argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Social Welfare
Bethan Winter (Labour, Centre-left): The Chancellor says that we have to do whatever it takes, and I completely agree with him, but that must apply to everyone in the UK. I cannot believe that every step of the way we, the fifth richest nation in the world, have to battle for the poorest and those who are struggling the most in our communities, including in my constituency—homeless people, those who do not qualify for statutory sick pay, private renters and families on low incomes. When will we stop debating and start the action that is desperately needed?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Social Welfare
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): For somebody who is self-employed, self-isolation will often mean giving up their income. The advice is to claim benefit, but all someone gets with universal credit in the first five weeks, as has been pointed out, is a loan. People are not going to give up their incomes for that. Will the Chancellor replace those advances with non-repayable grants for those who lose their income because of this crisis?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): The notes that have been handed out from the Vote Office tonight say "Statement to the Press", not to the House of Commons. I do not think there is any difference between what the Chancellor has said to the House and what was said to the press earlier on, and that should not happen again Are businesses that are strapped for cash flow likely to take out a loan rather than lay staff off? Is it not assistance with paying wages that they do not have to pay back later that those businesses need? They do not need more debt from the Government; they need help with paying wages.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Labor
Samuel Peter Tarry (Labour, Centre-left): The RSA recently pointed out that 32% of workers in this country live on less than £500 a month in terms of savings, and 41% have less than £1,000 in the bank. That means there could be as many as 20 million people living from one pay cheque to the next. From what I have heard tonight, renters, freelancers, gig economy workers and zero-hours contract workers will not be feeling reassured. Will the Chancellor be able to look them in the eye and tell them honestly that he has truly done enough, or are they going to be collateral damage on the scrapheap, like so many with the Government’s already failing strategy over herd immunity?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Emma Louise Lewell-Buck (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister’s public health advice to avoid pubs, restaurants and theatres was not coupled with immediate economic protections, causing panic and upset for the small businesses, the self-employed and those on zero-hours contracts who form the backbone of coastal constituencies such as mine. The measures announced today do not address their concerns. They struggle with high rents and high bills, and my friends have lost their jobs today. Today, the grafters should have been a priority. When will they be?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Social Welfare
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): The reality is that universal credit and statutory sick pay were not generous enough in the best of times, and they certainly are not enough to live on in these worst of times. When the Chancellor comes forward again, will he announce immediate plans to provide income protection for people who suffer loss of earnings, and will he give a tax holiday to freelancers and contractors facing tax bills in July for work that will never materialise in these circumstances?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Matthew Toby Perkins (Labour, Centre-left): Businesses face collapsing revenues and the biggest part of the Chancellor’s response is to invite them to take on substantially more debt. That will not save people’s jobs. For the Chancellor to compare that £330 billion, which is a guarantee he is making that he may never have to spend, with the package President Macron put together in France is absolutely absurd.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Labor
Seema Malhotra-Saluja (Labour, Centre-left): Yesterday a constituent of mine was laid off from his employment, along with 50 colleagues. He described how he watched the company’s owners trying to hold back tears as they let go people who have worked for them for decades. Why will the Chancellor not cut off this problem at the root by providing to British businesses the same reassurance that President Macron has provided to French businesses: that no business will go bankrupt?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Labor
Michael Joseph Patrick Kane (Labour, Centre-left): Hundreds upon hundreds of aviation workers in my constituency were sent home today. Coronavirus has devastated the airline industry. Because they had less than three years’ experience, 21 days’ pay is all they get, with no prospect of a job going forward. Can the Chancellor give us more information on the aviation package that he has announced tonight?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Labor
