argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Damian Howard Green (Conservative, Centre-right): Many of us, on both sides of the House, want to deliver what people voted for, to avoid a no-deal Brexit and to avoid the process being strung out interminably, so I welcome the Government’s latest proposals. Can the Prime Minister assure me that the customs proposals for the Irish border do not involve the construction of any new physical infrastructure, whether at the border or anywhere else?
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I, of course, understand the concerns of people on both sides of the Northern Irish border and indeed across this country. That is why we are absolutely determined not to have any kind of infrastructure checks at the border or near the border. As I explained to my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green), they are not necessary. May I invite the hon. Lady also to support these proposals? Perhaps she could ask her Liberal Democrat colleagues to retract their letter to Jean-Claude Juncker urging him not to agree to a new deal with the British Government.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
Mark Gino Francois (Conservative, Centre-right): May I commend the Prime Minister’s emphasis on a future free trade arrangement as his desired end state, which is what many of us have wanted all along? Does he recall that, earlier in the year, when the House voted, in the so-called indicative votes, on a number of different options—a customs union, Norway and so on—all those options were defeated bar one? The one option that has ever passed this House, other than the withdrawal agreement as originally presented, was the so-called Brady amendment, the essence of which was to expunge the backstop in favour of alternative arrangements, which passed the House of Commons on 29 January by 16 votes. Does that give the Prime Minister hope that this proposal could get through?
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, it does indeed. I thank my right hon. Friend for his point. He is right also in his ambition for what we can do with this deal because it does liberate us to do free trade deals around the world and take back control of our tariffs and our customs. I am fortified by the knowledge on all sides in the House that this has been going on for three and a half years now. The proposal does represent a very good basis for a deal and I hope that colleagues will support it.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to lay the emphasis he does on the Good Friday agreement and the peace process. In all our conversations, we are driven by the need to protect, and indeed fortify, that agreement and process. The deal we are setting out gives us and communities in Northern Ireland the opportunity to build on that process, but I must stress to him that he is mistaken if he believes that any of our proposals will necessitate any kind of checks at the border—that is absolutely untrue—or indeed any kind of hard border. I must tell him respectfully that that is untrue.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Graham Stuart Brady (Conservative, Centre-right): Given that this proposal meets the terms set out in the amendment passed in this House on 29 January, can I urge the Prime Minister to go to his EU colleagues with some confidence and to tell them that there is every likelihood, if not certainty, that this proposition will command the support of the House of Commons and can take us forward and break the deadlock that has been dogging us for so long?
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my hon. Friend because it was after all his amendment that went to the heart of what I think the House saw as the fundamental problem with the previous withdrawal agreement. These proposals address those concerns and I hope that right hon. and hon. Members will get behind them.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not sure I was expecting support from the right hon. Lady, but I had hoped that she would see the advantages of our proposal. I think that it offers a way forward for the UK, for Ireland and for all communities in Northern Ireland. It offers security and stability and, above all, protects the Good Friday process and a frictionless border. So I hope it will have her support.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): When I launched the Better Off Out group in Parliament back in 2006, I could always rely on the now leader of the Labour party to vote for my proposals in the Lobby. I am sorry that he has now ditched the only popular policy that he ever believed in May I ask the Prime Minister whether what he has proposed is the final offer to the European Union? Will he confirm that, if the EU rejects his offer out of hand, it will be the policy of the Government to leave the European Union without a deal?
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I cannot account for the unaccountable—I cannot account for the Leader of the Opposition’s change of mind on the EU, except that, as I observed earlier, he seems to have been captured by some of his colleagues—but I can certainly confirm to my hon. Friend that we will be leaving on 31 October, deal or no deal.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): The most important thing is that we will abide by every clause and principle of the Good Friday agreement. Above all, there will be no border—there will be no hard border at all—in Northern Ireland. Most important, we will be governed by the principle of consent. I should be more than happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss exactly what I mean, if that would be useful to her. I do accept that these proposals deserve wider circulation and wider explanation, and I should be more than happy to meet her to go through them.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: Agriculture
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is correct in his surmise about our intentions, but I think that the House and people watching the debate should be reminded that what the UK has done is already very considerable. We have already moved quite some way. I hope that our friends and partners across the channel understand that, and I hope that my right hon. Friend understands it as well. We have gone the extra mile. What we are doing both on agrifoods and on goods, with the principle of consent, is, I think, a very considerable move towards compromise.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen Crabb (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend the Prime Minister on the serious intent and effort that he is adopting. He is proving many of his doubters wrong. Does he agree that the constructive tone that we heard overnight from EU counterparts stands in stark contrast to the tone adopted by the Opposition, who continue to set their face against their own voters?
