argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Mixed Topics
Seema Malhotra-Saluja (Labour, Centre-left): Does my right hon. Friend agree that the challenges of rising child poverty, compounded by the mental health issues that young people face and rising special educational needs not being met due to our education system lacking the resources it needs, are contributing to the next generation growing up in despair, for which the country will pay the price for generations to come?
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. We have almost a lost generation. Children are going to understaffed schools with very few teaching assistants, where headteachers are going to parents with a begging bowl to try to match school budgets, and too many young people are growing up in bad housing, with incredible levels of stress and worry about the future. That contributes to the mental health crisis that this country as a whole must address Will the Prime Minister match Labour’s commitments to scrap the benefit freeze, end the benefit cap, ditch the bedroom tax, scrap the two-child limit and the disgusting rape clause, and end punitive sanctions in the benefit system? While we welcome the legislation to ensure that employers pass on tips to their workers—something that the Labour and trade union movement has long campaigned for—the Government must go further, and I urge them to listen to the package of measures set out by my hon. Friend the Member for North West Durham (Laura Pidcock) in her brilliant speech at the TUC last month. This Queen’s Speech was supposed to herald an end to austerity and a new vision. Instead, it barely begins to unpick the devastating cuts to public services.
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Civil Rights
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way on that point. Does he agree with me that the decision to require voters to have photo ID at the ballot box is clearly an attempt by the Conservative party to suppress voting, and is designed deliberately to hit the poorest hardest?
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Civil Rights
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): There is no question. My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This legislation is designed to hit the poorest the hardest: those who do not have passports or access to other forms of identity, and who will thus lose their right to vote and decide who governs in the future. [Interruption.]
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): Freedom of movement has given opportunities to millions of British people to live, work and retire across Europe. It has benefited our economy immensely, with European Union workers playing a key role in sustaining many of our industries and public services. No responsible Member would vote to rip that up, unless there is a proper plan in place. In the shadow of the Windrush scandal, the settled status scheme for European Union citizens risks another round of wrongful denial of rights and shameful deportations. I look forward to the Prime Minister assuring those European Union citizens, who have made such an enormous contribution to our lives and our society, that they will have a secure future in this country The Government say that they will be at the forefront of solving the most complex international security issues and global challenges, yet they are playing precisely no role in stopping the horrors unfolding in the Kurdish areas of northern Syria, ending the war and humanitarian crisis in Yemen, or standing up for the rights of the Rohingya, the Uighurs, or the people of Palestine, Ecuador or Hong Kong. They are continuing to cosy up to Donald Trump, and sitting idly by as he wrecks the world’s efforts to tackle climate change and nuclear proliferation As the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) said in an intervention, the crisis of our age is the climate emergency as declared by this House in May, but there is no action announced in the Queen’s Speech. I pay tribute to the climate school strikers and to Extinction Rebellion. Sadly, the Government have not listened. The Prime Minister derided them as "nose-ringed…crusties", although I note that their number included a Conservative former Member of the European Parliament, who I believe is related to the Prime Minister. So many people are concerned about bad air quality, the failure to invest in renewable energy, the pollution of our rivers and seas, and the loss of biodiversity. Only this Government have the power and resource to tackle the climate emergency if they wanted to, but they are missing with inaction. It is Labour that will bring forward a green new deal to tackle the climate emergency The legislative programme is a propaganda exercise that the Government cannot disguise. This Government have failed on Brexit for over three years. They are barely beginning to undo the damage of a decade of cuts to our public services. It does nothing for people struggling to make ends meet. It does nothing to make our world a safer place or tackle the climate emergency. The Prime Minister promised that this Queen’s Speech would dazzle us. On closer inspection, it is nothing more than fool’s gold.
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Christian John Patrick Matheson (Labour, Centre-left): I am most grateful to the Prime Minister for giving way. I am listening to his exposition on the merits of free market capitalism. When was the transition to that position from his previous position, which was, "F*** business"?
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Other
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): Order. This is obviously a magnificent debate, and I do not want to place any undue stress on colleagues, but there are still 14 Members wishing to speak. If colleagues speak for more than 15 minutes, it may put a bit of pressure on others later.
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Matthew Raymond Western (Labour, Centre-left): The right hon. Lady is making a powerful speech. She talks about prosperity. Does she agree that one of the great challenges and threats to us presently is the uncertainty being faced by small businesses? I am not talking purely about the uncertainty of Brexit, although that is a huge factor. We see declining consumer confidence and growing threats from the likes of the China-US trade war, which is having a wider impact on our economy. We should be doing more for small and medium-sized businesses, but there was nothing, was there?