Matthew Raymond Western (Labour, Centre-left): The Chancellor will be aware that in certain business sectors, the loss of just one or two people in specialised roles from an organisation can bring down a business. France and Italy are reviving the approach adopted in a global financial crash of supporting workers with a proportion of their wages. Will the Chancellor do the same here?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Katherine Anne Green (Labour, Centre-left): There is huge fear, and also confusion, among my constituents this evening about a range of issues: whether measures will apply to start-ups, what will happen to VAT on advance sales, the position of businesses in the hospital supply chain, and what will happen if a freelancer cannot work because he or she must look after a family member who has been sent home. May I suggest to the Chancellor that local authorities will not have the capacity to deal with all those queries while they are doing many other things, including delivering vital services? It would be very helpful if a dedicated MP hotline could be set up to deal with such questions, so that we could go to one Government location to help our constituents.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Social Welfare
Janet Jessica Daby (Labour, Centre-left): Food banks are used by 1.6 million people, 250,000 more than the number indicated by the previous year’s data, and the demand will increase. Food banks rely on the surplus from supermarkets, and on people’s food donations. What is the Chancellor’s contingency plan to address this very serious issue?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Labor
Kevin Denis Brennan (Labour, Centre-left): The Chancellor needs to be more than a desiccated calculating machine. When he answers questions, we need to hear talk about people, not just packages. Will he look at early-day motion 302, which I tabled and which advocates a universal basic income—particularly for freelancers and the self-employed—as a temporary measure during this crisis, and will he pledge to return to the House, rather than just making an announcement through the press, to tell us what he is going to do about these employment measures?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander David Sobel (Labour, Centre-left): The reality is that for businesses and workers this crisis is going to last for many months. Has the Chancellor considered a much more interventionist microeconomic policy? For instance, has he thought about repurposing the businesses shutting now—hotels, restaurants, music venues, theatres—as infection rates rapidly rise?
St Patrick’s Day — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Social Welfare
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): As people might be able to guess, I too have an Irish father. It is obviously a difficult time to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, and the celebrations are very muted. Last year, I joined St Patrick’s church in east Bristol to take part in the celebrations. Does the hon. Gentleman think that, given the situation we are in, churches like St Patrick’s have a role to play in the voluntary relief effort and reaching out to the vulnerable and isolated, particularly at this time?
Hong Kong National Security Legislation: UK Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: International Affairs
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour, Centre-left): Rubber bullets, tear gas, central Governments clamping down on local authorities—this is not just, of course, what we are seeing in America, but it is a long-term trend in Hong Kong. I welcome what the Secretary of State has said, but I implore him to see this not just as the enactment of a particular Bill in Beijing but as a long-term trend of undermining the rights of people in Hong Kong. Will the Foreign Secretary ensure that this extension of the right to be here for six months on a rolling basis for British national overseas citizens is not just granted on condition of whether Beijing withdraws a particular Bill temporarily? Whatever it does, we should ensure that rights is given, and not just to passport holders but to all people who are entitled to BNO status.
Hong Kong National Security Legislation: UK Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: International Affairs
Rachael Helen Maskell (Labour, Centre-left): There has been a clear undermining of the human rights of the people of Hong Kong and a blatant breach of the Sino-British joint declaration. The Foreign Secretary says that he has been calling for an independent inquiry for 10 months. Why has nothing happened? What support are the Government giving to human rights defenders in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong National Security Legislation: UK Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander James Jorden Norris (Labour, Centre-left): It is right that we take our special historical responsibilities seriously and take a significant interest in this issue, but we know that, when we do take an interest in such issues, diaspora communities at home suffer more. The Chinese community and people of Chinese heritage in Nottingham and, frankly, across the country, have had a horrendous first five months to this year, with abuse increased in staggering amounts. Can I therefore seek assurances from the Foreign Secretary that, as well as the admirably assertive role he is going to play on the international stage, he is working with his colleagues across Government to formulate a sympathetic package and a thoughtful way of supporting Chinese people and those of a Chinese background in this country, because they really need us now?
Hong Kong National Security Legislation: UK Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: International Affairs
Florence Eshalomi (Labour, Centre-left): In his statement, the Foreign Secretary mentioned that the UK will not look away when it comes to the people of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong protest movement has been driven by disenfranchised young people who just want representation, and that can only happen if there is democratic reform. As a co-signatory to the joint declaration, the UK Government have a duty to hold China accountable for the promise it made on this issue. Will he call on the Hong Kong Government to enact political reform and give the Hong Kong people universal suffrage?
