argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Government Policy on the Proceedings of the House — House of Commons, 2017-10-10
Topic: Other
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am grateful to the Leader of the House for giving way at last. What the House needs to hear from her is whether the votes on 13 September were one-offs, or if we should expect routinely and frequently to hear from the Government that, when they are going to lose a vote, they will simply avoid that by avoiding a Division
Government Policy on the Proceedings of the House — House of Commons, 2017-10-10
Topic: Other
Joanne Kate Swinson (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am listening to the Leader of the House with great interest, just as I did to what the right hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper) said. He seemed to suggest that the Government chose not to vote on those motions—certainly the first one—because the Government were in agreement and the debate was a political one about what "fair" meant, but she seems to be saying something different about whether or not there is political game playing. Will she confirm that when the Government disagree with the words of a motion, even if they disagree because of political purposes, they will vote against it? Will they vote against any motion whose words they disagree with?
Government Policy on the Proceedings of the House — House of Commons, 2017-10-10
Topic: Other
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The objection is not to the fact that the Government did not call the Division; it is that, not having called the Division, they do not then follow the will of the House; and indeed, that now it is apparently to be the Government policy to do so routinely. Does the hon. and learned Lady really not think that obnoxious?
Government Policy on the Proceedings of the House — House of Commons, 2017-10-10
Topic: Other
Christine Anne Jardine (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I would agree with the hon. Gentleman were it not for the fact that what he was doing was party political game playing rather than listening to the Opposition. Surely the point of an Opposition day debate is that the Government listen to a view other than their own. That is the view of the electorate—they think that we are here to serve them, rather than to play games. If they had tuned in on the 13th, they would have seen a Government simply paying lip service to the question with no intention of taking anything on board or of allowing any credence to be given to the debate, lest it should challenge their established view.
Government Policy on the Proceedings of the House — House of Commons, 2017-10-10
Topic: Civil Rights
Christine Anne Jardine (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Indeed. Why should such behaviour encourage any kind of faith in the political process—"Yes, we’ll let you have your say, yes you can have a vote, but we won’t take any notice of what you say"? Where is the democracy, where is the scrutiny and where is the respect for those who elected us? They surely deserve better.
Government Policy on the Proceedings of the House — House of Commons, 2017-10-10
Topic: Other
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): With the leave of the House, I shall say a few words. I would not often expect to say this, but it is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone). There was much in his speech with which I had little difficulty agreeing with. On the question of a business bureau for the House, again, that was in the Wright report. I say gently to the hon. Gentleman, however, that to proceed with that without looking at other areas of House procedure that require reform would not be sensible. There is a strong case for revisiting the remaining work to be done in respect of the Wright report.
Government Policy on the Proceedings of the House — House of Commons, 2017-10-10
Topic: Other
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Indeed, I was part of the Government then—I was the deputy Chief Whip at the time. That was a decision taken by Government as a whole. Of course I was part of that, as were other Ministers Others have said that this debate was unnecessary. On one view, I am not without sympathy for that opinion. The debate could have been avoided if the Leader of the House had given us a clear steer on Government policy when I raised this matter with her on 14 September at business questions. She could have denied that it was Government policy to avoid Divisions that they would lose and then to ignore the decision of the House on non-binding motions. She chose on 14 September not to do so. She was given the opportunity again today to deny that this was the Government’s policy. She chose again not to do so. If she wishes to intervene on me now to be clear, I will take her intervention.
Inward Tourism — House of Commons, 2017-09-14
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Christine Anne Jardine (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My constituency, Edinburgh West, is—like the rest of Edinburgh and much of Scotland—highly dependent on tourism. We have the new attraction of the bridge, Edinburgh zoo, the rugby and the world’s biggest international festival. Will the Minister assure me that he will press Her Majesty’s Treasury to take the same sort of initiative on lowering VAT for the tourism industry that our partners in the EU have done to support that industry and boost their communities?