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Mixed Topics
Judith Mary Cummins (Labour, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention—I think! I will continue with my speech I urge the Government to go ahead with HS2 east at the same time as HS2 west. On Northern Powerhouse Rail, I must stress once again the vital importance of a city centre stop in Bradford. It would be an historic mistake to build an out-of-town station, which would risk denying the full benefits of NPR to the people of Bradford. I also say to the Government: make the funding available to bring this transformational project about, sooner rather than later. The people of the north have waited for too long for proper east-west rail connections, and they should not be made to wait for another generation Turning to the outstanding work taking place locally in Bradford to improve access to skilled jobs and training, I pay tribute once again to the Bradford manufacturing week, whose launch I had the pleasure of attending last week in my constituency. This year’s event is twice the size of last year’s, with more than 40 secondary schools taking part and more than 6,000 manufacturing experiences delivered to local young people right across Bradford. Bradford and the north more generally have a great opportunity to lead a Bradford manufacturing renaissance, but we need the Government to listen to areas such as ours and to give us a skills system that is fully funded and that responds to local priorities. That is the way to provide prosperity to places such as my constituency of Bradford South It has become something of a cliché to talk about a divided nation, and it is certainly true that Brexit reveals some of the deep fault lines in our society. I firmly believe that we need national effort to reduce inequalities and to give everyone, whatever their background and wherever they live, the tools and opportunities they need to succeed. The Government must ensure that every part of our country gets its fair share of funding. For too long, the north of England has been held back by a failure of Government policy. Northerners will not stand by and let that happen any more. Invest in our infrastructure, properly fund our public services, and give us the tools to create a successful economy. That is what the north demands.
Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2019-10-14
Topic: Housing
Matthew Raymond Western (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is making some powerful points. I believe he is alluding to the fact that this Queen’s Speech seemed almost tokenistic, in that it was almost like a shopping list of ambitions and touchpoints of things that the Government and Prime Minister felt to be important. How can there have been no mention of something as crucial to what is needed out there as housing, given that we have homelessness and rough sleeping at record levels, with people desperate and dying on the streets?
Export Strategy — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Clive Anthony Lewis (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State and his Department have made great play of promoting great British brands. Does the Minister agree that Colman’s of Norwich is best served by keeping production and the brand in Norwich, and will he join me in urging Unilever to do just that?
Women’s Refuges — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Carolyn Harris (Labour, Centre-left): The proposed changes to housing benefit will leave refuges in a vulnerable position, and the already underfunded specialist refuges will be most affected. If the Government are serious about protecting women victims of female genital mutilation, domestic violence, forced marriage and trafficking, they have to put more money into specialist services. What commitment will they make to looking seriously at increasing funding for specialist refuges?
Budget Gender Impact Analysis — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Dawn Petula Butler (Labour, Centre-left): I finally received a letter from the Government Equalities Office in regards to an equality impact assessment. If, as the Minister has just stated, the impact assessment was carried out, it would have shown that 86% of the Government cuts would have fallen on women. Why then did the Government continue with these damaging policies?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Dawn Petula Butler (Labour, Centre-left): I, too, welcome the additional burden put on the Minister in her new role, and thank the former Minister for her work. On 26 August 2016, the Prime Minister began her PR exercise on the race disparity audit. On 10 October 2017, the Government released the data. This week, as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for governance and inclusive leadership, I launched the Investing in Ethnicity and Race in the Workplace maturity matrix, a free resource for businesses. Will the Minister explain what steps the Government have taken to act on the findings of the race disparity audit?
Defence — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Other
John Woodcock (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the hon. Gentleman, but that is demonstrably not true. Had he been with me during the many circular arguments within the Labour party over the last seven years, rather than having just popped up as a Conservative MP this time, he might know better. Will he correct the record please?
Defence — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Other
John Woodcock (Labour, Centre-left): I suspect you may agree, although you would never be ungracious enough to say it, Madam Deputy Speaker, that sometimes debates in this place can go on a bit. But we have heard a genuinely informative and at times inspiring series of contributions today, and it has been a pleasure to sit through and listen to the debate, almost in its entirety. I, like perhaps one or two others, may not have the privilege of winding up a debate any time soon from the Front Bench, so it is a privilege to be the last speaker from the Back Benches in this debate.