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thoroughly agree with my right hon. Friend, and I hope that all colleagues in all parts of the House will think very carefully about the terms of the deal that we are setting out. As I have said, I am more than happy to discuss them and to explain what we are trying to do, but I think it is incumbent on all of us to get this thing done and get it over the line, and I think that that is what the overwhelming majority of our electorate want us to do. Whether they voted leave or remain, people want us now to speak up for democracy.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: Environment
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not wish to be unnecessarily adversarial today, but that seems a satirical thing for the right hon. Gentleman to say, given that his party is refusing to concede to a general election. I am very happy to discuss these ideas with him. They in no way correspond with the caricature that he has just put to the House. This is a very serious way forward, and it gives the country an opportunity to improve our environmental and social welfare standards.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend my right hon. Friend for his clear intent to ensure that we leave with a deal on 31 October. He has set out a detailed and considered proposal and, despite the protestations of the Labour party, I hope that the EU will engage with the proposal constructively In this context, the Prime Minister will feel as keenly as I do the continuing absence of a fully functioning Northern Ireland Executive. What further steps will he take to get Stormont back up and running, and what assurance can he give to the people of Northern Ireland in respect of the absolute need for political decision making in its absence?
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend has a wealth of experience in this regard, and he did a huge amount of good both for Northern Ireland and in the cause of trying to get Stormont up and running again. Clearly, what this deal would offer is the opportunity for the Executive and Assembly of Northern Ireland, and the people of Northern Ireland, to have even more of a say in their own destiny. In that sense, it takes forward and builds on the peace process, one of the great achievements of the last 30 years. I think that it is full of hope for the people of Northern Ireland. In my view it gives them an extra incentive to get Stormont up and running, and I can assure my right hon. Friend that we are working very hard to do just that.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: Labor
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman, and I hope that he speaks for many colleagues across the House in wanting to move this thing forward. I will reflect on what he has said about having a vote on this, although it would probably be better to get a deal first. I am confident that we can get one, and I hope it will command the support of the House. I can certainly reassure him on his point about standards for workers’ rights and for the environment: it is the intention of this Government to go higher still.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): The publication of specific proposals to deal with the backstop is to be welcomed, as is the Prime Minister’s commitment to not having physical infrastructure in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. His commitment to the Good Friday agreement is also to be welcomed, but could he say a bit more about what obligations he believes we have under the Good Friday agreement to ensure not only that there is no physical infrastructure, but that goods can flow freely between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland?
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. Of course, what this offer does is take one step further, by consent, in having regulatory alignment for goods as well, so obviating the need for checks on perhaps 30% of the other traffic from north to south in addition to the 30% that we have already achieved by sanitary and phytosanitary alignment. That is always assuming that consent were to be granted, if he understands me.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
John Henry Hayes (Conservative, Centre-right): The test of reasonableness is well understood by legislators, and compromise is intrinsic to all negotiations, as the Prime Minister has said already. But what the British people are most frustrated about is what they perceive as displacement, dither and delay, so will the Prime Minister be clear in his decisive determination to continue to personify the spirit of getting on, getting out and getting ahead?
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): That is exactly what we intend to do. The purpose of this deal and these proposals is to get Brexit done and for us all to move on as a country and move on together. I believe that they represent a very good way forward for the UK. They will enable us to do free trade deals and to regulate our own laws and our own system. Above all, they will enable the UK to leave the EU, as the people of this country were promised, whole and entire, and to protect our precious Union with Northern Ireland.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): As the right hon. Lady knows, there is a unique situation in Northern Ireland under the Good Friday agreement, and what we are proposing today gives this country the opportunity to develop and intensify that, but I am willing to listen to her pleas for the Senedd and I will consider them closely.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I should remind the hon. Gentleman that there has been a fiscal border between the UK and Ireland for many years. Customs checks do not mean customs posts or infrastructure of any kind, as I am sure he appreciates, but if he does not, I am more than happy to share with him our thinking and to explain how it can be done.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Philip Martin Dunne (Conservative, Centre-right): I remind my right hon. Friend that I voted remain in the referendum. I have voted in the House to deliver Brexit ever since. I congratulate him on the constructive proposals that he has put forward, and wish him every good fortune that the EU will engage with them as it needs to. I remind the House, and perhaps he could confirm, that existing trade across the border in Northern Ireland takes place with different currencies, and with different VAT rates, as he has just been elucidating, without the need for any physical infrastructure; and customs arrangements, following the excellent work done on the alternative arrangements commission, can do the same.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend, for whom I have a high regard. I well remember our conversation a few weeks ago. He makes his point with great clarity and force. Those who oppose a no-deal Brexit—I appreciate the sincerity of the feelings of those who oppose a no-deal Brexit—logically really should support this way forward, and I hope that they do.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
David Ian Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend my right hon. Friend for putting forward these positive proposals, which merit an equally positive response from the European Union. He has mentioned the need for amendments to the political declaration, the significance of which is frequently understated. I assume that that includes the deletion of the reference to building and improving on the single customs territory, but can my right hon. Friend say what other amendments he considers will be necessary?
