argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Defense
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has anticipated a point that I am about to come to, but let me deal with it out of order, as it were, and say that we will be bringing forward legislation to protect serving and former serving personnel. As he will know, the consultation on that matter has just come to an end I have drawn several important points of distinction between this Government and the party led by the Leader of the Opposition, but, for our present purposes, perhaps the most immediate is that we want to get on and deliver Brexit on 31 October whereas he wants to dither and delay. I cannot in all conscience believe that that is the right way forward for this country The right hon. Gentleman recently said that he was "daunted" by the prospect that he might actually become Prime Minister. Well, I have to say that he is not alone in that fear—so are most Opposition Members, judging by their actions, most of the House of Commons, and, indeed, most of the country. I can give him the reassurance —the consolation—that I intend to do everything I can to prevent that from happening I hope very much that, in spite of some of our differences, the right hon. Gentleman will support at least some of the measures in the Gracious Speech. At the heart of the speech is an ambitious programme to unite our country with energy and with optimism, but also with the basic common sense of one nation Conservativism. Contrary to some of the gloomier things that we heard just now, we have unemployment at its lowest level since 1974, we have inward investment at record highs, we have 700,000 fewer children in workless households than there were in 2010, and we are leading the world in so many sectors of 21st-century business and technology. It is because of that economic success, that free market success—and I see the shadow Chancellor recoil at the notion of a free market success like a Transylvanian in the sunlight—that we will look after those who look after us and keep us safe. That is how we will spend another £2.2 billion on the armed services, which brings me to the point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart)—and yes, as I said, we will bring forward legislation to protect our serving men and women I should be very clear about this. The Government understand that no one can escape justice for a crime that they have committed, but we also understand that there should be no unfair prosecution when no new evidence has been produced; and yes, in the same spirit we will protect our brave police—who run towards danger to keep us safe—by putting the police covenant into law and by giving them the political support that they need in order to do their job, even if that means difficult and intrusive procedures like stop and search, because those procedures save lives. As we back our police and insist on serious sentencing for serious crimes—and I think it was the Labour party that instituted automatic early release—this Government, this one nation Government, also insist—
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Health
Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on the work that he has done on the Clean Air Bill, and I was pleased to attend an event he sponsored in the House to sign up to the pledge in The Times on that. I agree with him about how we can protect children, especially around schools, from high pollution. One school in my constituency is planning a protest to stop parents driving their children to school, and that is something that he has campaigned on as well. I appreciate that a lot more work remains to be done I also welcome plans in the Queen’s Speech to update the Mental Health Act, but I hope that it will include measures to ensure that no person can be discharged from residential care without a care plan, as unfortunately I have several such cases in my constituency. It leads to heightened pressure on the families of those suffering from severe poor mental health.
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Health
Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate the hon. Lady on all the work that she does on mental health and the changes that have happened in our time in this place: we have seen some real progress. I recognise the issue of resourcing, but we also need to put the right resources in the right places. I work closely with clinical commissioning groups and other partners in my constituency to ensure that we are getting the right mental health support to those who need it most Unfortunately, there are some real gaps in mental health provision. For example, children under 11 in my area get some really good support, but there is a gap in the support for those aged between 11 and 18, which can be an acute time. Nor do we necessarily have the right mental health support for men who are suffering from poor mental health. We certainly do not have the right level of trained support for those who have been in the armed forces and have a different type of mental health condition that requires specialist care. It is incumbent on all of us to look at the detail of the mental health proposals in the Queen’s Speech and, if required, work cross-party to ensure that we have a significant and good piece of legislation.
