argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Domestic Abuse — House of Commons, 2019-05-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I welcome today’s announcement and I am grateful for prior sight of the statement. The announcement refers to England only, although the Government’s draft domestic abuse Bill applies to England and Wales, with some UK-wide aspects. Will the Secretary of State confirm that extra funding will be made available to the Welsh Government to support safe accommodation for victims and children fleeing violent homes in Wales?
National Security Council Leak — House of Commons, 2019-05-02
Topic: Mixed Topics
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The events of the past week have brought into sharp relief both the importance of handling such sensitive information responsibly and the perception that that is undertaken securely. With that in mind, will the Minister reassure me that if the Government had concerns that the Official Secrets Act may have been broken, the matter would be referred to the relevant authorities?
Revoking Article 50: Voter Confidence — House of Commons, 2019-05-16
Topic: Civil Rights
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Will not the biggest danger to confidence in democracy come when the promised sunlit uplands fail to materialise? Is not the only way out of this mess to go back to the people and ask them to exercise their democratic choice?
Speaker’s Statement — House of Commons, 2019-03-18
Topic: Other
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Is there any definition, in terms of precedent, of the meaning of the term "substantial change"? If there is not, can you confirm that that does not preclude you from making a novel decision?
Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme — House of Commons, 2019-06-10
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): My hon. Friend makes a vital point. I suppose my question for the British Government this evening is this. If they are so confident of their case, what do they have to lose by agreeing to an independent review The 50:50 surplus arrangement has served the British Government extremely well. As we have heard, it was negotiated during the privatisation of the industry in 1994 by the then Conservative UK Government. There was a review by the Labour Government in 2003, but they decided against any adjustments. The Treasury argued that the guarantee arrangement enables the trustees of the scheme to authorise riskier investment strategies, enabling greater returns for the mineworkers’ pension scheme which are then passed on to pensioners, as well as, of course, to the Treasury. Nobody is disputing the importance of the guarantee or the logic of that argument. The question at hand is whether the British Government should be receiving such enormous sums for their role as the guarantor. Considering the secure nature of the MPS, it seems clear to me that the British Government cannot justify their current claim on the generated surpluses I have to tell those on the Treasury Front Bench that the general feeling out there in mining communities is that this is the latest in a long line of injustices perpetrated by the British Government on the miners, their families and the coalfield communities. About 22,000 people in Wales are affected by this scandal. I was so proud to present the petition calling for an urgent review to Downing Street in March. If the Minister values the hard work of the miners who endured in terrible conditions and their invaluable role in shaping the coalfield communities we live in today, and considering the length of time since the last review, the British Government should accept the motion.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2019-03-20
Topic: Other
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Can you inform me of how I might best do my duty? As leader of the Plaid Cymru parliamentary group, I have been invited to No. 10 at 6.15 pm, but I have also been invited to a meeting, at between 6 pm and 7 pm, with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. The meetings clash, and I seek your advice on how best to proceed.
British Steel: EU Emissions Trading Compliance — House of Commons, 2019-05-01
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): To what degree does the Secretary of State agree with the assessment in the Financial Times on 16 April that this situation could have been avoided had the company not sold surplus allowances from previous years, and therefore that this situation is a result of management failure by the private equity firm that owns British Steel for which the public are now expected to pay?
