argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill — House of Commons, 2018-09-11
Topic: Law and Crime
Edward Jonathon Davey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am grateful to the Minister for trying to clarify the situation, but I will let others in the House read the words on the amendment paper and reach their own conclusions. In my opinion, there is a serious concern that the definition is not wide enough and that there will be, as Amnesty International and others have said, a serious chilling effect on independent inquiry. Let us remember that it is already an offence under legislation introduced by the previous Labour Government to collect or record such information. Anyone behaving in a way to prepare for a terrorist act or to encourage such an act already, rightly, commits an offence, and there is a reason why, under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, viewing material, as opposed to collecting or recording it, was not made an offence—it is called evidence.
Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill — House of Commons, 2018-09-11
Topic: Law and Crime
Edward Jonathon Davey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman and he should know that I have a lot of respect for him. Therefore, I would ask him gently if he would go away and look at the words of David Anderson QC, just two years ago, on an almost identical amendment. That very respected independent reviewer of terrorism legislation said that this type of amendment would not work and was not needed.
Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill — House of Commons, 2018-09-11
Topic: Law and Crime
Edward Jonathon Davey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am happy to reflect on that. As I said to the Minister in an earlier intervention, as a member of the NSC, I was often asked to sign warrants to go after some of the most wicked people and in each case I was impressed by our security services and the systems of accountability. I signed every single warrant put before me because it was very clear that the powers were proportionate and justified. I am arguing tonight that the Government are going further. I do not think it is in the traditions of British justice that we give carte blanche powers to the border security guards, and if other Opposition Members were to read this provision in detail, I do not think they would be as comfortable as they are being lured into being I urge colleagues even at this late hour to actually read this part of the Bill, as I think we are in danger of losing our attachment to reason. That is a dangerous position in this very important Chamber. I hope that if some of us stand up tonight and say, "These powers are overreaching," we can send a signal to the other place that it can do its job and scrutinise this legislation in ever more depth.
United States: Human Rights and Diplomatic Relations — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: International Affairs
John Vincent Cable (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Since the Government have chosen to appease rather than to confront the Trump Administration, what success has the Foreign Secretary had in persuading President Trump and his Administration to adopt the open, rules-based trading system on which the future of our country depends and that he is trying to destroy?
Food Advertising (Protection of Children from Targeting) — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am grateful to you for hearing a point of order at this stage in our proceedings. You may be aware that it is reported in The Times today that the United States Government have sought to interfere in the contents of the report of the Intelligence and Security Committee on United Kingdom involvement in rendition. If that report is true, it is a matter of the greatest and gravest importance for the House. I can think of no precedent for a foreign power seeking to interfere in the workings of our Committees. What protection can you give to the Committees of the House to ensure that they are allowed to do their work in the way that they are mandated to by us? Have you had any indications from the Government about their intention to bring the House up to speed and make us fully informed in relation to that matter?
EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: Foreign Trade
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Has the Minister tried to find out whether those countries we want to continue to have trade agreements with will want to continue them in the way we want them to do? It seems that there is a good opportunity for these countries to come back wanting much better terms for themselves.
Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: Energy
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I apologise if this has been covered in earlier debates, but will the Minister tell us whether there has been any engagement from the Government with local authorities? For many people, electric charging is likely to take place on the forecourt of their property, and there are clearly issues around dropped kerbs and easy access to people’s forecourts to enable them to charge at home.
Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: Environment
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I first want to say that I do not think marriage is an option so long as I do not wear a tie, because I know that the right hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes) has strong views on that subject, so I may be tieless for a long time to come I want to reinforce the point about talking to local authorities about flatted developments, but also—I have already had such inquiries, as I suspect other Members have—about residents who want to be able to charge their electric car where they park it at the front of the house, but cannot do so because of the issues of dropped kerbs and so on. That will become a growing problem in future years We must ensure that we can respond to the way in which technology changes. I want to put in a plug—pardon the pun—for the Dearman engine, with which the right hon. Gentleman may or may not be familiar, which works on liquid nitrogen. It has some very exciting applications in relation to the auxiliary power units used at the front of refrigerated trucks, which at present often use some of the dirtiest engines available, without any sort of environmental controls. Such technology has the ability to address some very significant air quality issues in our town centres, but it would also require an infrastructure for liquid nitrogen, which is clearly not readily available at present This is a very welcome set of amendments. The Bill is also welcome, but it must be flexible enough to pick up and move with other technologies as they develop.
Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention. He has confirmed that the harmony and potential marriage that existed between us in the earlier debate have perhaps reached a state of acrimony and we no longer agree on the subject. But his intervention was interesting. I do wonder whether the visit of the DExEU Minister post-dated or pre-dated the BBC South East news item. If it post-dated it, I would be a little suspicious as to why the Minister suddenly chose to reorganise her diary with a view to going to the port of Dover, perhaps rather in the way the Foreign Secretary had to reorganise his diary to be in Afghanistan during the Heathrow vote. I know, however, that I should not dwell for too long on trips to Afghanistan as that is not the subject of our debate.
Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. As it is on the subject of borders, which is what we are debating, it is an entirely appropriate intervention. It gives me the opportunity to point out that the same Secretary of State often refers to the advantages of the border between Norway and Sweden. Again I am not sure whether he has visited that border. Maybe he has. If he has, he will have found on his visit that some of the border points are inconveniently shut at certain times of the day and night. He will also have discovered that one of the factors that Swedish business often cites as being a major constraint on doing trade with Norway is the fact that the border is not in fact frictionless. So there is a bit of a problem in terms of the Secretary of State, but I am sure he has now been on many fact-finding missions and has increased his knowledge of the subject on which he speaks.
Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: Transportation
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am very happy to put the record straight as far as I am concerned and the record as far as I am concerned is that, when I visited the port authorities and talked to them about the 15-mile tailback, they were very clear in telling me that that occurred as a result of two French police officers not turning up for their shift.
Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: Transportation
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The hon. Gentleman can shake his head, but he should perhaps talk to the port authorities and find out from them what the cause of that particular delay was. That is the information I have had. They are the ones in charge of the port and, frankly, I would have thought that they knew what they were talking about. I am happy to give way if he disagrees with me.
Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: Transportation
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Yes, the divorce is proceeding well. Maybe we need to engage Relate to pacify matters. I would point out to the right hon. Gentleman that I was unaware of any call, prior to 23 June 2016, for a trailer registration scheme. It therefore appears to have been Brexit that has triggered the registration of trailers, as opposed to a desire on the part of the Government to address the issue.
Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: Transportation
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. I think she is about to put on the record the reasons why, for her, this is an important issue. I do not want to dismiss that and I can confirm that I and, I suspect, other Members have had issues with trailers that have been left by the roadside that it is very difficult to do anything about because they are not registered. I agree, but the trigger in this case was not a desire on the Government’s part to address the issue but the fact that Brexit has required them to do a certain thing, which led to a chain of events that has resulted in the requirement to register trailers As Members may know, the convention might—although I accept that it is very unlikely—also lead to appeals to the United Nations if the UK does not criminalise jaywalking, require all cars to park on the left-hand side of the road, require drivers to turn on their lights when driving through certain tunnels—something that, on the whole, is probably a good thing—require motorcyclists to turn on their front and back lights at all times, and require parked cars to have parking lights switched on at night or in other periods of low visibility. There has been an interesting chain of events as a problem triggered by Brexit has produced a domino effect and required the Government to legislate for something that might or might not happen, having other unforeseen consequences that, as I said, were not clearly set out on the side of that famous bus. It would have had to have been a very long bus for all the consequences to have been set out on it I like to be true to my word. I said that I would be brief, so I shall draw my remarks to a conclusion. I have made the point about community licences and it seems to me that it would be sensible to try to replicate that scheme, as far as possible, to minimise the burden placed on hauliers, minimise any additional cost on them and reduce the risk of UK hauliers simply being excluded from the EU because of the limited number of licences that might be available. I hope that I will hear some positive and engaging words from the Minister on that subject. If that happens, I would not have to put the House through the pain of a vote this evening, getting in the way of Members who might have other things to do, such as watching Nigeria versus—I am not sure who they are playing, but one of the World Cup matches taking place this evening.
Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: Technology
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am sure the hon. Lady appreciates the difficulty for a party with 12 Members of ensuring that someone can be present at all debates, but I am indeed surprised to hear that the Government’s approach would be paper-based, because we have of course heard a huge amount from them about how all these things are going to be electronic, seamless, frictionless and based on new technology. Here is an opportunity for the Government to deploy technology, but they are actually deploying a piece of paper.
Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-06-26
Topic: Transportation
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): First, on new clause 2, I am surprised that the Government do not believe that an understanding of the impact of Brexit on the haulage industry would be helpful to them. I would have thought that it would be A number of issues have been raised this evening by the hon. Members for York Central (Rachael Maskell) and for Bristol South (Karin Smyth), whose campaigning on this issue has come across. I am sure that the Minister can and will want to address that. He does not necessarily have to do that through a Bill, as there are many other ways of doing so On new clause 1, I heard some reassurance from the Minister that community licences might be an outcome of one of the options he is looking at. He is also looking at other options that might do away with the need for them in the first place, which clearly would be of assistance to hauliers, particularly if the cost of the permits they will have to pay for is limited. Replacing a paper-based system with something else might assist that process I would not want to embarrass the Minister so early on in his ministerial career by pressing my new clause to a vote and causing him to lose, so I do not intend to do so. He has given some reassurances. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion Clause, by leave, withdrawn. Schedule Consequential amendments Amendments made: 1, page 16, line 34, at end insert— ‘4A In section 90A(2) of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (offences in relation to which a financial penalty deposit requirement may be imposed), in paragraph (a)(i), after "vehicle" insert "or trailer".’ This amendment will ensure that financial penalty deposit requirements may be imposed in respect of offences relating to trailers. Amendment 3, page 17, line 1, at end insert— ‘5A In Article 91B(2) of the Road Traffic Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/1320 (N.I. 10)) (offences in relation to which a financial penalty deposit requirement may be imposed), in sub-paragraph (a), after "vehicle" insert "or trailer".’—(Jesse Norman.) The amendment makes provision for Northern Ireland corresponding to Amendment 1.
Offenders: Housing and Benefits — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Edward Jonathon Davey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Does the Secretary of State accept that the number of ex-offenders ending up homeless has increased significantly in recent years, and will he accept that his Department’s policy objectives for reducing reoffending and helping rehabilitation will go nowhere unless this issue is tackled?
Airports National Policy Statement — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Transportation
John Vincent Cable (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): How does the Secretary of State reconcile his claims about regional connectivity with the fact that Heathrow expansion is opposed by all the largest regional airports—Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, East Midlands and Bristol—as well as those in the south-east, Stansted and Gatwick? Since these communities are represented by Members from different parties, does he agree that it would be appropriate to have a free vote on the NPS when it is put before Parliament?
Airports National Policy Statement — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Transportation
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Why is the Secretary of State so much in support of the unpopular expansion of Heathrow airports when airports such as Bristol are looking to expand, which would make much more environmental and economic sense to my constituents in Bath and to people across the south-west? As the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Richard Burden) pointed out, regional airports are international airports in their own right, so why the obsession with London airports?
Proposed Media Mergers — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Technology
Christine Anne Jardine (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Liberal Democrats have been consistent in expressing our concern about the Sky-Fox deal should it have gone ahead in its entirety. I therefore welcome the Secretary of State’s assurances that Sky News will be protected and sold off. Will he also reassure us that that there will be similar undertakings about the future of Sky News in the event that Comcast is the buyer?
Govia Thameslink Franchise — House of Commons, 2018-07-18
Topic: Transportation
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My constituents stand in strong solidarity with, and have great sympathy for, the passengers of Govia Thameslink. Will the Minister make a statement on Arriva Northern Rail’s now tedious and predictable ongoing failure to serve Cumbria, in particular? Having cancelled every single train in June, four days ago Arriva Northern cancelled 33 trains on the Furness, lakes and coastal lines on one day. Given that the chaos predates the new timetable, the company cannot blame it. Will the Minister help us out by explaining precisely how dreadful Arriva Northern needs to be before he will get his act together, remove its franchise and give us back our trains? [Interruption.]
