argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-09-11
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander James Jorden Norris (Labour, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I know that in lofty debates such as this, which people will study for decades, we ought to quote high-minded sources to respond to such questions. I am going to draw on a favourite quote of mine, from a guy called Jim Palmer. He is an American. He is not a founding father; he was a Baltimore Orioles pitcher and is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He said something really illustrative: "how you do one thing is how you do everything." As my hon. Friend says, the one thing that the Government did over article 50 tells us exactly how they will behave in the rest of this process, and exactly why we should not take the encouragement of Conservative Back Benchers to trust their Ministers. History has shown that not to be a good idea Those same Government Members have also said to us, "Hang on a minute, you’re just dragging your feet. You’ve not offered a constructive alternative." I have sat here for pretty much every minute of the last seven hours and 20 minutes, and I have heard the constructive alternative offered from Opposition Members many times. We all agree that we will need to put European legislation into British law—in fact, I am quite surprised by how readily Government Members agree and cheerlead for that—but that while it is clear that the vast majority of it will be uncontroversial and technical legislation that we need to get on with, there needs to be a triage process that brings before Parliament the things that do not fit into that category. Otherwise, what is the point of us This could be a watershed moment for our democracy. We know the cynicism about the work that we do here and our motivations for doing it. People who have watched us today will have seen us at our best, and they should see us do this every day on such important matters. This should be a watershed moment in the Brexit process, too, because we know how much of a struggle that is proving. We are wandering around the continent, drifting from place to place, never quite sure who is with us and who is not. Those are the characteristics of a bad stag do, not a negotiation strategy Today could be watershed moment. Across the House, we have had common cause about wanting to work as equal partners with our European friends. Let us do that. Let us take their invitations to speak at the European Parliament. Let us say today that we are going to protect the rights of their citizens who live in our country. Let us change our debate, because I find in life that, even with the most hardened enemy, once we stretch a hand out, it is incredible how often a hand is stretched back.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-09-11
Topic: International Affairs
Ruth Stephanie Nicole George (Labour, Centre-left): It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham North (Alex Norris) As I said in the general election campaign and since to my constituents, I respect the result of the referendum, but this Bill is not about whether Britain leaves the European Union. It is about how we leave it, what role Parliament has in the process and how we safeguard all our vital rights and protections as we leave. I believe that Brexit must not lead to any drop in those rights and protections and that the power to decide them should be brought back to Parliament. In fact, bringing powers back to Parliament was one of the major arguments of Brexit’s proponents. In March 2016, the Foreign Secretary announced his decision on how he would campaign in the referendum, saying: "Sometimes the public can see all too plainly the impotence of their own elected politicians… That enrages them… Democracy matters… At a time when Brussels should be devolving power, it is hauling more and more towards the centre, and there is no way that Britain can be unaffected." Well, we have not been unaffected. In fact, the Government are now looking to our decision to leave the EU as an excuse for far greater centralisation of power than we have had for almost 500 years. The Bill would put huge and unaccountable power into the hands of Ministers, sideline Parliament on major decisions and thereby put our crucial rights and protections at risk. Members should not just take my word for it.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-09-11
Topic: Labor
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend agree that the recent case of the Government acting illegally over employment tribunal fees is an example of how they cannot be trusted to act legally and justly for this country, and why Parliament needs to scrutinise them?
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-09-11
Topic: Government Operations
Ruth Stephanie Nicole George (Labour, Centre-left): Does the hon. Gentleman agree with the House of Commons Library that in spite of what he has said it is difficult to ascertain how the content of the Bill can be regarded as any limit on the scope of the powers given to the Government under clause 17?
