argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Macroeconomics
Steven Mark Ward Reed (Labour, Centre-left): We do not need to hear anything about tax cuts from Conservative Members, given that they have just broken their solemn electoral promise not to raise taxes if elected back into government. Only yesterday we saw the Chancellor standing at the Dispatch Box proposing to raise taxes. Conservative Members will have to vote on that, and it will be very interesting to see how many follow it through and how many do not The truth is that the Government have divided our country. With this Budget, they are doing absolutely nothing to bring it back together again.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Labor
Stephen John Doughty (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is making an excellent point. I, too, know many people in self-employment in the types of jobs she is talking about, including among my family and friends back home in Wales. She mentions insurance. Is it not the case that people find it difficult to get insurance against loss of earnings, as well as insurance for high-priced items such as tools? The Government have not dealt with all those additional costs that come with self-employment in this Budget.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Labor
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): As I said, we have to acknowledge that the self-employed are in a very different situation from people who have an employer who takes care of all their needs. The Chancellor has singularly failed to recognise that. He seems to be blaming the self-employed for not reading the non-existent small print in the Conservative manifesto. He cannot get away with saying that this is not a broken promise, given what the Conservatives said in 2015.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Seema Malhotra-Saluja (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend makes a point about her family. My father was self-employed when I grew up, also in a family of eight. I was in a similar situation. We never had a holiday when we grew up. Our summer holiday was a daytrip to the seaside with food that we took for ourselves. That is the reality of the struggle it can be to make ends meet when people take that risk. Does she agree that this added pressure, when there are already pressures on family budgets, could be what turns those who are just about managing into those who are no longer managing?
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Labor
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): As the Bill goes through Parliament, we will have to scrutinise the detail. All I know at the moment is that I have constituents who are extremely worried about this proposal and it is making them think twice about whether they should continue as self-employed or look for jobs that are potentially less lucrative, but that have more security.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Macroeconomics
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): That is certainly the concern. As has been said by several hon. Members, if people cannot trust the Government on this matter, they will think that they cannot trust the Government on anything in respect of their future economic security.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Macroeconomics
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): There have been improvements at the margins, but that does not compensate for the loss of earnings that those on low to medium incomes will feel as a result of the decision taken by the Chancellor in the Budget.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Transportation
Stephen John Doughty (Labour, Centre-left): I wholeheartedly endorse my hon. Friend’s point about taxi drivers. I commend him for his work with the all-party parliamentary group on taxis and for standing up for his constituents. I have had similar experiences speaking to taxi drivers in my constituency. Does he agree that the problem is not only the costs he mentioned, but additional charges—they are often subject to differences in regulation—and the rise in the price at the pump?
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Labor
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. It is not just taxi drivers. More than 10,000 people in my constituency are self-employed. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol East rightly pointed out, those people do a range of trades with a range of challenges and additional costs, and very few employment rights and protections. Why have they been targeted by the Chancellor in this Budget While I am asking about priorities, why can a Tory Chancellor always find tax giveaways such as the cut to inheritance tax for the 26,000 wealthiest estates in the country, at the expense of the strivers, the makers, the builders and the creators, who account for Britain’s 5 million self-employed people?
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Macroeconomics
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): The right hon. Gentleman makes a powerful and important point. Unless we get to grips with that, not only will those people suffer as they fall below the line and can no longer keep their heads above water, but the economy itself will suffer. Even the sluggish growth over which the Government have presided since they took office has been driven by an increase in household debt. What happens to those families, and what happens to the economy, when the money dries up—when there can be no more lending, or when families can no longer service their debt? Of course, it is not just national insurance or, indeed, income tax that the poorest pay. Other forms of taxation have a disproportionate and regrettable impact on them: VAT, council tax, and other unprogressive tax measures are causing them to become the very worst off If that were not bad enough in itself, it was explicitly ruled out in the Conservative manifesto, not just once but four times. It is a bit rich for the Chancellor to come to the House and talk about the small print produced by companies, and for his Ministers to tidy up the mess the next day at the Dispatch Box by talking about the small print in the National Insurance Contributions Bill. This is a broken promise, plain and simple. Not only was it in the manifesto; it was a central line of Tory attack. The Tories were wrong to warn at the last election that a Labour Government would somehow cause chaos and instability. Look at the mess they are presiding over now, and look at what they have done to the country in the short time since that election!