Hong Kong National Security Legislation: UK Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: International Affairs
Chinyelu Susan Onwurah (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the Foreign Secretary standing full square behind the people of Hong Kong. I believe that our economic standing is enhanced, rather than diminished, when Britain stands up for human rights across the world, but does the Foreign Secretary accept that we would be less susceptible to accusations of hypocrisy if he condemned President Trump’s words and actions in saying, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" and in last night using tear gas to clear peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators?
Hong Kong National Security Legislation: UK Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: International Affairs
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour, Centre-left): The Hong Kong people are rightly relying on us to show solidarity at this point, especially when Hong Kong police have used extreme force against pro-democracy protesters, including the use of rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas. Is the Foreign Secretary concerned about that and what precise steps has he taken to help avert this in future?
Hong Kong National Security Legislation: UK Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: International Affairs
Catherine McKinnell (Labour, Centre-left): The Foreign Secretary has rightly made known the Government’s concerns and our collective concerns about the erosion of autonomy and democratic rights in Hong Kong. I have listened carefully to his responses. Will he say more specifically what consideration he has given to our future trading relationship with China in the event that it continues down this very troubling path?
Hong Kong National Security Legislation: UK Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: International Affairs
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): As the Foreign Secretary has acknowledged, there is concern not just about what is happening in Hong Kong but also the treatment of the Uighur Muslims and Falun Gong practitioners and what is happening not just in terms of human rights abuses in Tibet but the terrible environmental destruction going on there, too. The Foreign Secretary mentioned the asymmetric economic power of China, and also implied that, basically, China’s refusal to engage on human rights dialogue means it can get away with doing whatever it wants; is that really the case?
Hong Kong National Security Legislation: UK Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: International Affairs
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): I applaud the Foreign Secretary for what he has said; he is being very, very reasonable and, as the right hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green) said, has the whole House behind him. I just want more oomph from him—a bit more vim and determination—because these are really important principles; the rule of law around the world must hold. So I say to him: please, please, please, bring forward the blasted Magnitsky regulations, which he proposed when he was a Back Bencher. I want him to bring them back to the Dispatch Box, not in weeks, months and years, but in days and hours.
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Education
Mohammed Afzal Khan (Labour, Centre-left): Given the disproportionately negative impact that covid-19 is having on BME men and women, has the Secretary of State given any consideration to the additional risk that the reopening of schools will have on this community? What discussions has he had with the Department for Education about the concerns around BME children returning to school, particularly among parents, and what steps are being taken to mitigate those concerns directly?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Government Operations
Catherine McKinnell (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Some 25 petitions are waiting to be debated in Parliament, with more than 5 million signatures from the public represented in them. However, as you know, petitions debates were suspended when we moved to remote proceedings. This morning I received a disappointing response from the Leader of the House suggesting that Government business would be the priority while social distancing is in place, which is likely to be some time Petitions are a crucial means by which members of the public and Back-Bench MPs hold the Government to account, and the sacrifice in bringing us all here in person has been very real for very many people, but it cannot be entirely on the Government’s own terms. So can you, Mr Speaker, advise the House what more we can do to ensure that this vital route of scrutiny for the public is resumed as soon as possible?
Proceedings during the Pandemic — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Government Operations
Christopher Philip James Elmore (Labour, Centre-left): I speak as a traditionalist. I am a Whip. My right hon. Friends the Members for Newcastle upon Tyne East (Mr Brown) and for Tynemouth (Sir Alan Campbell) have constructed my DNA in this institution. I am therefore very much a traditionalist. However, the system does not work. The Mogg conga, as it is now being deemed, through the House into Westminster Hall, is the result of the Government’s not tabling the relevant motion before the recess. It is the responsibility of the Leader of the House, no one else. According to some who have been briefing, even No. 10 did not realise what the Leader of the House was doing on the day before the recess. It would be helpful to know the right hon. Gentleman’s view on that because No. 10 does not seem to know what is going on The point is that this is about disenfranchisement. There are Members who have to shield but who are not vulnerable. Most Members I know who are shielding are far from vulnerable; they are honourable, hard-working, decent people, but like many people in this country, they are taking the advice of their clinicians. It is also a fact that some Members are the partners of key workers who no longer have childcare and who therefore have to be at home to look after their children. This is about the Leader of the House introducing a system that is no longer equal, and that is deeply unfair I want to use my remaining minute and a half to bust some of the myths mentioned by my right hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Karen Bradley). I pay tribute to her as the Chair of the Select Committee, of which I am proudly the minority ranking member—I think that is how some people think of it—as the vice-Chair. [Interruption.] I say to my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) that that was just a joke. He never normally likes my jokes. I want to bust a myth for the Leader of the House: there has been no delay in bringing forward Bills for Public Bill Committees. There are four rooms in the House that could be used, and there is a maximum of four or five Bills currently being debated on the Floor of the House that will go through to Committee. It is the Government who have prevented the Bills from going into Committee, not the Opposition Whips Office.