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-09-11
Topic: International Affairs
James Richard Frith (Labour, Centre-left): I join the House only 48 hours after the birth of my son, Bobby James. Dads on this side of the House proudly change nappies before coming to Parliament; we do not get out of changing nappies because we are in Parliament Having considered how we exit the baby, I am now considering how we exit the European Union. As many Members have said, this is not about whether we leave but how. For me, opposing the Bill is scrutiny, not mutiny, on Brexit. I maintain a commitment that I made to the people of Bury North in my election victory to fight for a practical Brexit. I do not trust the Government to show Britain the best exit, let alone set it out with vision and aplomb. Bombastic swagger, yes; vision, zero. It was going to be easy, we were told, but I ask for more grace in negotiation. Perhaps Ministers could remember the 48% as well as the 52% when handling Brexit. The referendum result was clear, fair and decisive, but in exiting we need a deal that works for the 48 and the 52, not the 1922 I stood at the election with a clear view on Brexit that, as a remainer, I would fight for a Brexit that worked for everyone in Bury North. Whether people were leavers or remainers, it was time for unity—a practical Brexit that kept uppermost in people’s minds jobs, skills and opportunities for all. The result of the election did not change the Government’s instincts overnight. They have not changed their position on workers’ rights, on access to justice, on working time, or on security and safety at work. Those measures were bombarded on their way into law, and they will be picked apart by Government Members in the transition. The repeal Bill should be a copy and paste exercise, but instead the Government seek measures that would allow them not to copy and paste but to copy and cut. Decades of social progress, enshrined in law, are at the mercy of the pick-and-choose brigade who run the Tories. If foxhunting and grammar schools are back on the agenda, what of workers’ rights? I urge Members to vote against the motion. They should accept Brexit, but how we leave matters: they should not support the Government on the Bill.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-09-11
Topic: Labor
Melanie Onn (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union urged us to vote for the Bill, and said: "Providing certainty and stability in the lead up to our withdrawal is a key priority. Businesses and individuals need reassurance that there will be no unexpected changes to our laws after exit day and that is exactly what the repeal Bill provides." If the Government really wished to provide certainty they would guarantee in the Bill that there would not be any reductions in workers’ rights post Brexit. The Secretary of State and the Prime Minister have gone to great lengths to reassure us that people will not see any reductions in their rights at work under this Government, but the White Paper covers only two of the three main ways in which rights could be reduced after Brexit. The third is by leaving those rights in secondary legislation, coupled with the powers that the Government have sought to grant themselves in the Bill, which would allow any Government in future to water down basic privileges that people enjoy at work today. The only assurance we are being offered that that will not happen is the words of the Secretary of State asking us to trust him and his Government. I am afraid that it just is not good enough to ask us to place our faith blindly in the Government. The point has already been made in this debate that even if we were inclined to trust him based on his record, those around him continue to fail to convince us that they would carry through their lightly given assurances My right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer), in his excellent speech on Thursday, quoted the Foreign Secretary, the International Trade Secretary and the International Development Secretary, who have all made their true intentions known on this issue. He could have added to that list the Transport Secretary, who said in 2014 that he wants to "slay health and safety culture", or even the Prime Minister, who said that the Labour Government’s adoption of the social chapter showed their weakness in standing up to trade unions. According to the Prime Minister, the only reason a Government would ensure that part-time workers are treated the same as full-time workers, ensure that no one is made to work more than a maximum of 48 hours a week, or secure leave for pregnant women, is if a trade union made them do it I cannot in good conscience support the Government’s Bill, which I fundamentally believe fails to protect the scrutiny role of Parliament, and therefore puts the rights and interests of working people at even greater risk. I genuinely hope that Ministers will consider carefully and take on board the well thought out objections to the Bill from those on the Government Benches. However, I cannot share those Members’ optimism that the Government are listening all that closely.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-09-11
Topic: International Affairs
Michael Robert Hill (Labour, Centre-left): I have cut down my speech, because it is almost the witching hour and the Brexit Minister needs to weave his magic I represent the town of Hartlepool and the outlying villages. I have about 96,000 constituents, and in the EU referendum, of those who voted, more than 70% voted to leave—the highest percentage in the north-east. Clearly, the vast majority of people in my constituency want Brexit. It is my duty, as their MP, to reflect that opinion, but I believe it would be a dereliction of that duty if I voted to give Ministers executive powers to implement changes to complex and important regulations without recourse to scrutiny by Parliament Despite all the rhetoric and spin, I do not see voting against this power-grab Bill as blocking Brexit—far from it. As a former union official, I know that if you allow the other side to have it all their way in negotiations you may as well not be in the room. That would not be acting in members’ best interests. I believe I am acting in my constituents’ best interests by voting to protect the right to hold the Government to account during the Brexit process. To do otherwise would be unacceptable and disrespectful to my constituents.