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Michael John Gapes (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend has referred to the Conservative manifesto. That was the same manifesto that committed the Government to staying in the single market. The lesson, surely, is that Conservative manifestos are worth nothing, not even the paper they are written on.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful to my hon. Friend and parliamentary neighbour for making that point. He will be pleased to know that I shall return shortly to the issue of Europe and the future of our economy.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Education
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): Not only is this a grave injustice to young people, but it is hugely costly to the taxpayer. If we fail young people in their formative years and fail to break down the barriers that prevent them from getting a good education, we pay more in the longer term in terms of unemployment, further mental ill health and the breakdown of social life later on.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Keith Anthony Vaz (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the endorsement that I can count; I am most grateful. It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), who is widely respected in the House as someone who knows a huge amount about social care and the health service. His project is, I think, welcomed by all parties. We do need an independent assessment of health spending The Times today contains a marvellous cartoon of the Chancellor dressed up as Marilyn Monroe, showing his NICs. I do not know whether Ms Monroe could sue for that cartoon, although she has been dead for some years. I want to take the debate away from national insurance contributions, which have dominated the discussion, to other areas. It is important to remember that the Budget is about funding the whole of Government, not just one aspect, although it is, of course, important to raise the money before spending it I begin with the Government’s international aid commitment, which was reiterated by the Prime Minister and confirmed by the Chancellor. I was pleased to note that 0.7% of gross national income for aid remains a strong commitment of this Government, even though less time in the Budget statement was spent on international development than the Chancellor spent praising his Parliamentary Private Secretary, the very worthy hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen). The Chancellor went past the development commitment very quickly, and, rightly, lavished praised on the hon. Gentleman for all the work he has done. However, I shall talk about the importance of maintaining and increasing the aid budget, especially at a time when there is a great deal of media pressure and scrutiny over what we do with our aid. It is right that there should be that scrutiny, although some sections of the media have an obsession with challenging every single bit of expenditure as if it in some way undermines the important principle that our Government provide aid to countries in need In particular, I highlight the aid given by the Treasury to Yemen through the Department for International Development. We heard only today that there is now a famine warning in Yemen. Of the aid that we give in the overall DFID budget, £100 million has been committed to the people of Yemen. However, although contributions have been made at a local level, a lot of the money can sadly not be delivered because of the current situation. My message to Treasury Ministers is to keep up with the commitment to fund DFID and to ensure it delivers to countries in need, such as Yemen. The aid should not just sit in a bank, but actually be spent. Until there is a ceasefire in Yemen, we will not be able to spend that money and therefore will not be able to alleviate that poverty.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen John Doughty (Labour, Centre-left): I concur with my right hon. Friend’s comments about the importance of DFID’s work and the support that it is providing in Yemen. That work has been praised by the Select Committee on International Development, as he well knows. Does he share my concerns that while we are providing that aid, Amnesty International has today said that there is new evidence that the Saudi-led coalition is using cluster munitions?
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Keith Anthony Vaz (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is an amazing campaigner on these matters and has worked hard on the Yemen issue. He is right to raise this point, which is part of the overall debate and discussion. We cannot get the aid through unless the bombing stops. We need the ceasefire so that the £100 million that has been committed is spent. I bumped into the Secretary of State for International Development in Central Lobby yesterday, and she said that she is focused on and committed to increasing the amount of aid to Yemen. I am grateful for that, but that aid cannot get through, as my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) says, unless the bombing stops.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend also recognise that the cuts to benefits, particularly to housing benefit, will have a huge effect on extra care? Large numbers of people are very happy, well looked after and protected in those arrangements, but they cannot pay for them if housing benefit goes. Moving those people into nursing care will cost far more a week. That is another ticking time bomb.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2017-03-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Barbara Mary Keeley (Labour, Centre-left): Surely the key point is that we are almost abandoning prevention. Some 1.2 million older people live every single day with unmet care needs. There is no prevention when a frail older person who needs care does not get it, and this money goes nowhere to helping with that.