Space Policy — House of Commons, 2018-07-18
Topic: Technology
Jamie Hume Stone (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Indeed I am, Mr Speaker. I welcome the announcement that the spaceport will be in my constituency. [Hon. Members: "Hear, hear!"] I am gratified that so many Members have come into the Chamber to hear me ask this question. [Laughter.] On behalf of my constituents, I thank the UK Government for making this decision. Jobs do not exactly grow on trees in my constituency, and this will be, to coin a phrase, a boost to the local economy. It means that quality jobs will take off I have three questions. First, will Orbex and Lockheed Martin be encouraged to start employing local people, and perhaps apprentices, as soon as possible? Secondly, there is great potential for putting satellites into orbit on behalf of other countries that do not have such facilities. The UK could make a lot of money out of that. Will the Minister assure me that Her Majesty’s Government will flex every sinew to get this business? Finally, Viscount Thurso chairs VisitScotland, and there is enormous on-land tourism potential involved in this project. Will Her Majesty’s Government please work closely with VisitScotland to ensure that visitors come to my constituency to see the first rocket taking off?
Future Relationship Between the UK and the EU — House of Commons, 2018-07-18
Topic: International Affairs
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman share my suspicion that the proposals are designed to be so complicated and difficult that the EU will find it very hard to engage with them, so that time will go by and we will end up crashing out without a deal, as has always been the Government’s intention?
Home Education: draft guidance and consultation — House of Commons, 2018-07-18
Topic: Education
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): It is a pleasure to present a petition tonight from my constituent, Natasha Coull. It is on the subject of "Home education: call for evidence and revised DFE guidance". There are just over 50 signatories. I know that, compared with others, that is not a particularly large number, but I know that the signatories are very passionate about this subject. I recall that, some years ago, I was the subject of one of the home educators’ lessons at one of their homes The petition states: The petition of residents of Carshalton and Wallington constituency, Declare that the "Home education: call for evidence and revised DfE guidance" has been written following significant consultation with local authorities and no consultation whatsoever with the home education community; further that the consultation is consequently for little more than show as an intention to implement the content has already been stated: further that it seeks to encourage local authorities to breach the ECHR Article 8 and the GDPR; and further that the report provides no accessible means for a parent to address ultra vires behaviour by their local authority, where many of those authorities already act routinely in an ultra vires manner The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to withdraw the draft guidance and the consultation, until it has put in place an accessible and workable complaints procedure and further has consulted with home educating parents, as it has with Local Authorities, what the contents should include And the petitioners remain, etc [P002237]
Leaving the EU — House of Commons, 2018-07-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
John Vincent Cable (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I congratulate the Prime Minister on effectively killing off the United States-UK trade agreement by agreeing to retain EU regulatory convergence, which of course the Americans cannot accept. I echo the calls she has just heard saying that, now she has lost the support of her Brexit fundamentalists, now is the time for national consensus. A majority in the House supports our retaining membership of the customs union and the single market, the original Common Market, or whatever name and label she wants to attach to it.
Leaving the EU — House of Commons, 2018-07-09
Topic: International Affairs
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): There is obviously disagreement in the Prime Minister’s party, as there is in the Labour party, about what the people actually voted for in 2016. Is it not time to clarify this with the people themselves rather than always to be guessing? With respect, I do not accept, as is being said, that the people have spoken. There is a further question for the people once they have the final deal, and they should have the final say on the deal.
Leaving the EU — House of Commons, 2018-07-09
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): With the setback of four ministerial resignations and March 2019 bearing down upon us, will the Prime Minister think again about the extension of article 50? It would enable her to hold a vote on the final deal, which I know she is not in favour of, and give her additional time in the negotiations with the EU to secure a better deal than the one she might be about to secure.