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Defense
Tobias Martin Ellwood (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend gives us a teaser of what we can expect her to speak about, which I am very much looking forward to, and I am pleased that she would like to see investment at Boscombe station—[Laughter.] I will now move on from that sensitive but important subject On a more serious note, I make no apology for focusing on international security given our ever greater reliance on the economy, access to global markets, trading alliances and, of course, international peace and security, including the links with our own security environment. The first line of the security and defence review talks about the symbiotic relationship between national security and economic security—we cannot have one without the other—so I welcomed the Prime Minister’s illustrating a desire to continue to play a role in global affairs and to champion global free trade. I certainly welcome the renewed commitment to spending 2% of GDP on defence, but I want to make it clear that I do not believe that is enough The challenges we face are growing and the threats are accumulating. While we can manage and contain the threats today, we face an increasingly dangerous and complex world. We often speak about the erosion of the rules-based order; just look at what happened last week when we saw Turkey breach international law with its military incursion into northern Syria. Let us be honest: a busy, distracted and disunited world is essentially looking the other way. Given the increasingly volatile and changing times, it is a sad testament to the failing international cohesion that once saw the west stand with resolve to defend international norms and values The US is our closest and most critical ally, but we must be strong enough to call it out when errors are made. President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops has triggered a humanitarian crisis and has undone much of the good work to bring stability to the region. The defeat of Daesh has been set back. We have unleashed a chain reaction of events that is seeing instability and humanitarian crisis unfold What message does this send to our competitors and adversaries around the world? Again, I cite the example of China. Twenty years ago, China’s military spending was on a par with ours; today, its defence budget is $250 billion. In our lifetimes, China will spend more on military than the United States does, and it will become bigger economically than the United States. China is watching what is happening. We must see what is happening in the South China sea—China is able to dominate in that arena—and stand together to support the international rules-based order.
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Defense
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend says we aim to spend 2.4% of GDP on R&D. If that is correct, it is an enormous amount of money. To put it in context, it is way more than our defence budget.
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Defense
Alan Mak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. and gallant Friend is right that 2.4% is a huge investment, but it is welcome that the Government are investing so much in this area. I hope the defence budget will increase to the same level.
Battle of Arnhem: 75th Anniversary — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Defense
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. and gallant Gentleman for giving way. He is fully aware, as I am, that five Victoria Crosses were awarded at Arnhem: two to members of the Parachute Regiment, one to a Royal Air Force officer, and two to members of my regiment, the South Staffords. A sixth VC got away. Mike Dauncey’s VC was downgraded by Montgomery because he thought that five was enough for a debacle, which the battle had turned out to be strategically—nothing to do with the courage of those involved, but strategically.
Battle of Arnhem: 75th Anniversary — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Defense
Mark Lancaster (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing us to have this debate this evening I start, of course, by congratulating the hon. and gallant Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis) on securing this debate on the famous Battle of Arnhem as we mark its 75th anniversary this year. As a former paratrooper, his passion for this subject is unsurprising. I know he worked tirelessly to champion those heroes in his own constituency who took part in that brutal conflict. None of us can truly know what it must have been like to have been a British airborne soldier dropping into the danger zone amid a hail of anti-aircraft fire, but the hon. and gallant Gentleman is one of the few Members of this House with the experience to offer us a window into that world. For my own part, having once dropped out of an aircraft—
Battle of Arnhem: 75th Anniversary — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Defense
Mark Lancaster (Conservative, Centre-right): I can only say that I found the whole experience utterly terrifying and vowed never to repeat it. And that was without a single shot being fired at me. I doubt that even the most starry-eyed historian would recall the Battle of Arnhem as an unmitigated success. Indeed, it is a curious quirk of British history that we tend to memorialise our defeats as much as our victories, from the charge of the Light Brigade to Dunkirk. But as we have heard, there are strong reasons why Operation Market Garden merits such an important place in our modern history First and foremost, Arnhem has become a byword for bravery. An extraordinary 59 decorations were handed out to the men who escaped from the carnage, while, as we have heard, five incredible individuals received the Victoria Cross. My hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart) made the point earlier that maybe it should have been six. Among them was Major Robert Henry Cain, from the Isle of Man, who, on more than one occasion, single-handedly faced down enemy tanks, immobilising one vehicle and forcing others into retreat despite sustaining multiple wounds. But, in a battle where conditions were horrendous, where the food first ran out followed swiftly by the ammunition, all were heroes. We can only imagine what it must have been like for men such as Major Tony Hibbert watching in horror as German tanks roamed "up and down the street, firing high explosive into the side of the building, to create the gap, and then firing smoke shells...as the phosphorus from the smoke shells" burnt his comrades out of their positions. Yet still allied fighters persevered. In the words of veteran Tom Hicks—a constituent of the hon. and gallant Member for Barnsley Central and, I am very proud to say, a fellow sapper—they "fought until they had nothing left" We are privileged that some of these hardy souls are still with us today. We should cherish them while we can, just as we should continue paying our respects to all the troops on both sides who fell Next, Arnhem is remembered because of the boldness of the enterprise. This was the largest airborne operation in history, with some 35,000 troops dropped behind enemy lines. Indeed, it was the biggest military operation on Dutch soil in world war two. Yet its ambition was greater still: to use paratroopers and glider-borne infantry to seize a series of nine river and canal crossings between the Dutch-Belgian border at Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem, then to employ allied tanks and troops to secure the great road bridge over the lower Rhine at Arnhem, and from there to drive straight into Germany. That was Field Marshall Montgomery’s plan. Had it worked, Arnhem would have shortened the war.
