argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Civil Rights
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman has been here long enough to know that it is not any particular party that chooses the Prime Minister. It is a question whether the Prime Minister enjoys the confidence of the House of Commons. That is the constitutional position. I think that we should stick to the present age limit because we should not set a precedent that might be abused by future Governments. We do not want a pick-and-mix franchise. When referendums are held on issues that would normally be decided by Parliament, it makes sense for us to use the parliamentary franchise rules, while also including Members of the other place who currently cannot vote directly because they have the opportunity to elect a representative here. I shall therefore vote against the amendment, although I have some sympathy for—indeed, I strongly support—the idea of 16-year-olds being able to vote. [Interruption.] The heckling from those who want to deny everyone a vote on this matter is laughable. Last week, they walked through the Lobby to vote against the Bill, apart from one Member who seemed to get a bit lost. This week, they are demanding a vote for everyone who could possibly live here We keep hearing about residency. What about citizens of the United States of America, one of our oldest allies, who are resident in this country? We know the answer: the system is based on citizenship and on the parliamentary franchise, and it is right for it to continue on that basis. I shall vote against the amendment, but I hope that Front Benchers have been listening to the debate, because the amendment has raised a legitimate point. In the not too distant future, we should have a proper debate about our franchise, so that we can deal with some of the numerous anomalies that we have discussed today. We could then set a franchise for the 21st century, and give Members who are in favour of reducing the age to 16 the chance to vote for such a move.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Civil Rights
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very grateful to you, Sir Roger, for squeezing me in towards the end, my having sat here for the past few hours listening to this excellent debate. I am open minded, which is why I have been so delighted to hear the excellent arguments from Members in all parts of the House. I am open minded about the voting age, and I seek to be persuaded by the arguments, but I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Kevin Foster) that listing ages as hooks to hang voting on does not work, because there are so many different ages when one might be seen to be turning into an adult I do, however, find myself influenced by international comparisons. The voting age for national elections in EU countries is 18, except for in Austria, where it was reduced to 16 in 2007. Internationally, there are only seven countries where 16 and 17-years-olds are able to vote, and there are considerably more where voting starts later than 18. We should take international comparisons into account—and it is to "international" that I make that reference.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Other
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): My information has come from the House of Commons Library, so I am sure it is up to date—it goes up to 2013. It does not make reference to Scotland, but it does say that it is international I will not rehearse the arguments—
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Civil Rights
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): If I may, I will make a little more progress. Recent laws have moved more towards having 18 as the start point; I refer not only to smoking, but to the requirement to be in further education. I wish to pick up on the point about the University of Edinburgh study on the participation in the Scottish referendum of 16 and 17-year-olds. That study is persuasive in a way, but it also makes me concerned. If the voting proportions were high for 16 and 17-year-olds and for those above 24, there are younger voters in between who have not been engaged. I am concerned that 16 and 17-year-olds may have been more persuaded by their parents to vote I do not say that in a patronising manner, because I could use myself as an example. At 16, coming from a family of trade unionists and socialists, I dare say I would have been following their lead and voting in that way. Thankfully by 18 I had seen the error of my ways, and I now find myself on the Conservative Benches. That point should be considered, because at 16 people are persuaded by family pressure. It is important that when people vote they do so on the basis of their own views and conscience, which they have developed over the years as they mature.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Civil Rights
Ben Howlett (Conservative, Centre-right): I must declare that I am an advocate of 16-year-olds having the vote. I am slightly surprised that Opposition Members have not decided to use the example of Austria, in that it spent a long time going through a proper process and having a proper debate to decide whether votes at 16 or 17 should be considered. I wish they would look at that example and take it on board before coming before this Committee with more amendments.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Civil Rights
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I will not give way because I believe I must end my speech. Changing the rules on which citizens can vote in the referendum would lead certain electors to accuse the House of taint and of trying to fix the outcome one way or the other. The way to get a successful referendum is to leave it as uncontroversial and to leave the rules on voting in place.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Civil Rights