Proceedings during the Pandemic — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Government Operations
Christopher Philip James Elmore (Labour, Centre-left): I quite agree with the right hon. Lady. One Committee that is going to the Programme Sub-Committee today will be meeting for three days a week with two sessions a day, and it has the option to do four days if it so wishes. That is at the request of the Government. The Government have delayed the start of this process, not the official Opposition or the smaller parties. It is for the Government to put forward a Bill Committee, and they have no one to blame but themselves. The rooms are available, and I would further add that testing was undertaken for hybrid Bill Committees. The Clerk of the House and Officers of the House were asked to undertake the testing of the hybrid version, and I understand that it worked perfectly well, including taking evidence from witnesses. I would never wish to suggest that a Member has misled the House, except maybe inadvertently, but it simply is not correct to say that anyone was blocking Public Bill Committees from sitting. It simply is not true. The Opposition were able to put forward Members to go on to the Committees, and the Government were able to do the same. Those debates could take place. As the Leader of the House knows, some Bills, such as the Finance Bill, do not need to have witness sessions. They just involve line-by-line scrutiny, so they could easily have been done. I ask the Leader of the House to clarify that matter when he comes back to respond. I support the amendments tabled by the right hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands—in fact, I have added my name to them—and I will proudly vote for them on the basis that this is about fairness and about true equality for all Members of this House, no matter what their reason for not being able to attend.
Parliamentary Constituencies Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Government Operations
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): There is a fundamental flaw, which the Minister brought out for us in her very first paragraph. I think Ministers think that by trying to rejig the constituencies they will make every vote count equally. That is not true. The only way we can do that is by having a proportional electoral system. We could make every person count equally if we counted our boundaries not by the number of registered voters in a constituency but by the number of people, which is what every other country in the world does.
Parliamentary Constituencies Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Government Operations
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour, Centre-left): I agree broadly with the hon. Lady that equal representation between seats is really important, but we all know that from time to time different numbers of people register in different constituencies. When the first major boundary review took place in 1911, the boundaries were based on population census data and not on the whims of who had registered that year or not. Is there not a case now to go to that data, and then 5% possibly could be perfectly agreeable?
Parliamentary Constituencies Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Government Operations
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour, Centre-left): On local boundaries, in Brighton our average ward size is 10,000 whereas in Birmingham some of the ward sizes go up to 20,000. The difficulty of having only a 5% variance is that inevitably in urban areas we will have seats that are cut, confusion for the electorate and MPs often having to cover three council areas. Is there not a case for allowing the Boundary Commission at least to weigh up these things on an equal standing, rather than requiring them always to be subordinate to the numbers and not to the community?
Parliamentary Constituencies Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Government Operations
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister has mentioned several times consultation by the boundary commissions, but if their scope is limited by a plus or minus 5% variation in the size of constituencies, local communities are wasting their time invariably in putting forward those arguments. Is it not more important that people who have common interests and live in a common, identifiable community vote together rather than to meet these tight constraints on the size of constituencies?
Parliamentary Constituencies Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Government Operations
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend agree that there may be a case to always link the register to the last general election? We know that that is a credible register. Other crises might come up in the future, and the Government will always have to be changing, whereas if the register is always based on the last election we will know that it is based on a mandate that people have exercised.