However, I think the House deserves a better explanation than we got from the Leader of the House about why the Bill has been timetabled in this way. This will only be the fifth time this century that a Thursday has been used to ask the House to approve every single stage of a Bill in its passage through the Commons. The expedited procedure has its uses and there are times when it is entirely appropriate, but it does restrict the ability of MPs to give the Bill proper scrutiny. It should only be used in exceptional circumstances, and this House has the right to be told what those exceptional circumstances are without having to ask The Bill itself is not contentious, but the Minister will be aware—this will no doubt come out in the debate in a few minutes—that, on one specific matter relating to clause 2, there is a difference of opinion as to how best to achieve the objectives of the Bill. I do not know which of the two methods is best, which is why I have not submitted an amendment, but this would be tailor-made for a Public Bill Committee that gave Members a chance to hear from expert witnesses the arguments in favour and against both available methods. We could therefore take an informed decision about what is in the best interests of the financial services industry in these cases and, ultimately, of our constituents We have not been told why we have been asked to forgo the opportunity of a Public Bill Committee. It cannot be because the Bill addresses an urgent and previously unforeseen problem because it has been 10 weeks since the Bill had its First Reading in the House of Lords. It is four years since we first became aware that LIBOR would be phased out and we would have to find a replacement. Can I ask the Minister to explain why there is the urgency now? Why is there not time to timetable a Public Bill Committee and why did the Government not have the courtesy to follow their usual practice of putting an explanation about the urgency of the Bill into the explanatory notes, as they always have done in the past?
Critical Benchmarks (References and Administrators’ Liability) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2021-11-18
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I will not detain the House by repeating my comments on Second Reading. I am grateful to the Minister for his answers to a number of my questions, but one question he did not pick up, and on which I hope he can give some assurance, is what happens if something goes badly wrong with people’s mortgages. The small percentage of people who have mortgages covered by this legislation—although it could potentially be quite a big number of people—are now, through no fault of their own, quite literally staking their home on our getting this right. Although I appreciate that the Minister will not commit to a specific compensation scheme just now, will he at least give an assurance that the Government have not closed the door on that possibility should unforeseen circumstances lead to it being necessary I am also looking for clarity on the precise circumstances in which the administrator does or does not have immunity from legal action. The Minister has said the administrator is covered if it does something the law says it has to do, and it will not be covered if it does something it has chosen to do in a particular way. Does the administrator have discretion on the precise methodology it uses to calculate synthetic LIBOR, and can it exercise its judgment on the numbers it puts into the model? If the administrator has such discretion, nobody needs to sue it for using a synthetic LIBOR model; they can just sue it because of how it has carried out the calculation Given the nature of contracts of the value that the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East (Mr McFadden) mentioned, a slight change in the published rate can mean a lot of money. Every time the published rate is arguably a wee bit higher or a wee bit lower than somebody else thinks it might have been, one party will win and be quite happy, and the other party will lose and will potentially have a strong motivation to resort to legal action. Are administrators adequately covered against being sued simply because they have published a figure that says the current synthetic LIBOR rate is 1.2% rather than 1.25%? Are there grounds on which they might be sued because those 0.05 percentage points of difference in the published synthetic LIBOR rate either make or lose quite a lot of money?
Critical Benchmarks (References and Administrators’ Liability) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2021-11-18
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I wish to reciprocate in my thanks to the Minister for responding with the courtesy and in the spirit of co-operation that we always get from him in these debates. This is becoming more topical just now, but he deserves credit in setting an example that we would all do well to follow. There have probably been very few Bills to come through this House that have involved so much work beforehand to produce a Bill that, in paper terms, does not appear to be particularly significant. I think we understand that its impact can be quite significant—the impact of not doing it could have been very significant. So may I ask the Minister to take the thanks of my group back to his officials and to everybody else who has contributed to the consultation—those in the FCA and the industry representatives—as I know they have put a lot of work into this as well? As I say, it has not produced a huge number of pages or words of legislation, but I believe it has plugged a potentially catastrophic gap in the regulation of our financial services industry, and they deserve our thanks for that Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed, without amendment.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: In 1976, Janet Commins was killed in Flint in my constituency. The wrong person was initially convicted and served a significant prison sentence. In 2016, DNA evidence came to light that finally led to the conviction of Stephen Hough for her death, but on a plea agreement from murder down to manslaughter, for which he received a 12-year sentence. He is due out under the 50% rule in 2023, and Janet’s family are rightly concerned. Can my right hon. Friend confirm what options may be available to stop an early release and ensure that her violent killer is not let back on to Delyn’s streets?; Now then, for far too long foreign dangerous criminals have used the Human Rights Act to avoid deportation. Unlike the Labour party, the vast majority of Ashfield residents want to see dangerous foreign criminals deported as soon as possible. Will my right hon. Friend please advise us on what plans he has to put the rights of UK residents first and those of foreign criminals second?
Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Last week, the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Corby (Tom Pursglove) steadfastly refused to confirm that the UK would remain in the European convention on human rights. This morning, we read that the UK will do so. Can the Secretary of State confirm that we will remain a signatory and will continue to respect the provisions of the ECHR in full?