John David Penrose (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank all Members for yet another constructive, interesting and well-informed debate. Members from all parts of the House have spoken in some depth about the important matter of who can take part in this referendum. Before I discuss the amendments, let me say a few words about why the general principle, which underpins the Bill, sets out the entitlement to vote. I will try to be brisk, because I want to leave a few moments for the SNP Front-Bench team to have a few words at the end.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Civil Rights
John David Penrose (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. It would be lopsided indeed if we were to take a different approach for our nationals than has been done elsewhere in the EU. As I was saying, British citizens were not entitled to vote in the Dutch or French referendums. Finally, switching from the parliamentary to the local elections franchise would block British citizens living abroad from voting at all, because they are not entitled to vote at local elections. The net effect of the amendments would be to deny British citizens living abroad the right to vote on their own country’s future while giving that right to other Europeans who are living here but have chosen not to become citizens. That strikes me as fundamentally unfair and inequitable. I hope that the hon. Members will withdraw their amendments when the time comes We have also heard about the need to give the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds for the first time in a UK-wide poll. There are a number of amendments to that effect, in the names of the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman), the right hon. Member for Gordon and the hon. Member for North East Fife (Stephen Gethins). This is a referendum about an issue of huge national significance, and the starting point for determining who is entitled to vote must therefore be the franchise for parliamentary elections. Members will be aware that the voting age for parliamentary elections is set at 18. The voting age was 18 in the 1975 referendum on EC membership and the 2011 alternative vote referendum Let us not forget, as a number of Members have pointed out, that the voting age in most democracies, including most member states in the EU, is also 18. Only Austria in the EU currently allows voting at 16, although we have heard that Scotland is now heading in that direction, and that it is just hours away from extending its franchise for Holyrood elections as well, as is their devolved and democratic right. I salute its ability to do that Hon. Members have pointed out the precedent of the Scottish independence referendum, which was of course based on the devolved right, as we have heard. It is also right that the decisions about the franchise for elections and referendums that take place throughout the United Kingdom should be taken by this Parliament, in the same way as decisions taken for the franchise for elections to Holyrood are taken by the Holyrood Parliament.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Civil Rights
John David Penrose (Conservative, Centre-right): I refer the hon. Gentleman to the comments made by the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East (Mr McFadden). There is a degree of symmetry here and it would be bizarre indeed, as my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Kevin Foster) pointed out, to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote on an issue of such national importance when they cannot vote on their local council and on who collects the bins. This needs to be done on a broader basis, and I shall come on to that point in a minute Hon. Members have also said that young people are engaged and politically active. That is absolutely true, but it is also true of many 15-year-olds and not of some 50-year-olds. Political engagement is not a strong enough justification in and of itself for giving or denying the vote. Another argument that we have heard is that people can marry or join the Army at 16, and we have heard of a series of other activities that can or cannot be done at 16, 17, 18 or 21. I think the examples given included driving steam tractors. The important point is that in this country we have always viewed attaining adulthood and majority as a process rather than an event. It is not neat—I do not think it can be—and it varies from person to person and by activity to activity. If we want to compare different activities, the list on the parliamentary website that has been mentioned of things that are allowed at 16, 17, 18 or otherwise includes body piercing and having a tattoo at 18. I do not think that those are necessarily fruitful or relevant comparisons. We need to accept adulthood as a process, not an event, and that it is therefore tricky to deal with A number of my colleagues have said that they agree with, or are at least sympathetic to, the principle of votes at 16, but are concerned that it should not be done just for this election. I agree with that point. Many Members, such as my hon. Friends the Members for Warwick and Leamington (Chris White), for Norwich North (Chloe Smith), for Colchester (Will Quince), for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge), for Eastleigh (Mims Davies), for Torbay (Kevin Foster) and for Bath (Ben Howlett), felt the same way and said that this is an important decision that needs to be taken for the franchise as a whole rather than for an individual election. I believe that that is right and I do not believe that this Bill is the right place to make significant changes to the franchise.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stewart Jackson (Conservative, Centre-right): Not for the first time, the hon. Member for Luton North (Kelvin Hopkins) speaks good sense, but I fear that the hon. Gentleman has neglected to answer his point, which is that since the advent of postal votes on demand, there has been no demonstrable increase in voter turnout. Indeed, voter turnout since 1997 generally has gone down. Will he address that point?