Local Housing Need — House of Commons, 2017-09-14
Topic: Housing
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I acknowledge that assessing housing need properly is an important first step, but it does not deliver the houses that need to be built. A blame game over which Government failed to build those houses is not helpful; we are where we are. Is it not now important to lift the borrowing cap for local authorities, so that the houses can actually be built? That would rectify the ludicrous situation whereby local authorities can invest in properties in other areas for income purposes, but cannot invest in their own area.
General Election Campaign: Abuse and Intimidation — House of Commons, 2017-09-14
Topic: Civil Rights
Joanne Kate Swinson (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I echo the hon. Gentleman’s comments about Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, what she did about this issue, and the horrific abuse that she had to put up with. I have experienced it myself, as a candidate and as a woman in the House of Commons. I also vividly recall going on television at the time of the EU referendum and disagreeing with Nigel Farage’s comments about whether voting for Brexit would mean women were more likely to be raped. Suddenly, on my Twitter timeline, I gained a horrifying insight into the Islamophobic abuse that other people receive. I sometimes thank my lucky stars that I receive the misogyny but am generally spared the racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism that I know other Members have to deal with. Is not part of the difficulty the fact that abuse is so often targeted and therefore invisible to the groups who are not receiving it?
General Election Campaign: Abuse and Intimidation — House of Commons, 2017-09-14
Topic: Civil Rights
Joanne Kate Swinson (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am not entirely sure of the ins and outs of the particular issue with the district council or, indeed, its relevance to this debate, but does the hon. Gentleman think it appropriate to use the "Cruella de Vil" reference about a female civil servant in a debate about the intimidation of candidates?
Exiting the EU: Costs — House of Commons, 2017-11-29
Topic: Mixed Topics
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): At least £45 billion, higher inflation and debt, an extra year of cuts, and less influence in the world are the price that the Government are willing to pay for a deluded vision of Great Britain post Brexit. Is there any level of damage that the economy, jobs and families in the UK would have to sustain that would cause the Government to rethink and give the people a vote on the deal? That would be supported by the Liberal Democrats and Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor—and, as I understand it now, the shadow Home Secretary.
State Pension Age: Women — House of Commons, 2017-11-29
Topic: Other
Jamie Hume Stone (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): To support my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Stephen Lloyd), does the Minister agree that the failure to address the issue—for whatever reason, and by whatever party—reflects badly on this Parliament in general at a time when we could do with a much higher standing in public esteem?
EU Nationals — House of Commons, 2017-11-29
Topic: Immigration
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Is the hon. Gentleman aware that an EU citizen who came here back in, let us say, 1968, and who had "ILR"—indefinite leave to remain—stamped in their passport but might since have lost their passport, will apparently be required to prove that they have not left the UK for two years since arriving in 1968?
EU Nationals — House of Commons, 2017-11-29
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jamie Hume Stone (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The hon. Gentleman, with his knowledge of the Scottish Parliament, will know that the final wood-finishing work in that building was done by craftsmen from eastern Europe. When I was in another place, in another incarnation, Bovis told me that that work could not have been carried out, but for those craftsmen, because we no longer have those skills in this country.
EU Nationals — House of Commons, 2017-11-29
Topic: Immigration
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the Minister for giving way. Does he agree that every day that passes means another day that EU citizens are living in limbo? I assure him that they are coming to my surgery in big numbers. Every day that passes is important, and the Government need to get on with setting out exactly what settled status means and to design a programme tomorrow.
