argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nia Rhiannon Griffith (Labour, Centre-left): I very much agree with my hon. Friend. It is even more serious than that because many jobs depend on EU funding. People might find that they no longer have the apprenticeship opportunities, training opportunities and many other things that are supported by the EU but that are not quite as obvious as the concrete structures It would be very difficult for the Welsh Government to make up a significant shortfall in the block grant. The block grant is some £15 billion per annum, whereas the total income tax raised in Wales amounts to some £4.9 billion. It would be very difficult to make up any percentage cut to that £15 billion, particularly if we wanted to protect the standard taxpayer. It is therefore vital that there is an opportunity for negotiation and for a vote and approval before any devolution of income tax People might think that I am very suspicious of the Conservative party and that I do not trust it an inch. [Hon. Members: "No!"] Well, I just think that we have to look at the facts. Look at what it has done with councils in England. It has told them that if they want to increase social care funding, they can raise it through council tax hikes. If anyone thinks that the UK Government run by the Conservative party are committed to fair funding or needs-based formulas and are free from partisan bias, I remind them that between 2012 and 2020 the average cut in spending power per household in Labour council areas in England is more than five times higher than the average cut in Tory local authority areas.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Immigration
Yasmin Qureshi (Labour, Centre-left): I want to make it clear that this Adjournment debate is not about people who voted to leave. Many good people voted to leave, as they believed we will be better off out of the European Union. Today’s debate is about the rhetoric and images used by some in the leave campaign Growing up as the child of Pakistani immigrants in the 1970s, I frequently received abuse such as "Go back to your country" or "You smell of curry." Often, the words I heard were, "Go back home." The words stung because they implied that I did not truly belong in this country. Growing up, this taunt haunted many of my generation and others as well. Words such as "Paki" and signs on doors saying, "No blacks, no Irish, no dogs" still haunt many of us If we fast-forward to 2016, it feels like nothing has changed. I still receive abuse, and it is not just racially motivated. I have frequently been subjected to rape and death threats online—often I am told I should be sent to Saudi Arabia to be raped and lynched—but I will not be frightened off, despite the fact that I am one of those MPs who regularly hold drop-in surgeries in my constituency and I have no idea who will come to see me. These people will not prevent me from carrying on connecting with my constituents and giving them the best service I can.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Karl Turner (Labour, Centre-left): I have been contacted by my constituent Leroy Vickers, who describes four very serious incidents of racially aggravated offences. He says that in the past two days he has witnessed a man on a bus telling a passenger, "Get off the bus, Paki", witnessed racially aggravated abuse in a takeaway, and heard a man of Jamaican descent say that for the first time since he was about five or six he is hearing the N word used regularly. What does my hon. Friend say to that?
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Immigration
Yasmin Qureshi (Labour, Centre-left): That is also the experience of so many of the constituents and other people who have written to me. That is why I am very grateful that I managed to get this Adjournment debate We have had words such as, "Go home, Polish vermin", posted through the letterboxes of Polish residents in Cambridgeshire; heard of young Muslim school girls being cornered and intimidated, with people saying, "Get out, we voted leave" and "I can even give you a suitcase"; and seen signs in Newcastle urging the Government, "Stop immigration and start repatriation", with words such as "This is England, we are white, get out of my country".