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stewart Jackson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am listening carefully to the right hon. Gentleman, but can he confirm that Her Majesty’s Opposition opposed holding the AV referendum in May 2011 on the same day as local authority elections, but that to a certain extent that referendum drove up turnout for those elections, to 42%?
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Civil Rights
Stewart Jackson (Conservative, Centre-right): I have not always been too helpful to my right hon. Friend this week, but I hope to be helpful now. He will have noted that the Opposition spokesman did not address my point that there was a constitutionally significant vote in May 2011—whether or not he agreed with its taking place in the first place—and, at the same time, very important local elections. One did not invalidate the other. Also, in terms of purdah, voters were clear about the issues they were deciding on at the time. He did not address that issue in his remarks.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Roy Lidington (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said earlier, whatever the decision in this House during our progress on the Bill, the House will discuss the timing of the referendum again when the Government table a statutory instrument to designate a date for that.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Civil Rights
David Roy Lidington (Conservative, Centre-right): One thing about the European referendum campaign, which I think the public will expect, is that people from both the hon. Gentleman’s party and mine will be campaigning in both the yes and no camps. Both parties are broad churches and we accept that that is a reality. I do not think the British public are incapable of understanding that the European question is one that cuts across normal party political boundaries I wish to move on to deal with the amendment on electronic voting tabled by the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington. I do not want to cause him too great a shock in saying that I am not wholly unsympathetic to some of the points he makes. I have been to Estonia and talked to Estonian Ministers about what they have put in place, not only on electronic voting, but in delivering almost all interaction between citizen and government through digital means. Given current advances in IT, I can see how e-voting sounds attractive, but we would have to consider a number of issues carefully and thoroughly before this country committed itself to going down that path Most obviously, there are genuine concerns that e-voting is not sufficiently rigorous and could be vulnerable to attack or fraud. The last thing that would serve the interests of Parliament or of democracy in this country would be for us to move swiftly to a system of electronic voting that led to still greater public mistrust in the integrity of our democratic process. Particularly when selecting elected representatives or deciding an issue of national importance in a referendum, it is essential that we have the highest possible security, and I am not convinced that we have the requisite assurance yet. Even in the short exchanges that have taken place on this subject, different views have been expressed about whether or not the pilots in the past have led to a serious increase in turnout. That is another point to be borne in mind.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Other
David Roy Lidington (Conservative, Centre-right): Obviously, what we discuss on Report will be in the hands of Members who table amendments. I have known my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) for many years, and I know that he is ingenious and creative in finding opportunities for parliamentary debate on subjects that are close to his heart.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand the point that the hon. Gentleman makes, and he has done well to draw it to the attention of the House and, no doubt, further afield, but he will appreciate that it is not a matter on which I can rule from the Chair at present. One would hope that a reasoned report of what happens in this Chamber will be disseminated widely throughout the country by many means of communication, not just on social media, and that people will always choose which report they wish to believe.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Lady raises a matter of some concern. If the procedure under which the House is scrutinising that important Bill has not been properly followed, it is indeed a matter of concern. I am quite certain that Mr Speaker will wish to have the procedural elements of the right hon. Lady’s concerns investigated, so I will ensure that such an investigation is undertaken. She has eloquently made clear to the House her concerns, and I am quite sure that those on the Treasury Bench will have taken note of what she has said and that her concerns will be conveyed to the relevant Ministers. If there has been a procedural oversight, one would hope that it will be put right in time.
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Other
Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan (Conservative, Centre-right): Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am grateful to you for undertaking to investigate the procedure. Would it also be possible for the Chair to investigate whether those details could be made available to the Committee, to me and to my constituents prior to the visit at 9.15 on Monday morning?
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the right hon. Lady for that further point. I am quite sure, in undertaking an investigation, that if matters can be put right, they will be. I am quite sure that if they are not put right, the right hon. Lady will inform the House of it next week. We all look forward to seeing progress on the matter.