Defence — House of Commons, 2018-01-11
Topic: Other
John Woodcock (Labour, Centre-left): It is, absolutely. I suppose it remains to be seen whether the tactics he has so far adopted continue and are effective. We will be as supportive as we can in ensuring that that is the case. I wish that the Secretary of State were here so that I could say this to him in person. I do not know what his other commitment is, but this has been a really important debate with many important contributions, and he would do well to listen to what has been said this afternoon by colleagues on both sides of the House.
Human Rights — House of Commons, 2018-01-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Gerald Jones (Labour, Centre-left): In Egypt, the treatment of the LGBT community continues to deteriorate, but I understand that lawmakers in the Egyptian Parliament are now considering a Bill to punish same-sex relationships with a maximum 10-year prison sentence. What representations have the Minister or the Foreign Secretary made to President Sisi about these alarming developments?
Human Rights — House of Commons, 2018-01-09
Topic: Immigration
Sarah Ann Jones (Labour, Centre-left): We saw again this weekend the perils of the sea crossing from Libya to Europe. Migrants in Libya are also in danger. Amnesty says that 20,000 people are being held in detention centres, subject to torture, forced labour, extortion and unlawful killings. What are the Government doing to put pressure on the European and Libyan authorities to allow NGO rescue ships access to Libyan waters and ensure that people are not trapped in that country and refugees are able to exercise their right to asylum?
Armed Conflicts: Heritage, Minorities and Human Rights — House of Commons, 2018-01-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Nicholas Desmond John Smith (Labour, Centre-left): We rightly focus much attention on the persecution of Christians in the middle east, but will the Minister assure us that he will raise with his counterparts in African nations such as Nigeria and Kenya the persecution of Christians in those countries, which is on an even larger scale?
Armed Conflicts: Heritage, Minorities and Human Rights — House of Commons, 2018-01-09
Topic: Immigration
Questions: As the Minister’s remit covers Asia, may I ask how he is addressing a very serious issue? The Bangladesh and Myanmar authorities are pressing forward with plans to repatriate the displaced Rohingya population despite the evidence that most Rohingya are concerned about further persecution. What is the Government’s position on the repatriation of Rohingya to Rakhine state in those circumstances?
Helen Catherine Goodman (Labour, Centre-left): As the Minister has acknowledged, the terrible human rights abuses of the Rohingya refugees are continuing. He knows that the Myanmar Government have banned the special rapporteur and that the fact-finding mission is impossible. He has said previously that any return of refugees must be "safe, voluntary and dignified". Does he think there is any action that the British Government can take to prevent the return of the refugees until those conditions are fulfilled?
BBC Pay — House of Commons, 2018-01-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Tom Watson (Labour, Centre-left): Happy new year, Mr Speaker. May I start by offering my congratulations to the outgoing Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Karen Bradley), on her new role? I also congratulate the new Secretary of State, who, unlike Carrie Gracie, has not turned down a £45,000 pay rise this week. He tweeted yesterday about how humble he was—something he has become well known for in recent years—but I know how important this promotion will be for his fragile self-esteem We still live in a society in which confident men who believe in their own self-worth tend to rise to the top, or stay in position despite failure after failure, while talented women are more easily undervalued or forced out—but enough about the Prime Minister’s reshuffle. Carrie Gracie’s resignation as the BBC’s China editor highlights the issue of unequal pay in the BBC, in broadcasting and in society more generally, and we all have a role to play in stamping that out. Lord Hall said last year that he is determined to close the gender pay gap at the BBC, but this story shows that there is still a very long way to go Carrie Gracie says in her public letter that she told her bosses when she took the job of China editor that she expected pay equality with her male peers and that she believed she had secured it. Does the Secretary of State believe that the corporation is, as Carrie says, in breach of equality legislation? How can employees of less transparent media companies know whether their employers are complying with equality law? The BBC is accountable to the public and we know more about the pay gap there than we do about the pay gap in other organisations. Is the Secretary of State confident that female staff in other broadcasters and media companies are paid as highly as their male colleagues? Will he call them in to encourage them to be as transparent as the BBC? What will he do to ensure that this story is used not just to criticise our national broadcaster, as other media organisations might wish, but to highlight pay inequality across the board? The people involved in this story are at the top of their profession and earn significant sums, but we need to be at least as concerned about pay equality and fair pay for BBC employees and contractors on the lowest pay, some of whom are on as little as £16,000 a year. What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that low-paid workers are not forgotten? Will he ensure that those paid by independent production companies or through BBC Studios are not exempt from pay transparency? Does he agree, finally, that when it comes to unequal pay, we all have to say, "Time’s up."?