EU Nationals — House of Commons, 2017-11-29
Topic: Immigration
Edward Jonathon Davey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am prepared to accept the Government’s stated position that they will ensure that many EU citizens living here will stay after this negotiation. I am sure that that is the case. However, I hope that the Minister will have the frankness and honesty to accept the facts and figures that show that many EU nationals have already left since the referendum, which is damaging many aspects of our society and economy.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-12-14
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Questions: Recreational boating is a vital part of my constituency’s leisure facilities around Hamble and Netley. Will the Minister outline what assessment his Department has made of the impact of leaving the EU on recreational boating on the Solent?; What plans does the Minister have to write the tobacco products directive into British law? What discussions has he had with his European counterparts about the TPD?; Following yesterday’s debate, will the Secretary of State now publish a timetable of the decision-making process to give Parliament absolute clarity about when the parliamentary vote on the deal will take place?; The Secretary of State knows very well the importance of the renewables industry to the Humber, and he knows how important it will be for the industry to be able to trade competitively when we leave the EU. Will he support new clause 83, which calls for a full impact assessment on that industry?; Yesterday, the EU warned that the Secretary of State risks damaging trust in the negotiations with his contradictory statements, so I wondered whether he could regain some trust by telling us what the difference is between an impact assessment and a sectoral analysis.; The Secretary of State claims that the phase 1 agreement gives security to EU nationals, but that is constantly undermined by the reference to a no deal Brexit, which would rip that up. Does he not accept that there is a need to give legal standing to EU citizens’ rights now, rather than putting EU nationals through another year of anxiety?; Does the Secretary of State agree that the worst place for someone to be in any negotiation is when they have fixed and declared their own deadline? In tabling amendment 381, the Government have effectively put a gun to their own head.
Christine Anne Jardine (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Will the Secretary of State tell us what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the UK financial sector about the effect on that sector of the UK’s leaving the single market? There are increasing reports of jobs being transferred to, or often in, other EU countries.
Pension Equality for Women — House of Commons, 2017-12-14
Topic: Civil Rights
Christine Anne Jardine (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I agree that the SNP does have that ability, but should we not look at making a decision for all women in the United Kingdom, rather than saying, "Well, you can do it there and you can do it over there,"? This is a UK-wide problem, so we should not be singling people out.
National Debt — House of Commons, 2017-11-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
John Vincent Cable (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Further to the answer that the Minister gave a few minutes ago on the sale of RBS shares to deal with Government debt, can he confirm that the Government will abide by the commitment of the Chancellor’s predecessor not to sell below the acquisition price?
Leaving the EU: Sectoral Impact Assessments — House of Commons, 2017-11-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Why, when the Bank of England has published the frankly chilling implications of no deal, do the Government insist on selectively editing the sectoral reports? Is it true, as I was told by a DExEU insider, that what the Government have done is release selective sensitive documentation, while withholding the bulk of that sensitive information?
Forensic Evidence: Alleged Manipulation — House of Commons, 2017-11-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Is the Minister able to say whether Randox’s contract has been suspended? Is he able to say, in general terms, whether a company that was guilty of manipulation would have to pay all costs associated with retrial, for instance?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2017-11-27
Topic: Housing
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your advice on correcting the record. I gave a speech in the Budget debate on Thursday in which I stated that the Foxhill housing development in my constituency delivers no change in the number of homes for social rent. However, I misspoke; the fact is there will be a loss of 99 homes for social rent. I also seek your advice on how to receive confirmation from the Government that reducing the number of homes for social rent in Bath, or in any city, is in line with Government policy, as it appears in a letter I received from the Minister for Housing and Planning on 2 November 2017?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2017-11-27
Topic: Other
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Mr Speaker, you are clearly someone with great experience of the procedures in this House. Do you feel that there would be a public interest defence if the Chair of the Select Committee decided to make the information available to Members of the House generally so that we could all access the reports?
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-11-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The right hon. Gentleman makes an incredibly important point about sheep farming and exports. Does he acknowledge that 40% of British sheep products are exported, with 90% of that going into the single market? We face a 52% tariff on those products under World Trade Organisation rules.
Independent Complaints and Grievance Policy — House of Commons, 2017-12-21
Topic: Civil Rights
Joanne Kate Swinson (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the Leader of the House for her statement and praise her diplomacy. What she has announced is fine as far as it goes, but she knows that we urgently need to make more progress. Many of us on the working group, including some very assiduous members who cannot be here today, are disappointed and frustrated that we are not further forward. She is right to say that change is hard, but would she agree that vested interests, not least Whips Offices that are reluctant to give up their power, must not be allowed to derail parliamentary progress on harassment?
Supported Housing — House of Commons, 2017-12-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Will the Minister commit to an annual review of the arrangements to see whether the investment that he says is going to come does in fact come? Will he confirm when the Government will have a long-term, sustainable plan for the sector?
