argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: International Affairs
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend makes a pertinent point because, in the six weeks or so since the Prime Minister took office, apparently no proposals have been put to the European Union and there have been no substantive negotiations. He keeps talking about the prospect of progress being made. Well, one would have thought he would have something practical to report to the House by this stage, and, so far, he has not.
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: International Affairs
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): Yes, the Labour Opposition did support the referendum and did take part in the referendum campaign. We also made it very clear at the general election that we would not countenance a no-deal exit from the European Union because of the damage it would do. We cannot hope for another opportunity further down the line to stop this Government’s destructive course. There is no more time—they have taken it away—and this may be our last opportunity. Today we must act.
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: International Affairs
Danielle Rowley (Labour, Centre-left): Many constituents and businesses in Midlothian have contacted me, and they are very worried about the grave danger of a no-deal Brexit and the effect it would have. What does my right hon. Friend think about the effect of a no-deal Brexit on our people and businesses across the country?
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: International Affairs
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): I think I am right in saying that on two occasions I voted alongside the Prime Minister against those deals I understand that Members on both sides of the House are under a great deal of pressure in what is, regrettably, an extremely volatile political climate, but if you truly trust in what all the analysis shows—including the Government’s own analysis, as was demonstrated earlier—if you believe in what the experts say and if you understand that a no-deal Brexit will be a disaster for this country, you must act now With that in mind, I pay tribute to those who have shown the political courage to boldly stand up for what they believe in by bringing this debate to the House. The bullying and the threats to Conservative Members from their own side is unprecedented, but let me offer some words of encouragement. [Interruption.] It is all right; I am trying to help. Standing by your principles does not always damage your future prospects.
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: International Affairs
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. The only problem is that it flies in the face of all the facts that are published day in, day out. The value of the pound is falling and manufacturing industry is falling, and I will come on to a number of other industries that are seriously at threat I pay tribute to those people across all parties who have come together and continued to work to make a stand against this Government’s reckless and shambolic approach. The Prime Minister says that now is not the time for Parliament to make this stand. He says the chances of a Brexit deal are improving and that the outlines of an agreement are in the making, yet all the evidence points to the contrary. So far, in their six weeks in office, this Government have spent more time trying to avoid scrutiny and trying to silence Parliament than focusing on getting a good deal for this country. With weeks to go until we crash out of the European Union, they have failed to bring forward any new proposals, especially with regard to the Irish backstop Even if the Government had worked up new plans or presented a way forward, it seems very unlikely that the EU would agree to the Prime Minister’s red line of scrapping the backstop. As the Attorney General reportedly put it, such a proposition would be a "complete fantasy." The reality is that no progress has been made in Brussels, nor is there likely to be. This reckless Government only have one plan: to crash out of the EU without a deal, at whatever price to our industry, to people’s jobs and to people’s living standards.
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: International Affairs
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): I have given way many times to Conservative Members, so I will continue That is why so many people across this House will stand up to say no to no deal. It has been exposed today, as reported in The Daily Telegraph, that the Prime Minister’s chief of staff called negotiations a "sham" and that the real strategy is to run down the clock. That is why it is incumbent on us, as Members of Parliament, to act today. Voting to block no deal will not kill the positive momentum in Brexit negotiations, because there is no momentum in the Brexit negotiations to kill. What we are asking MPs today to do is to rule out playing Russian roulette with this country’s future, with our industry, our national health service, and people’s jobs and livelihoods all at stake for the Government’s trying to retain power. Let us not forget what no deal means for this country. No deal will decimate our manufacturing industry. No deal will destroy our agricultural sector.
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
James Dolan Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): I am sure my right hon. Friend knows that the west midlands group of MPs has undertaken lots of consultations. We have another meeting tomorrow with businesses in the west midlands, because they are concerned about the implications of no deal. Does he agree that it is imperative that we get a proper deal to safeguard the millions of jobs up and down the country, particularly those in the west midlands and Coventry?
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Government Operations
Stephen John Doughty (Labour, Centre-left): The Leader of the House is talking about the alleged subversion of democracy. He seemed not to answer the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Neil Gray), so I ask clearly: first, on what date did the Leader of the House first become aware of the plan to prorogue Parliament? Secondly, have any officials from his office, 10 Downing Street or elsewhere, whether political advisers or civil servants, been conducting communications away from the normal channels, in such a way that would not comply with the terms of candour and disclosure necessary for the court proceedings that are currently taking place?