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Stephen John Doughty (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is making some strong, powerful and deeply disturbing points. Does she agree, though, that it is not just in the context of the referendum that we have seen hate crime increasing? I saw this horror in last year’s general election. In just one street in my constituency, somebody told me that that they would not vote Labour because all we did was support the N word, another person pointed to a black woman in the street and told her she should go home, another told me that gay people should be killed and sent to hell, there was a race hate attack in a fish and chip shop at the end of the road, and somebody said that we needed to stand up against the Jews. That was all in one street. Does she agree that this has been going on for some time? It has been a problem in the referendum, but it has been coming for a while.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Immigration
Yasmin Qureshi (Labour, Centre-left): I absolutely agree. We need consistency throughout the country in how these cases are dealt with. I thank my right hon. Friend for remembering my birthday Many here will know or remember that on 15 February 1971 Enoch Powell stood up to speak at Carshalton and Barnstead Young Conservatives club in Surrey. It was three years since he had made his incendiary "rivers of blood" speech, and now he was returning to the subject of immigration. Mass immigration, Powell claimed, led to the native British seeing their towns "changed, their native places turned into foreign lands, and themselves displaced as if by a systematic colonisation." Three members of the shadow Cabinet threatened to resign unless Mr Powell was sacked. Mr Heath dismissed him I, like many other Members, was horrified by the return of such language during the recent referendum. I felt revulsion—I am sure many others did too—on seeing the image of Mr Farage proudly unveiling his "breaking point" poster, featuring Syrian refugees, a week before the referendum. It was the visual equivalent of the "rivers of blood" speech. The poster shows a crowd flowing towards us—face after face, an apparently unending human tide. The nearest faces are in sharp focus, the furthest a blur of strangers. Even though they are human beings, they seem to be aliens. Nigel Farage and the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith) frequently made false claims that immigration, not austerity, is the reason that health, social care and schools are under pressure, fostering the myth that immigrants drain our resources rather than enhance them That is scaremongering in its most extreme and vile form. The leave campaign played on people’s genuine fears about poverty, unemployment and deprivation, especially in areas facing generational unemployment that have long been neglected for the past 20 to 30 years. Immigration is not the cause of social inequality, and such scaremongering does not and will not address the root causes of the problems faced by so many. It is successive Governments who have failed to deal with the issue of social and economic inequality. The gap between the rich and the poor is now even bigger, and five families in the United Kingdom own some 20% of the UK’s wealth. The issues that need to be addressed—such as eradicating poverty and providing equal opportunities—are not being tackled. Immigrants are accused of being the cause of all that and they are used as a natural target—that is what Vote Leave campaigners campaigned on.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Immigration
Yasmin Qureshi (Labour, Centre-left): I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. That is why I said when I started my speech that this is not about leaving or about people who voted to leave; as I said, many of them had very good reasons for doing so. I am talking about some of the people who led the campaign Mr Powell foresaw an unchecked inflow of black immigrants creating civil war. The UKIP poster told us absolutely the same thing about the people headed our way, it claimed, "across borderless Europe". The tide of faces sums up exactly the same image as the swarms and rivers and hordes of otherness and racial difference that Powell spoke against in 1968 and that so many others—the National Front and the British National party among them—have tried to evoke over the years. I do not think that the creators of the UKIP poster would be insulted by that Enoch Powell comparison. They assume that we all share their unease with racial diversity. It was no wonder that the poster was reported to the police for inciting racial hatred The referendum was one of the ugliest political campaigns that I have witnessed in my life. Leave campaigners could have talked about the need for reform, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, economic considerations and a whole host of other things. Instead, they chose to make the debate about the mythical "other"—the immigrant who is stealing our jobs and resources and taking our homes. They seemed to cry, "If only we could close the door, then Britain will be great again and all our problems will be gone." I am afraid to say that the tone taken on immigration by some of the leave campaigners has made racism socially acceptable again.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Immigration
Gerald Jones (Labour, Centre-left): I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate and agree with all the points she has raised. I am sure she agrees with me that these actions against EU nationals, including the Polish people in my constituency who are having letters put through their letterboxes telling them to go home, are deeply deplorable and should be condemned.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Immigration
Yasmin Qureshi (Labour, Centre-left): I absolutely condemn the vitriolic abuse that the Polish community has received over the years. I would add to that that a lot of European nationals in this country are now very concerned about their status and their citizenship rights. I will ask the Minister to ensure that the Government deal with this issue fairly urgently to bring reassurance to a lot of EU nationals living in the United Kingdom The hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) claimed that Brexit would stop "uncontrolled immigration", suggesting images of hordes of people rushing to our shores. During a televised EU debate, a member of the audience asked Mr Farage to explain how he would reduce racial tensions in the light of such rhetoric. Not only did he ignore her question, but later her Twitter timeline was filled with horrific abuse from his supporters. We must acknowledge that the abusers now feel more confident in making these claims because of Mr Farage’s frequent racist comments and claims that he can restore Britain’s place in the world.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Stephen John Doughty (Labour, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend for giving way again; she is being incredibly generous. She made a point about Twitter. Does she agree that social media companies and internet providers have a great deal of responsibility here? It is not easy enough to report or deal with hate crime, of all sorts, and the internet is currently filled with abuse, whether it is anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, anti-gay or anti-women. Many Members of this Chamber have experienced that abuse in recent days, from the left and from the right, and the companies that are involved need to take a much firmer hand.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Immigration