Financial Services Industry — House of Commons, 2017-04-27
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: I hope you will indulge me for a moment, Mr Speaker. When I took my oath, you told me that my voice would be heard in this Chamber, and you have kept your word. You have been a champion for Back Benchers and I thank you for that.At the start of the week, the EU 27 firmed up their Brexit negotiating guidelines and inserted a new paragraph that states:“Any future framework should safeguard financial stability in the Union and respect its regulatory and supervisory regime and standards and their application.” Following this major blow to the Prime Minister’s unworkable plans for a hard Tory Brexit, can we expect to see a change in the Conservative manifesto?
Matthew Thomas Pennycook (Labour, Centre-left): Last month, the Secretary of State confirmed to the Brexit Select Committee that exiting the European Union on World Trade Organisation terms would mean an end to passporting rights. Does the Minister agree that that would be catastrophic for our financial services sector and all those who work in it? If so, does he agree that no deal is not a viable option for the financial services sector?
Financial Services Industry — House of Commons, 2017-04-27
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: I hope you will indulge me for a moment, Mr Speaker. When I took my oath, you told me that my voice would be heard in this Chamber, and you have kept your word. You have been a champion for Back Benchers and I thank you for that.At the start of the week, the EU 27 firmed up their Brexit negotiating guidelines and inserted a new paragraph that states:“Any future framework should safeguard financial stability in the Union and respect its regulatory and supervisory regime and standards and their application.” Following this major blow to the Prime Minister’s unworkable plans for a hard Tory Brexit, can we expect to see a change in the Conservative manifesto?
Matthew Thomas Pennycook (Labour, Centre-left): The latest draft EU negotiating guidelines discussed on Monday suggest that financial services will be separated from any agreement on our future trade deal. If the Government cannot secure the safety and certainty of the financial services sector as part of any future agreement, what is their back-up plan?
Employment and Workers' Rights — House of Commons, 2017-04-27
Topic: Labor
Rupa Asha Huq (Labour, Centre-left): All the evidence shows that public holidays improve the productivity and wellbeing of workers, including those in the NHS still awaiting their £350 million a week as promised by the leave campaign. Does the Secretary of State agree with having an additional four days, as the Labour party proposes? Although that would still be short of the number in Finland and Spain, which have 14 and 15 days respectively, it would bring us in line with the European average of 12. At the moment we only have eight. That is an example of how, when we leave—
Great Repeal Bill: Future Trade Terms — House of Commons, 2017-04-27
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on the potential effect of the great repeal Bill on negotiating future trade terms with the EU.
Heidi Alexander (Labour, Centre-left): I have asked Ministers six times in the last three months how the Government plan to extract us from the European economic area. Not once have I got a straight answer. Throwing away our membership of the single market with no plan for a vote in Parliament is the single largest act of economic self-harm and democratic nihilism that I can imagine. In which year does the Minister believe we should come out of the European economic area, and will the so-called "great" repeal Bill include the repeal of the European Economic Area Act 1993?
English Regions — House of Commons, 2017-04-27
Topic: International Affairs
Chinyelu Susan Onwurah (Labour, Centre-left): The north-east has benefited hugely from investment and funding from the European Union—a counterbalance to the neglect of this and other Tory Governments. What guarantee will the Minister offer that the repatriation of powers from the European Union will not mean further concentration of powers in Whitehall and that powers will be devolved to the north-east and other regions?
English Regions — House of Commons, 2017-04-27
Topic: Foreign Trade
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): Visiting the north-east is always a good thing to do, and we are very happy to have the Minister, but he does need to listen while he is there. The Engineering Employers Federation has warned that walking away with no deal would condemn north-east manufacturing to "a painful and costly Brexit." The EEF wants the Government, instead of posturing, to focus on obtaining full World Trade Organisation membership, a clear position on customs and a sensible transition period. Why are the Government not listening to the needs of manufacturers in the north?