Election of Speaker — House of Commons, 2019-12-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch yn fawr, Mr Darpar-Lefarydd, a llongyfarchiadau i chi yn eich parchus, arswydus swydd newydd. Thank you, Mr Speaker-Elect, and congratulations to you on your respected, sublime new role. I and many people here were present on 22 March 2017, and there is no doubt in my mind that the leadership and care that you showed us on that day have inevitably given us the faith to return you with pleasure today. Of course, we sympathise with all the victims of terrorist attacks in the intervening time Let me take the opportunity to call on you, Mr Speaker-Elect, to work with the Llywydd in our Senedd in Wales, the Presiding Officer in the Scottish Parliament and the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly in the spirit of equality and mutual respect. I call on you also to continue to develop the principles of equality, including equality of voice and equality of opportunity, much of which was upheld in the Speaker’s intern scheme, an excellent scheme that has brought people into this place who would not otherwise have had the opportunity I close by saying that all Members here were returned in exactly the same way: by their—our—constituents. Those constituents all stand equal, regardless of whether their MP is a member of the Government or the Opposition; of a large party or a small party; or, indeed, the single representative here. All those constituents are equal and they deserve respect. I have every confidence, Mr Speaker-Elect, that you will ensure that their representatives here will have that equality of voice so that they can best represent their constituents.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2019-09-09
Topic: Other
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am very saddened, on behalf of Plaid Cymru, to make this address to you today. We are eternally grateful to you for making a point of ensuring that the various and multifarious voices of this House are heard. There is such a variety, and earlier you mentioned the importance of Members of Parliament and their role. We need to remember in this place that every Member of Parliament is returned in exactly the same way by their constituents. Whichever party we stand and speak for, we are all here equally. I only hope that your successor will follow in your footsteps, because it has meant much to us. Rydan ni’n ddiolchgar i chi o waelod ein calonnau. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019 (Rule of Law) — House of Commons, 2019-09-09
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Does my right hon. Friend agree with whoever was responsible for writing a front-page article in The Spectator in 2004 —at which time the present Prime Minister was the editor—that said "impeachment remains part of parliamentary law, a recourse for desperate times." Are these not desperate times?
Early Parliamentary General Election (No. 2) — House of Commons, 2019-09-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. We now face 34 days during which all the checks, balances and gears of parliamentary democracy have been deliberately stalled while the Government teeter between avoiding and evading the law. This is neither normal nor honourable We desperately need a new politics of citizens’ conventions in every nation and of truth and conciliation in an informed referendum, with article 50 revoked, if necessary, to allow that to happen. In all honesty I know I cannot ask you to resolve this, but I think the time is fast approaching when you will have to do exactly that.
Shared Rural Network — House of Commons, 2019-10-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): A shared rural network is to be welcomed, as it could vastly improve coverage in Ceredigion. The Secretary of State will appreciate that rural communities will be eager to see swift progress on this proposal, so could she clarify whether recently constructed Home Office masts, in addition to any future emergency services network infrastructure, will be made available to this end where appropriate?
Domestic Abuse Bill — House of Commons, 2019-10-02
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The Secretary of State will recognise that there is an interesting situation between England and Wales. This legislation will apply to England and Wales, but Wales has its own legislature and legislated in this area in 2015. Will he make a commitment to me that Wales will be properly represented on all the scrutiny and advisory boards affected by the Bill, including the answerability of the commissioner for domestic abuse?
Prime Minister's Update — House of Commons, 2019-09-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): May I congratulate Opposition leaders on their resilience and resoluteness of intent in the face of the Prime Minister’s incontinent goading? This Government will abide by legislation to extend article 50 unless this House decides otherwise The Supreme Court decided that the Prime Minister did not prorogue this place in order to deliver a Queen’s Speech but to stymie parliamentary debate. I would not presume to impugn the honour of the Prime Minister, but the Supreme Court clearly does not believe his motives to be—how can I put this?—legitimate In 2004 the Prime Minister, who was then the Member of Parliament for Henley—
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2019-07-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. From documents lodged in a Barcelona tribunal by the Spanish Government, it appears that Members of this House from the Conservative party, the Scottish National party and Plaid Cymru have been the subject of covert surveillance by agents of that Government in respect of their activities as members of the all-party parliamentary group on Catalonia Reference is made to meetings of the APPG, including one addressed by Josep Costa, the Deputy Speaker of the Catalan Parliament, who on that occasion also met the Chairman of Ways and Means. The APPG meeting was a public event and there was no need for participants, even those from the Spanish Government, to hide their identities. Reference is also made to Elin Jones, Llywydd of the Welsh Assembly, to the First Minister of Scotland, and to many others, including our own Speaker, who, in responding to my point of order on 13 February about the imprisonment of Carme Forcadal, the Speaker of the Catalan Parliament, gave me a very favourable response The reference in the document is summed up by the headline this morning, "El speaker no es imparcial". That was the Spanish Government’s opinion of our Speaker. For today, however, I seek your support, Madam Deputy Speaker, in confirming that the principles of openness and free debate are the bedrock of the workings of our House and its APPGs, and that "spying" by a supposedly friendly country—for that is what this is—has no place here.