Local Audit (Public Access to Documents) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-03-24
Topic: Government Operations
Teresa Pearce (Labour, Centre-left): I do not intend to make more than a few remarks on Third Reading, as this Bill has the support of the Opposition, the Government and the Local Government Association. It is a short, and welcome, piece of legislation which aims to improve transparency and accountability of local public bodies. In an era in which local newspapers are in many places diminishing and in some places do not exist at all, extending transparency of public bodies benefits all of our local democracy. Indeed, as we devolve more powers and sometimes even funding to local authorities, there is an ever increasing need for greater transparency. There are many other important Bills to be debated today, so I will draw my comments to a close.
Guardianship (Missing Persons) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-03-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Amendment 2, in clause 2, page 2, line 17, at end insert— ‘(2A) Before hearing an application for a guardianship order the court may require the applicant to take such further steps by way of advertisement or otherwise as the court thinks proper for the purpose of tracing the missing person." Amendment 3, in clause 3, page 2, line 27, leave out "90 days"’ and insert "6 months" Amendment 4, in clause 7, page 5, line 18, leave out "4 years" and insert "2 years".
Guardianship (Missing Persons) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-03-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): I congratulate the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake) on the work that he has done to bring the Bill before the House. I would like to say a great deal about it, but I will not; I will be quick. The Labour party supports the Bill, which, happily, has resounding cross-party support. It deals with a gap in the law that needs to be addressed. I understand that the charity Missing Persons has been influential in the creation of the Bill and supports it in its current form As hon. Members know, as things stand in England and Wales, there is no mechanism for protecting the property and affairs of a missing person, and the Bill will change that. The hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton has said that some 2,500 people could benefit from such a law. Courts will be empowered to appoint a guardian to manage the property and affairs of missing persons and to act on their behalf. Unfortunately, the delay in filling this gap in the law has been too lengthy, and there has been consistent and long-standing cross-party support for the proposed legislation Happily, the Bill has wider support among campaigners and other interested parties. We should not frustrate such laws when there is political consensus about the positive case for acting. As I said at the outset, the Opposition support this Bill, and I am glad to have the opportunity, albeit brief, to speak in its favour.
Channel 4 — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Technology
Christian John Patrick Matheson (Labour, Centre-left): It is a shame that the review is not as fast-changing and fast-moving as the broadcasting environment. At the end of this month, the review will have taken longer than the BBC charter review, so can we now put the review out of its misery, and declare that Channel 4 works well and will not be privatised?
Channel 4 — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Technology
Graham Peter Jones (Labour, Centre-left): As my hon. Friend the Member for City of Chester (Christian Matheson) said, the question of whether Channel 4 will or will not be privatised is one of the longest running soaps in this House. Can the Secretary of State confirm that there will not be a shareholder solution, that it will not be privatised and that it will not be for profit—that it will be not for profit? I expect that she is coming under pressure from Government Back Benchers to privatise Channel 4.
Brass Bands — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Education
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (Labour, Centre-left): The long-term sustainability of our brass bands, including the fine Blaenavon town band in my home town, depends on affordable music lessons being available in schools. Does the Minister agree that the Government’s cuts to the devolved Administrations’ local councils have put that at risk?
Superfast Broadband: Universal Coverage — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Technology
Stephen Nathan Kinnock (Labour, Centre-left): Almost one in three homes in my Aberavon constituency have broadband speeds of below 10 megabits a second. Moreover, I recently conducted a survey of my constituents in which 44% of respondents reported repeated loss of broadband service. Does the Minister agree that the future growth prospects of Aberavon will be severely constrained if this situation continues?
Superfast Broadband: Universal Coverage — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Technology
Chinyelu Susan Onwurah (Labour, Centre-left): When they were designing the superfast broadband tender, the Government were warned that they were effectively entrenching BT’s monopoly. In designing the universal service obligation, they now appear to be making exactly the same mistake again. Will the Minister commit to delivering choice in our broadband networks?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Education
Victoria Jane Foxcroft (Labour, Centre-left): Last week, when I visited Deptford Green secondary school, a teenager from the school council asked me a question, and she started by saying, "It’s not political." She asked me, "Why are there not more sports facilities for young girls in the area?" Female sports participation is half men’s—this was a very political question from a young girl—and is that any surprise when female role models such as Steph Houghton, England’s women’s football captain, is paid £65,000 a year, while Wayne Rooney is paid £250,000 a week? That is £12 million—
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Louise Margaret Haigh (Labour, Centre-left): Keeping our children safe online is one of the Government’s most important responsibilities. That is why section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 rightly made it a criminal offence for adults to send sexual messages to children, yet the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children says that, two years on, the law is still not enforced and the police cannot enforce it. Will the Minister explain to the House why the Government are dragging their feet on this and ensure that this legislation is implemented immediately?