Welsh Sheep Meat Trade — House of Commons, 2017-04-27
Topic: Agriculture
Paul Phillip Flynn (Labour, Centre-left): That answer was characteristically vacuous and meaningless: could the Minister try to concentrate? Welsh farmers are saying that the door is open to New Zealand competition that could clear Welsh lamb off the shelves because of the price, and the door is not open to new markets in the United States, although that was promised. The Minister will understand the cultural priority of maintaining life on Welsh farms, where one of the most ancient languages in the whole of Europe prospers at its purest and best. Is it not a major priority for the Government to give a guarantee to Welsh farmers?
Trade and Customs Agreement — House of Commons, 2017-04-27
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on securing a comprehensive trade and customs agreement which provides the exact same benefits which the UK receives as a member of the single market and customs union.
Paul Christopher Blomfield (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister will know that paragraph 19 of the European Council’s draft guidelines for the negotiations on the future EU-UK relationship makes it clear that there must be "a level playing field in terms of competition", with the same social and environmental standards. Does the Minister agree with that principle, and is he therefore be happy to see it embedded in the agreement?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-04-27
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: From Donna Nook to Chapel St Leonards, the Lincolnshire coastline is the best place in the country for a traditional seaside holiday. However, the coastline also has pockets of deprivation, and investment in infrastructure, such as broadband, traffic solutions and renovated beach huts, are key to the local economy. Will my right hon. Friend reassure my constituents that the coastal economy, and the rural economy, will be central in preparations for our exit?; The Prime Minister called the general election in the name of building unity to strengthen her EU negotiating position. However, this is the Prime Minister who sent “Go home” vans around parts of urban Britain with high immigrant populations, this is the Prime Minister who aided and abetted the most disgraceful campaign against the first Muslim Mayor of our capital city, and this is the Government who, with their hard Brexit allies, seek to call anyone who calls into question their negotiating strategy a bunch of saboteurs. Is not the truth that, far from uniting this country, this Tory Government and its Ministers have been dividing it since they took office?; Last week I met staff from Norwich manufacturing firm Teknomek, a small firm with impressive productivity and export links to Ireland and the continent. Firms such as that need the freest possible trade in services and goods between Britain and the other EU member states. Will my right hon. Friend look for security, stability, certainty and simplicity for small firms up and down the country?; As my right hon. Friend proceeds with the immense task of delivering a responsible and good Brexit for the country and, most especially at these difficult times, for Mid Sussex, does he agree that we cannot pretend to be a global player without running an open economy, with an orderly, non-bureaucratic immigration policy that allows our businesses and public services to access the people and skills that they need?; Pendle is home to a cluster of outstanding aerospace businesses, including Euravia, Senior Aerospace Weston, Merc Aerospace, T&R Precision Engineering and, of course, the crown jewel, Rolls-Royce in Barnoldswick. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the sector is absolutely vital to the UK economy, and will he assure this House that it will have a strong voice in the negotiations under a Conservative Government?
Paul Phillip Flynn (Labour, Centre-left): Will the Secretary of State tell us why we are going into this premature election? Those of us who voted to remain in the EU have fully accepted the decision that was made, and voted for the triggering of article 50, as did those in the other House; so that is not the reason. Will the Secretary of State confess today that the real reason we are having this election is the Government’s wish to escape from the promise that they made two years ago—a five-year promise—not to raise taxes, and to respect the triple lock? Is it not true that what lies ahead on the economic front is a great sinkhole into which our economy will fall in a tailspin?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2017-04-27
Topic: Law and Crime
Dennis Edward Skinner (Labour, Centre-left): I raised this matter with the Prime Minister a week ago yesterday—this is a matter for you really, Mr Speaker—and did not get an answer from her. I was then fortunate enough to be called by you to raise the matter again with the Secretary of State for Justice and, once more, I did not receive a reply from the Government. What has now emerged is that you, in the Chair, are saying, "It is not a matter for me." The Prime Minister did not respond to my accusation that the election should not have been called. She did not get a revelation on the Welsh hills; she called a snap election to try to beat the Crown Prosecution Service. That is what this election is all about, and that is why it is a point of order for you, Sir.