BBC Pay — House of Commons, 2018-01-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Harriet Ruth Harman (Labour, Centre-left): What we should be doing today is thanking Carrie Gracie for the principled stand that she has taken. She has done this on behalf of not just women in the BBC or in broadcasting, but women throughout the country who suffer pay discrimination. As a broadcaster and a journalist, she is exceptional, but as a woman facing entrenched pay discrimination, I am afraid she is the norm When it comes to transparency and the requirement under the Equality Act 2010 to publish the pay gap, the Secretary of State rightly says that it is for the regulator, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, to police and monitor the position to ensure that companies publish and set targets for closing the gap. To ensure that the Government can carry out the important task of remedying this discrimination, will he commit them to redressing the cuts of up to 70% that have fallen on the Equality and Human Rights Commission? This is a pivotal moment. We need the commission to be able to do its job, and it needs funds so that it is able to ensure that we right this wrong.
BBC Pay — House of Commons, 2018-01-09
Topic: Mixed Topics
Yvette Cooper (Labour, Centre-left): Like the Secretary of State and his predecessor, both of whom I congratulate, I love the BBC. I also stand with Carrie Gracie, as I think most people across the country will, on equal pay. She says in her letter that "the BBC often settles cases out of court and demands non-disclosure agreements, a habit unworthy of an organisation committed to truth" That issue applies not just to the BBC, but to other broadcasters and companies right across the country. If we are trying to get transparency in equal pay, does the Secretary of State think it is a serious problem if so many employers pursue non-disclosure agreements when it comes to pay claims?
BBC Pay — House of Commons, 2018-01-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Stella Judith Creasy (Labour, Centre-left): I join others in welcoming the new Secretary of State. I appreciate that today is only his first or second day in office, but as he goes through his brief he will realise that, thanks to the agreement between the Secretary of State and the BBC, he has the power to give a direction to the BBC about equality of opportunity. Will he use that power to ensure that every member of staff at the BBC—male or female—is able to exercise freedom of expression at work, and protect their right to speak out as the best way to get transparency?
BBC Pay — House of Commons, 2018-01-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Jessica Rose Phillips (Labour, Centre-left): I am both right and honourable on this matter, which not everyone can say. The point about it being a problem at the BBC is writ large in the debate today. My inbox is full of emails from women having to sign non-disclosure agreements for all sorts of reasons, equal pay among them, so we must be careful that we do not bash the BBC unnecessarily. However, Evan Davis talked about this while presenting "Newsnight" last night, after going on Twitter and giving his very clear opinion, which was neither right nor honourable. Why has he not been silenced when women who have spoken up as part of the campaign group have been taken off the air? What will the Secretary of State do in his brand new shiny role to make sure that women are not being silenced on this issue at work? Will he send a message to all the women who have emailed me—the ordinary women of the UK—that in the first equal pay issue seen under the new legislation, we will not allow them to be silenced, and we will not send the message that, "If you speak up, you’re out."?
BBC Pay — House of Commons, 2018-01-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Sarah Deborah Champion (Labour, Centre-left): This urgent question plus the gender pay gap figures released at the weekend show that gender assumptions across the UK are still pervasive—assumptions about what a woman is worth, what her potential is and what she can aspire to. What will the Minister do in his new role to tackle those assumptions?
BBC Pay — House of Commons, 2018-01-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Lucy Maria Powell (Labour, Centre-left): Further to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Jess Phillips), will the Secretary of State now very clearly join us in saying that it is not acceptable that women who speak out on these issues are now facing barriers at work and questions about whether they can carry out their duties and whether or not they will progress in their careers? A very clear message needs to come from this place that that is not acceptable.
BBC Pay — House of Commons, 2018-01-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Joanna Meriel Stevens (Labour, Centre-left): May I take the Secretary of State back to the role and capacity of the Equality and Human Rights Commission? Not only has its funding just been cut, but it is running short of board members because a number of experienced candidates who have been on the board have been vetoed for reappointment as a result of Cabinet Office decisions. What is he doing to talk to his colleagues in the Cabinet Office to ensure that people such as Sarah Veale, former head of equalities at the TUC, are not vetoed for appointment, so we can have expertise such as hers on the board?