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Environment
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential effect on UK environmental legislation of investment protection provisions in the EU-Canada comprehensive economic and trade agreement.
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful for that answer, but many of my constituents are worried about us maintaining our current environmental standards post-Brexit. Can the Minister guarantee that with this trade deal and, indeed, any other trade deal that the UK intends to make, our current environmental standards will not be watered down?
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential effect on UK environmental legislation of investment protection provisions in the EU-Canada comprehensive economic and trade agreement.
John Francis Spellar (Labour, Centre-left): May I point out to the Minister that in the deferred Division, a majority of Labour Members voted for the trade deal? Given that Canada is such a long-standing Commonwealth friend, ally and defence and trade partner, could he answer this basic question: in a post-Brexit world, if we cannot do a deal with Canada, who the hell can we do a deal with?
Fair Trade — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: International Affairs
Thangam Elizabeth Rachel Debbonaire (Labour, Centre-left): The 21st century offers us an opportunity to build on our pride and identity as a nation that promotes human rights, workers’ rights and environmental protection—all part of fair trade principles. How will the Government build on this part of our national identity in trade negotiations?
Technology Sector — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
William Roffen Esterson (Labour, Centre-left): British tech firms have been unable to go to two US trade shows, and look unlikely to be able to attend a top conference and exhibition in Singapore, owing to extensive delays by the Minister’s Department in announcing trade access partnership funding. Will he go back to the Department and confirm the funding, so that British businesses can attend trade shows and play their part in boosting our exports and economy?
New Zealand — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
Barry Strachan Gardiner (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State will know that New Zealand is a land of 30 million sheep—there are six or seven sheep for every person—so has he discussed the impact of a trade deal with the leader of the National Farmers Union? It regards the combination of a 43% World Trade Organisation tariff on sheepmeat and increased market access for New Zealand as potentially fatal to our sheep farmers. How will he protect them?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: I welcome the recent establishment of a UK-Israel trade working group. Bilateral trade between the two countries has increased year on year, and our close co-operation in cyber, academia and medicine continues to grow. Can the Minister provide any further information about how the group will work, and does he share my view that we should strike one of our first trade deals with the middle east’s only democracy?; Many Cornish men and women emigrated to seek work in New Zealand in the late 19th century. Will my hon. Friend now support other great Cornish exports of our wonderful produce, such as Cornish cider produced by Cornish Orchards in my constituency?
Barry Strachan Gardiner (Labour, Centre-left): When I wrote to the Secretary of State in November to ask for an investigation into his Department’s support for any British businesses engaged in corrupt practices, he replied that his Department had no power to conduct such an investigation. Last week, after the publicity surrounding Roll-Royce’s deferred prosecution, he announced precisely such an investigation. When did the powers of his Department change, when will the inquiry report back, and will he explain why he has refused to comply with the open government principles of the OECD anti-bribery convention?
Unaccompanied Child Refugees — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to make a statement on the Government’s decision to close the Dubs scheme for child refugees.
Patrick Bosco McFadden (Labour, Centre-left): The Home Secretary is a good person, so I am not here to make a personal attack on her, but what signal does she think this sends to the world in the wake of President Trump’s announcement last week, albeit in a different context? There are always those who say that we should look after our own, that charity begins at home—"Britain first", "America first", "France first" and so on. Does she want us to be aligned with that sentiment or a different one?
Unaccompanied Child Refugees — House of Commons, 2017-02-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to make a statement on the Government’s decision to close the Dubs scheme for child refugees.
Diana Ruth Johnson (Labour, Centre-left): I am very surprised that the Home Secretary did not understand the depth of feeling in the House and make a statement to the House on this announcement, rather than publishing it in a written ministerial statement yesterday. I am really struggling to understand how, if we put a cap of 350 on the scheme, that is not closing the scheme. Perhaps the Home Secretary can explain that one more time.