Battle of Arnhem: 75th Anniversary — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Defense
Jeremy John Elton Lefroy (Conservative, Centre-right): I am most grateful to my right hon. and gallant Friend. Does he agree that what is even more remarkable is that for many of the units—I include 2nd battalion South Staffordshire—this came after they had been involved in the invasion of Sicily and Italy? Now they were involved in this tremendous operation. Many of these people had seen action almost continuously for several years.
Battle of Arnhem: 75th Anniversary — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Defense
Mark Lancaster (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes the very powerful point that for many this was not a one-off operation, but the culmination of what had been an incredibly long and tough war. By the standards of today we can only begin to think about the mental impact on so many of those who had served for such a long period of time. We deal with exactly the same mental health issues today, but I hope we are in a much better position to be able to support our veterans today Even though Operation Market Garden proved a "bridge too far", there is a third reason why it has passed into legend: it earned the UK the admiration of its allies. It set the stage for an unparalleled example of international partnerships as British forces worked hand in glove with their Polish and US counterparts. I absolutely agree with the hon. Member for Ealing North (Stephen Pound) about highlighting the role that the Polish armed forces played in this operation. Even today, as we continue to have a UK battle group as part of the enhanced forward presence in Poland, that relationship continues Eisenhower wrote: "In this war there has been no single performance by any unit that has more greatly inspired me or more highly excited my admiration, than the nine days action of your division between 17 and 26 September" The hon. and gallant Member for Barnsley Central also highlighted the most poignant legacy of the friendships forged during those times. That can be found in the Netherlands, where local "flower children" gather each year, laying bouquets of flowers at more than 1,500 graves at Oosterbeek cemetery. He did not say, however, that in 1969, 25 years after Arnhem, some suggested that the ceremony should be cancelled. So vociferously was the proposal rejected that it continues unabated today.
Battle of Arnhem: 75th Anniversary — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Defense
Mark Lancaster (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. and gallant Friend makes an incredibly important point. Indeed, this is about the contribution of so many who were involved in that operation on that day, both military and civilian, and because of that partnership we see that relationship continue today, as we have highlighted Despite the appalling deprivations suffered during that battle and after, the Dutch continue to see those British personnel as their liberators. They still talk in the Netherlands of the "Arnhem spirit". It is no wonder that in the midst of last month’s commemorations, citizens from across the Netherlands made a pilgrimage to Arnhem and swelled the city centre Given the significance of Operation Market Garden, it was only right that the British Army played a prominent part in working with Dutch municipalities to mark the offensive, whether that was at Oosterbeek war cemetery, Ginkel Heath, one of the drop zones used during Operation Market Garden, or at the Airborneplein monument, where the 2nd Parachute Battalion held firm for three days and four nights, isolated and alone, under incessant enemy attack. Among the many highlights was a parachute drop performed in the presence of the Prince of Wales, featuring 1,500 British, Dutch, French, Belgian, German, Italian, Polish and US paratroopers. Among those descending into the drop zone, in tandem with a Red Devil, was Aberdeen’s Sandy Cortmann, just 75 years after his original descent, at a mere 97 years young—a testament to the boundless drive and energy of that remarkable wartime generation Yet this was not just an exercise in nostalgia. The descent was also the culmination of Exercise Falcon Leap, hosted by the Royal Netherlands Army, to train NATO airborne forces in planning and executing an airborne operation together. Many of the paratroopers used another country’s equipment and aircraft to earn that nation’s parachute wings. Significantly, the Royal Netherlands Army is part of our Joint Expeditionary Force of like-minded nations. Our historical closeness is strengthened by modern ties, proving in a more dangerous world that Britain will have the skills and the allies that give us the edge over our adversaries.