Yasmin Qureshi (Labour, Centre-left): I absolutely agree. It is so difficult to make a complaint. I am one of those people who can relate, on a personal level, the amount of abuse that I have received. When I tried to contact the organisations concerned, I got nowhere. It is important that we think about how we can regulate that and ensure that social media companies deal with these issues responsibly and monitor the posts that are being put on their sites. It seems that most of them completely fail to do that There have been constant calls that we are claiming our country back. After the Brexit campaign won, the first comment from Mr Farage was, "We have got our country back", suggesting that it had been under the control of somebody else. These are the types of irresponsible comments that feed into people not liking immigrants—the "other". Sadly, some senior politicians who perhaps should know better did the same, including the Prime Minister, when he talked last year about the "swarm" of migrants in Europe, and they have failed, time and time again, to stop the spread of such anti-immigrant feeling.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Immigration
Catherine Elizabeth West (Labour, Centre-left): It seems that confusion is being deliberately stoked on the definition of a refugee versus somebody exercising their right, or their former right, to freedom of movement across Europe, and other categories of non-European migration. In general, this leads to a sense that there is a lack of education about what migration actually is.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Colleen Margaret Fletcher (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is making important points about the responsibilities of different agencies. The Minister may have heard about the incident in Coventry, where my constituent, the Coventry and Warwickshire radio presenter Trish Adudu, was racially abused in the street last week. Trish said that an individual shouted at her and another Coventry resident, and said vile things, including the N word, which I have never used and cannot bring myself to use even when describing this incident tonight. She was told: "Get out of here. Go back home. Haven’t you heard the result of the vote?" Trish was visibly distressed when she reiterated that on the radio and on TV. Does my hon. Friend—and hopefully the Minister—agree that there is no place for such sickening and deplorable behaviour? We must work together to put a stop to it, bringing in all those agencies and working cross-party. Robust action must be taken—
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Other
Natascha Engel (Labour, Centre-left): Order. I have been very generous with the intervention, but that was very long. There is plenty of time and if the hon. Lady wanted to make a speech, she could have done so, but I think that was it.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Yasmin Qureshi (Labour, Centre-left): I entirely agree with my hon. Friend We have processes in place to report hate crime, and swift action can be taken, as was demonstrated by Greater Manchester Police following the incident of hate on a tram towards an American lecturer. Importantly, many who voted to leave the EU did so as a protest vote to voice concerns against the Government and austerity measures, and the vast majority do not endorse any racist rhetoric. Many who voted to leave felt that they were doing the right thing for the economy, and they fell for the lies being peddled as promises, such as £350 million a week for funding the NHS. However, Brexit has legitimised and normalised racism. We must ensure that all incidents are reported and prosecuted, and we must hold the media and leaders—including political leaders—to account when hatred is propagated. We must act against social inequality, and provide and protect jobs, wages, workers’ rights, good schools and hospitals. In essence, social and economic equality often leads people to view the "other" through the prism of dislike, hatred or suspicion. Only together can we work to tackle that problem, and ensure that future generations can hope for a safe future in this country and regard it as their home.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Immigration
Keith Anthony Vaz (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Lady is absolutely right. It cannot be right for a seven-year-old to say such things, but it is because of prevailing attitudes either in the local area or, most probably, in the home of that child. That is exactly what my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South East was saying, and that is why her debate, held so quickly after the referendum, is so important. It is not about whether someone voted to stay in or come out—it is the settled view of the British people that we should come out—but about the attitudes that remain, the speeches made and the quotes she gave. These points have to be regretted I am sorry that I missed yesterday’s urgent question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Ms Stuart). It is really important that the Government settle the issue of whether EU migrants can stay here. It is not an issue for the Conservative party’s leadership campaign—it cannot be talked about in hustings; it has to be told to the House. I believe that the Prime Minister is an honest, honourable, fair and diligent person, and I believe that if he came to that Dispatch Box tomorrow and was asked this question, he would come out with a settled view and tell us that they can stay—that they should not be, as we heard yesterday, bargaining counters. I am sure he would say that we will allow the 1.2 million Britons to stay in the EU and that we will keep the 3 million. Of course, the numbers will not stack up in any case. The need to clarify is what causes people to be concerned, which is why it is important that we clarify these matters as soon as possible.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Stephen John Doughty (Labour, Centre-left): My right hon. Friend is making some strong points. Before he finishes, I want to agree with his point about Polish people in this country. I have Polish relatives, many of whom live in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi). I am horrified at some of the abuse that has been directed at the Polish community. Given what I said before about the impact of social media and the internet as a common theme running through everything I have seen in the last few years—whether it be this type of hate crime, hate crime directed at LGBT people, extremism, radicalisation for terrorism or the sectarianism we saw in the Scottish referendum that was also played out online—what does my right hon. Friend feel that social media and internet companies need to do?