Russian Interference in UK Politics — House of Commons, 2017-12-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that intervention. That is another aspect of this issue that I am not going to be able to dwell on at great length in the few minutes that remain Facebook is doing work on ad transparency, and I welcome that. Personally, I would be comfortable with having the equivalent of a "printed and published" on the political ads that I place on Facebook. Such measures would help people to understand who was actually promoting themselves. I wonder whether the Minister would support that suggestion There is also the issue of authentication. I and, I suspect, every Member here have a blue tick on Twitter, so we have been confirmed as being real people. Maybe Facebook should do something similar to authenticate people with Facebook accounts so that we know that everyone is a genuine person, rather than someone sitting in an office block on the outskirts of Moscow preparing fake accounts. I hope the Minister will agree with that point as well We need to resource our response appropriately, and I have concerns—I certainly had concerns when I was a Minister and had dealings with it—that the Electoral Commission does not, in fact, have the resources to deal with this issue. Dealing with activity abroad is clearly not within its remit, and it would not have any expertise to do that, so we need to hear how it can access that expertise. The Minister is nodding, so hopefully he will be able to clarify that issue. I hope he is confident that the Electoral Commission has the necessary resources and expertise, or can at least access them.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-12-20
Topic: Other
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the hon. Gentleman, my constituency neighbour, for giving way. Has he ever tried to put any legislation in front of an ordinary person and ask him or her whether it is comprehensible? Our discussion demonstrates our difficulty, as parliamentarians, in making comprehensible to the people who elect us what we are actually about.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-12-20
Topic: Other
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The hon. Gentleman is extremely generous to give way again to me. I asked the Secretary of State in the Select Committee where and when he thought the misunderstanding had arisen, but I do not think I got a very satisfactory answer. He had plenty of opportunities in the House to correct us and say, "These are not impact assessments; they are sectoral analyses." He never chose to do that, and I am still waiting for the answer. Why does the hon. Gentleman think that the Secretary of State did not have the opportunity to clear up that misunderstanding?
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-12-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): It is indeed. I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman has visited Dover port. If he has, he will know that the site has no room available for customs checks. If he has visited the channel tunnel, he will also know that there is no capacity whatever to do any customs checks there.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-12-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Brexit Select Committee actually visited Dover and we then met a representative of the port of Calais. Although this country is prepared to build a lorry park, the French side will not build a lorry park because it has a migrant crisis. The port of Calais will just close under these circumstances, so where will we export to and import from?
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-12-20
Topic: Immigration
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): On that point, the Norwegian border is very interesting. Norway is in Schengen, so it does border checks on goods, but it does not need to do border checks on people. The main problem, of course, is that we are not in either. We need, at some point, to address the issue of how we check that lorries are not bringing into this country people we do not want to be here. I know that taking back control of our borders is a very important point, but there will be important discussions to be had about how we make that possible. Container ports will be okay, because we can seal the loads, but it will be a lot more difficult with lorries, because they take separate loads from separate consignments, and they need to be opened several times. So the issue of people smuggling is becoming quite potent.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-12-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): May I bring the hon. Gentleman back to another border that he referred to, namely that between Norway and Sweden? Our Secretary of State for Transport is on record as saying that that is a completely frictionless border, across which things move with ease. Is the hon. Gentleman aware that that is not the case? I think it was the Swedish trade body that said Norway is the hardest country to trade with.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-12-20
Topic: Other
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I understand the right hon. and learned Gentleman’s point about focusing on process rather than outcome, but does he agree that given that Cabinet Ministers are now sitting down to discuss the outcome, it would be helpful for Parliament also to use the opportunities available to us to express our views about what the outcome should be?
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-12-20
Topic: Other
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the Minister for giving way. He is generous. As a new MP, I must say that I am very surprised about how little constructive dialogue there has been. In fact, the comment that those on the Government Benches could deal with all of this without having to deal with the Opposition was alarming. We are all here to make constructive comments, to improve the Bill and to make compromises. The comments that they could deal with it all without having to listen to the Opposition or to have constructive dialogue were both alarming and disappointing.