Battle of Arnhem: 75th Anniversary — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Defense
Mark Lancaster (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend makes the point more powerfully than I could. He is right that it is those relationships that have been among the enduring benefits of what happened 75 years ago. There is no shame in welling up at these events. Indeed, it is important that we do, as it shows just how much we care and how big an impact those events continue to have on us Historians still debate the merits of Market Garden. Monty believed the operation was 90% successful. But even if his is an optimistic take, there is little doubt that the Battle of Arnhem signalled a turning point. It was the Nazis’ last roll of the dice. It drove a wedge into their positions, tied up their supply chains and stopped them counter-attacking. Thereafter they lost every battle they fought against the British, American and Canadian Armies Arnhem has rightly become a symbol of British bravery, boldness and partnership. The famous bridge is now named after John Frost, the legendary commander of the 2nd Parachute Battalion. The title of the famous film that told the tale of those events, "A Bridge Too Far", has passed into the lexicon. Above all, the deeds of the previous generation continue to inspire our present brave forces to even greater heights as they defend our interests across the world. Monty famously said: "In years to come it will be a great thing for a man to be able to say, ‘I fought at Arnhem’." History has proved his spinetingling words correct. But, as those nine days in September retreat further into the annals of history, the responsibility on all of us here today grows—a responsibility to keep telling their stories and to keep the "Arnhem spirit" alive far into the future Question put and agreed to.
Suffrage Centenary Fund — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Culture
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): The Works of Art Committee is a very important Committee. I have a feeling that the hon. Member for Livingston (Hannah Bardell) is going to beetle her way towards it and pitch in person. I am sure that the Committee looks forward to that prospect with eager anticipation.
Defence — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Defense
Julian Murray Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman will probably be astonished to learn that the National Security Adviser—Sir Mark Sedwill, as he now is—wrote to me on 23 October and said: "Because the main decisions on Defence were taken during the" 2015 "SDSR, this review is not defence-focused. Defence capability is one of several projects within the review." We are therefore finding difficulty in bringing the National Security Adviser to the Defence Committee because he says that the review is not defence-focused. Yet the first thing we will know about the review is when we are told what major defence capabilities are going to be cut.
Defence — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Defense
James Whiteside Gray (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on this debate and on his speech, with every single word of which the whole House would agree. We also could not possibly disagree with the motion, with one exception. It is exceptionally disappointing that he calls for defence expenditure to be maintained "at current levels". Actually, defence expenditure should be increased quite substantially, and that is the thrust of his speech, so he has got the wording of the motion slightly wrong.
Defence — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Defense
Julian Murray Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): That is absolutely right. It is a measure of how far downwards our expectations were managed during the reductions in percentage GDP spent on defence under the Blair Government and the Cameron coalition Government, that it was regarded as a cause for triumph and congratulation when it was finally confirmed that we would not be dropping expenditure below 2%. The matter had never been questioned at all prior to that period.
Defence — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Defense
Mark Gino Francois (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way, and it is a pleasure to serve under his stout chairmanship of the Defence Committee—[Interruption.] I mean stout in personality terms In some ways, the situation is even more challenging than the one my right hon. Friend lays out. He has rightly given the figures in terms of GDP, but in recent years—as we heard in testimony from the permanent under-secretary—in almost every strategic defence and security review and comprehensive spending review, the MOD has had to sign up to additional sets of efficiency savings, now totalling some £30 billion over time. Not only does the MOD have a constricted budget, it has had to find those efficiency savings as well, which makes the situation even more challenging.
Defence — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Defense
James Whiteside Gray (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is making an extremely important point about the whole structure of decision making within the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence. Does he agree that he has not yet mentioned a very important element in that, namely Ministers? He has not yet discussed Ministers’ role in considering the strategy of the nation. Is it not particularly interesting that when Sir Mark Sedwill appeared before the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy the other day, he let us know that the review that is currently being undertaken by his Department was commissioned during the general election campaign, when presumably Ministers had their minds on something else? I would be interested to know exactly who it was who commissioned the strategy at that particular time.