20 Years of Devolution — House of Commons, 2019-07-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Will the hon. Gentleman clear up some confusion? He is referring to the Welsh Assembly as achieving or not achieving those aims, but clearly they are matters for the Welsh Government, who have been Labour since the inception of the Assembly.
Withdrawal Agreement — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Evidently the Prime Minister has a kennel of little pet dogs. As this place descends into further chaos, when the Senedd is recalled early tomorrow, Plaid Cymru will be calling for a Welsh national constitutional convention, to look at the options for Wales’s constitutional future. Can the Secretary of State confirm whether his party will get behind this national conversation, or will his seniors—the Minister for the Union and his advisers—stifle every attempt at our nation’s democracy?
European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Public Lands
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am grateful to the right hon. and learned Gentleman for giving way. On Yellowhammer, the Welsh Government have been provided with a copy of the original document. Will he call on his colleagues to publish it?
Imprisonment of Catalan Leaders — House of Commons, 2019-10-15
Topic: Civil Rights
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The Minister is at pains to justify the Spanish judicial process, which is interesting when we recall that only last month, the Supreme Court found his Prime Minister to have acted unlawfully. Does he propose that the Spanish rule of law is proportionate, when Speaker Forcadell has been sentenced to 11 and a half years in prison for permitting debate? Does he believe that that is proportionate?
UK Shared Prosperity Fund — House of Commons, 2019-09-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The hon. Gentleman may be right, but I would like some confirmation of that, and certainly more information than "the immediate future" because we are looking beyond 2021. There are projects whose timescales demand that. In fact, there are projects in my community that require funding for many years into the future, including projects at Bangor University What is also extremely unclear, to me at least—perhaps the Minister can enlighten us—is the criteria for the allocation of money under the shared prosperity fund. I would argue for allocation on the basis of need. We will not accept the milking of funds that would otherwise have gone to Wales to fund projects elsewhere. That is certainly a fear. For example, Welsh farming might proportionately get considerably less money than one would expect if the criteria were based on, say, per head funding.
UK Shared Prosperity Fund — House of Commons, 2019-09-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. I raised it with the then Minister over two years ago and was given a verbal assurance that that would not be the case. Were we to use the Barnett formula, funding to Welsh farming would probably be halved. At that time, the Minister gave us a verbal assurance, but I seek a similar reassurance from the Minister today Funding should go directly to our Government in Cardiff, rather than being allocated directly from London to individual local authorities and organisations. There is much merit in ensuring that local organisations and local government get the maximum funding. I have heard the argument that diverting money through Cardiff would increase bureaucracy and cost, but the fundamental argument is that the competent authority should be the Government in Wales. Any move in any other direction would undermine the devolution settlement and would be resisted by Members on these Benches and others To close, I should point out again to the Government that Wales is another country and that EU membership has had a different value and quality for us in Wales, as reflected in the funding we have been getting. That is particularly the case in my own area of Gwynedd, despite its poverty. One might suppose that that would put us in with areas that voted strongly to leave the EU, because of the marginalisation, poverty and distance from London and the seat of power. In fact Gwynedd voted 60:40 to remain, because of our values, the way we see the world, our culture, our bilinguality and our happiness at being part of the EU, which is much more congenial to us. Gwynedd is a different place—Wales is a different place—and should be treated with respect.
Early Parliamentary General Election Bill — House of Commons, 2019-10-29
Topic: Other
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The hon. Gentleman may not be aware that the political editor of The Sun has just tweeted that the Government have conceded on the 9 December election date. If that is the case, does he agree that we should just get on with the vote?