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): In due course, the text will of course be made available to right hon. and hon. Members, although this is a negotiation and you will appreciate, Mr Speaker, that we have to hold some things back. However, I can certainly confirm that there will be no reference to improving on the customs union in the way that he has described. The purpose of the political declaration will be to set out how we wish to develop our relationship with our European friends in a positive way, protecting standards, as I have said several times, insisting on the highest possible standards in this country, but also giving us the opportunity to develop a fantastic new free trade relationship—and that is what we are going to do.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I have met many businesses in Northern Ireland who want emphatically to get a deal. That is the overwhelming view of businesses in Northern Ireland, so I hope very much that the hon. Lady will support them in their ambition.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
Peter William Bone (Conservative, Centre-right): May I ask the Prime Minister a little bit more about the political declaration? Do I understand that it will be changed to say that the UK and the EU will use best endeavours to achieve a fantastic free trade agreement? But if we got to the end of the transition period—when would that be?–what would happen if there was not a free trade agreement?
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Well, I think in that very unlikely event, obviously the UK and the EU would revert to WTO terms, but I do not think that that is likely. I think that the UK and the EU—both parties—will be very keen to strike a great free trade agreement. And that is what we will do, and that is what we will set out in the political declaration.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Henry Bellingham (Conservative, Centre-right): May I congratulate the Prime Minister on his statesmanship, and indeed ingenuity, in delivering an offer that is serious and credible? If my email is anything to go by, there is huge support in my constituency May I take the Prime Minister to paragraph 1b of the protocol note, which makes it clear that 100% of these unique areas of collaboration will continue? Will he find time to ring the Taoiseach and tell him that there are going to be many areas for collaboration on community projects and on pushing enterprise, investment and wealth creation on both sides of the border?
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: Education
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course. I have a high regard for the hon. Gentleman; I remember having many useful discussions with him about higher education when I did that job. I would be more than happy to talk to him about what we are proposing and the way it can take our country forward and bring us back together.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I defer to my hon. Friend for his long-standing experience in Northern Ireland, but the agreement that we have, or the deal that we are proposing, is a very good one for Northern Ireland. As for his suggestion on our colleagues, all I can say is that the consequences of the surrender Act—I use that term advisedly—are very serious for our ability to negotiate. I hope very much that, notwithstanding those difficulties, this House will come together and get a deal over the line. If I may say so, to bring the whole country together and to bring this House together, I think that would be the best way forward.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Mr Speaker, they are completely in line with section 10 of the withdrawal Act, and I would be happy to demonstrate that to the hon. Gentleman. On his request for a second referendum, I really cannot think of anything more divisive or more wasteful of this country’s time. [Interruption.] If Opposition Members want an election, why do they not talk to the Leader of the Opposition?
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
John Charles Baron (Conservative, Centre-right): Mr Speaker, I am glad to hear it The devil will be in the detail, but I very much congratulate my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on his improved proposals as a basis for a deal. However, in straining every sinew to secure a good deal, will he be resolute not only in his intent to honour the triggering of article 50 by an overwhelming majority in this place, which clearly stated that we would leave with or without a deal, but in ensuring that we are prepared for no deal? It is inescapable logic that being so prepared improves the chances of securing such a deal, despite the fact that that logic escapes the Opposition parties.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The preparations that we have made for that outcome, a no-deal exit—I thank my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for everything that he is doing—have unquestionably, notwithstanding the surrender Act, concentrated the minds of our friends in the EU and are helping us to get a deal.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that in so far as such checks were necessary, they would be done electronically. They would be done by UK officials, and they would be instituted only with the consent of Northern Ireland. That is the important point, but I am more than happy, if he would like, to discuss this more with him in person if that would be useful.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and I can tell him that we are proceeding with huge collaborations across the front with our European friends, and I have no reason to believe that any of them will be interrupted.
Brexit Negotiations — House of Commons, 2019-10-03
Topic: International Affairs
Victoria Mary Boswell Prentis (Conservative, Centre-right): I hope the Prime Minister can hear the collective sigh of relief, which tends to indicate that this might be the beginning of the end, so will he join me— [Interruption.] Oh, we are nowhere near the end of the beginning! Will he join me in encouraging everybody in this House to come together, whether or not as part of the marvellous group "MPs for a Deal"? Will he reach out to MPs from all parts of the House and deal with their genuine concerns on the details of this agreement in the coming weeks?