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Keith Anthony Vaz (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the responsibility on social media and internet companies is massive. I cannot understand why companies that make millions of pounds cannot have dedicated teams to take down this hate immediately. Why should it be left for people to block those who write these racist comments? We have to be sitting and looking at our iPhones every single minute of the day to know what people are saying about us. I block a lot of people: I have some friends, but also some enemies on the internet. The fact is that those companies should be doing this, and if they do not do it, Parliament should legislate Let me conclude. The Select Committee decided unanimously on Wednesday to have an inquiry into hate crimes and violence. We heard the words of the Minister last week at the Dispatch Box, and I welcome what she said. I also welcome her personal commitment to this issue. I have been in the House for 29 years, and I know the difference between a Minister who comes to the Dispatch Box and just says what is in the brief and a Minister who comes to it but believes passionately that something must be done. The Minister does believe in this issue passionately. She believes in zero tolerance for racism and anti-Semitism; she wants to put in place an action plan to which we can all adhere; she wants consistency. That is what we all want The Minister will find this House united in support of what the Government propose, because there can never be any doubt that we stand united in support of all the communities who have come to this country since we have been in the European Union and the diaspora community that has settled here for many years, including my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South East, my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall South—my sister—and me. This is our country. I know this phrase has been used a lot, especially by Conservative leadership candidates, but I love this country, too, and I do not want anyone to say of us collectively that we tolerate racism, anti-Semitism or hate. We stand united to defeat them.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Immigration
Keith Anthony Vaz (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister has faithfully reported what the Prime Minister said, but three senior members of the Government who are contestants for the leadership of this country have decided to say that EU citizens can stay. Why does the Home Secretary not agree with them? This issue is not about the Conservative party leadership; it is about the rights of citizens in this country.
EU Referendum: Race Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2016-07-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Keith Anthony Vaz (Labour, Centre-left): The point that my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi), I and others are making is that it is this uncertainty that leads to prejudice; it is this uncertainty that leads to one seven-year-old boy saying to another, "You’ve got to leave." That is why we need to be certain.
Permanent Secretaries: Diversity — House of Commons, 2016-06-15
Topic: Civil Rights
Victoria Jane Foxcroft (Labour, Centre-left): In 2011, for the first time, 50% of permanent secretaries were female. Since then, and since the Prime Minister took control, the glass ceiling has been painstakingly reassembled. If he cannot be trusted to appoint women, is it not about time we introduced some positive discrimination?
Permanent Secretaries: Diversity — House of Commons, 2016-06-15
Topic: Civil Rights
Sue Hayman (Labour, Centre-left): According to Leonard Cheshire Disability, only 4.5% of senior civil servants are disabled. What are the Government doing to ensure that disability is not impeding disabled people in the civil service from reaching the highest levels? Will the Minister review the Government’s policies and keep the House updated on his efforts to improve the employment prospects of disabled people in the civil service?
Constituency Boundaries — House of Commons, 2016-06-15
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: I welcome the consultation period that will follow the Boundary Commission’s recommendations, but does my hon. Friend agree that it is important to ensure that people are aware of the consultations so that they can make their views known? What does he intend to do to publicise the consultations?
Gloria De Piero (Labour, Centre-left): The number of registered voters has gone up massively since December 2015—in some constituencies, the equivalent of two extra wards have been added. Will the Minister therefore reassure us that he cannot possibly use the December figures to redraw the boundaries—or will his Government go back to using voter registration for their own political gain once this referendum is over?