European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill — House of Commons, 2019-10-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): It has been obvious to me for some considerable time that Brexiteer politicians have never fully understood the consequences of their policies. That is why during the referendum they were able to claim that they wanted to end free movement while staying in the single market; why they said that leaving the customs union was compatible with the Good Friday agreement; why they claimed the new free trade agreement with the EU would be the easiest in history; and how the British state would be able to sign trade deals around the world based on divergence from EU tariffs and regulations while maintaining frictionless access to the European economic area. The Bill clearly shows that all of those claims are completely false Because of the obsession of the British Government and the Labour Opposition with ending free movement, the British state will have to leave the single market. The new FTA with the EU will not be negotiated until after the British state has left the European Union, meaning that this continues to be a blind Brexit Compatibility with the Good Friday agreement has only been vaguely achieved by effectively keeping Northern Ireland in the customs union and the single market, ending the economic coherence of the British state. Far from removing the backstop, as claimed by the British Government and the Prime Minister, it is now enacted as policy in the withdrawal agreement for Northern Ireland—a frontstop, as some have called it. In my country, people are asking, "If it’s good enough for Northern Ireland, why isn’t it good enough for Wales?" We now know that it would be impossible to sign trade deals with the likes of the United States without drastically reducing our access to the European market. Writing last week in the Evening Standard, the right hon. Member for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Gauke) , the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said that assessments indicated that for every £1 gained from international trade agreements, £33 would be lost through loss of access to European markets owing to the need to diverge on standards and the extra costs of tariffs "Get Brexit Done" is the latest slogan that we have heard ad nauseam from the British Government, but allowing the Bill to move to the next stages would not mean an end to Brexit. It would not even be the beginning of the end; it would simply be the end of the beginning as we enter phase 2 and start discussions on the trade agreements. The British Government will be negotiating one of the most complex trade deals in history, different from all others in history as it will seek to build barriers rather than break them down. They hope to do that in just over a year. As has been mentioned many times, the EU’s free trade agreements with South Korea, Canada, Singapore, Japan and Vietnam have taken between six and eight years to negotiate, with some of them still awaiting ratification.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-01-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Will the hon. Lady agree that a symbol of how seriously this is being taken by the Welsh Government and Welsh parties and in Scotland is the fact that consideration is now being given to continuity Bills to ensure that those powers are retained? In fact, my colleague Steff Lewis in the Assembly will be presenting just such a Bill tomorrow morning.
National Security Capability Review — House of Commons, 2018-01-15
Topic: Other
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Secretary of State, who is a very nice man, referred to Wales as a Principality during the exchanges. He knows, of course, that Wales is a proud nation; will he please correct the record?
Salisbury Incident — House of Commons, 2018-03-14
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch yn fawr. Alongside many colleagues in the House, I speak on behalf of my party in calling for a robust and immediate response. Sources inform us that Russia is the UK’s biggest weapons-grade nuclear substances export market, despite several attempts at a moratorium on depleted uranium by the European Parliament and the United Nations. Will the Prime Minister confirm whether the UK is still exporting nuclear substances to Russia? If so, surely this should be among the very first sanctions imposed?
Leaving the EU: Scotland and Wales Continuity Bills — House of Commons, 2018-04-18
Topic: Mixed Topics
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): In December, I asked the Secretary of State for Wales what he would do if he failed to gain legislative consent from Wales, and he replied, in his usual way, that he was very confident of success. And now the case is going to the Supreme Court. Is the Attorney General confident that this matter has been handled well, or even half-competently?
Women’s Suffrage Centenary — House of Commons, 2018-02-06
Topic: Civil Rights
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Even in this Brexit-free week, the Government have chosen to bring forward Bills about smart meters and space technology, while the gender-based violence legislation has been postponed time and again. A century ago, Parliament managed to cope with a world war and the women’s suffrage legislation at one and the same time. When will the Government stop procrastinating and deliver on their duty to improve women’s lives?
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his work on this Bill, but I would not want him to leave Carmarthenshire out of his list. Will he join me in congratulating the Plaid Cymru-run Carmarthenshire County Council—the council in Wales that has rehoused the largest number of refugees by a country mile in our country?
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Does the hon. Gentleman share my concern that legal aid is not available for refugee family reunion cases? When the changes were made to legal aid, it was anticipated that there would be around £450 million of savings. In 2016, there were actually £950 million of savings. Could some of that half a billion be used for these cases?
European Union Citizenship — House of Commons, 2018-03-07
Topic: Other
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): My hon. Friend is making his usual excellent case when he leads these debates. We could go even further back to Saunders Lewis, who was the president before Gwynfor Evans. Saunders saw our European heritage as vital to his vision for Wales for the future, partly driven by his time in the trenches in the first world war and his desire not to see another generation of Welshmen die in the fields of foreign lands.