Recruitment and Retention of Teachers — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Housing
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): Those challenges face young people in London whatever their chosen profession, and that is why we are committed to addressing the housing shortage and building more houses. London is an attractive place for young teachers to teach, and Teach First and other organisations engaged in placing newly qualified or qualifying teachers into schools find London the least problematic place to place trainee teachers Even with generous bursary and scholarship schemes, we know there is still more to do to recruit high-quality mathematics and physics teachers—
Recruitment and Retention of Teachers — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. The Minister cannot give way and the hon. Lady cannot intervene, because it is half an hour after the debate began. I was hoping that the Minister was going to get his last word in, but the hon. Lady intervened, and I am afraid that we have to go straight to the conclusion of proceedings.
Speaker’s Statement — House of Commons, 2015-06-02
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): It is with deep sadness that I must report to the House the death of the former Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, Charles Kennedy Charles represented his constituency, in its various forms, for nearly 32 years. It is, moreover, a matter of record that he led his party, the Liberal Democrats, from 1999 until 2006, achieving the best parliamentary representation of his party in the House of Commons in living memory On a personal note, let me say that I was always grateful to Charles for his support, encouragement and co-operation. I think that I carry the House with me in saying that Charles Kennedy was a principled, progressive and passionate politician, and, very importantly, a proud parliamentarian. In an age of pervasive cynicism about politics and politicians, Charles had that rare and uncanny capacity to cut through to large numbers of voters of all political persuasions and of none, right across the country. He was doubtless assisted in that by his obvious sincerity, his relaxed style, and his geniality. I know that he was widely liked and respected in all parts of the House, and he will be sadly missed. I am sure that the House will want to join me in offering heartfelt condolences to his family and friends It will be appropriate today for there to be very brief references to Charles, but I hope that the House will more widely take my lead when I say that tomorrow, after Prime Minister’s Question Time, there will be a dedicated session of tributes, when people will be able to say what they think, feel and remember about our departed colleague, Charles Kennedy.
Ambulance Waiting Times — House of Commons, 2015-06-02
Topic: Mixed Topics
Anne-Marie Belinda Trevelyan (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Secretary of State consider reviewing the protocol, which is unique to the ambulance service in terms of our emergency services, that breaks cannot be broken into even if there is a category A incident in the area? We had the loss of a young man in Berwick recently; the ambulance which was in post in the ambulance station a mere four minutes down the road was not called and the boy died. That is the cause of enormous distress across the rural areas of Northumberland.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-06-02
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. I remind the House at the start of the Parliament—this might be of particular benefit to new Members—that topical questions are supposed to be significantly shorter than substantive questions: the shorter the better, and the more we will get through.
Health and Social Care — House of Commons, 2015-06-02
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand that geographical isolation is a particular issue and may have led to some of the problems at the trust that the hon. Gentleman and I have discussed on many occasions. We need to be sensitive to that in helping the standard of services to improve going forward.
Health and Social Care — House of Commons, 2015-06-02
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. I am listening intently to the hon. Lady, as always, and as I know the House will be. It is by accident that the clock is not operating as I had intended it to. In short, I had intended the seven-minute limit to apply to the hon. Lady. It would be unfair suddenly to apply it, but she ought to operate according to its spirit, and I know she is approaching what will be a very impressive peroration.
Legal Aid Funding — House of Commons, 2015-02-03
Topic: Other
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): The one thing we can always guarantee at these sessions is to hear a load of nonsense from the hon. Gentleman. I have listened carefully to Labour Members’ arguments over the past few months. They oppose when it is politically convenient to do so, but they have absolutely no idea what they would do in our place—and that is why the electorate are not going to give them the chance.
Nuisance Phone Calls — House of Commons, 2015-02-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Nuttall (Conservative, Centre-right): One of those recommendations is that the Government should introduce new legislation to hold to account directors of companies that blatantly flout the law on making nuisance telephone calls. What progress has the Minister made on implementing that particular recommendation?