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Government Operations
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): The Leader of the House said earlier that Parliament is not being suspended, but in this case it is. He knows perfectly well that Select Committees will not be able to sit and, as according to the Bill of Rights, there will be absolutely no proceedings of Parliament while Parliament is prorogued. I want Parliament to prorogue, but I want it to prorogue only for four or five days so that we can do our job of scrutinising the Government through proceedings in Parliament. That is the point: we want a Queen’s Speech but we also want to be able to come back and do our job.
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Government Operations
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way. Does he not realise that, in proroguing Parliament for five weeks—the longest Prorogation, right in the middle of a political crisis, since 1945—he and his Government have deliberately prevented scrutiny that would be legitimate in this House, hence the situation we find ourselves in now? Will he now confirm at the Dispatch Box that if the Bill passes through this House and the other place, he will speed Royal Assent and that his Government will not act against the law?
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: International Affairs
Hilary James Benn (Labour, Centre-left): I am extremely grateful to the Leader of the House for giving way. Now that Mr Speaker has made it clear that there is nothing at all irregular about his acceptance of this motion, and given that the Leader of the House accepts, as I presume he does, that the House is in charge of its own procedures, how can there be anything constitutionally irregular in the House choosing—if it passes the motion and then the Bill tomorrow—to instruct the Government that there is an outcome to the Brexit negotiations that it is not prepared to accept, which is leaving without a deal on 31 October?
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: International Affairs
Margaret Olivia Hillier (Labour, Centre-left): For once, the right hon. Gentleman has made an error and over-promoted me, but I thank him for his distinctive comments There is a serious point here: we are a representative democracy, not a direct democracy. I take that judgment seriously, as I know do colleagues across the House. The Government do not have not have a majority and we are in uncharted constitutional territory, so it is absolutely right and proper that we exercise our judgment in the interests of the country to avoid, at the very least, a no-deal Brexit. For all the right hon. Gentleman’s talk, we must exercise that judgment, and that is what we are doing. It is entirely responsible.
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen John Doughty (Labour, Centre-left): The right hon. Gentleman is making some very strong points. Does he agree that if the Government were serious about negotiating and there were serious negotiations going on, the negotiation team would not have been cut to a quarter of the size that it was under the previous Prime Minister, and there would not be meetings happening where the chief negotiator is saying that the rationale for talking to the Brexit team in the EU is "domestic political" handling?
European Union (Withdrawal) — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: International Affairs
Gerard Killen (Labour, Centre-left): The right hon. Gentleman is making a very passionate case as to why no deal will be such a disaster. Does he agree that we must once and for all dispense with the notion that it is some kind of bargaining chip in these negotiations? Shooting yourself in the foot because you do not get what you want is not a negotiating position.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: International Affairs
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I welcome tonight’s vote. We live in a parliamentary democracy. We do not have a presidency; we have a Prime Minister. Prime Ministers govern with the consent of the House of Commons representing the people in whom sovereignty rests. There is no consent in this House to leave the EU without a deal. There is no majority for no deal in the country. As I have said before, if the Prime Minister has confidence in his Brexit policy—when he has one he can put forward—he should put it before the people in a public vote. So he wants to table a motion for a general election. Fine—get the Bill through first in order to take no deal off the table. [Interruption.]
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): When I was first elected to this place in 2010, I never thought I would find myself standing up to challenge the Government about the decimation of the UK’s sheep industry. The ancient practice of shepherding is as old as the hills, but it is now facing an unprecedented challenge brought by the threat of a no-deal Brexit. The threat of no deal brings with it a man-made, Boris-built disaster that could harm so many sectors from chemicals to cars, food to pharmaceuticals, and steel to services—virtually every area of economic activity in this country would be hit, and that includes the sheep industry. The idea that the rearing of lambs could be so comprehensively, cruelly and deliberately threatened by our own Government’s decision is beyond belief Keeping sheep is already a vulnerable business and a no-deal Brexit will just add to the problems. The unprecedented loss of markets and the imposition of tariffs and barriers will severely harm this industry.
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Susan Elan Jones (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend agree that this is yet another example of privileged, idle old Etonians who could not care less about the lives and livelihoods of our working hill farmers in Wales and across the UK?
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I represent an urban constituency, but even in urban Darlington there are agricultural workers whose jobs would be affected by the effect of a no-deal Brexit on the sheep industry.
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): If it was that simple, we would not need to have this debate. This is not just about farm payments; it is about loss of markets. That is something that has not been properly understood, and the Government have not given a decent account of what they intend to do to address it.
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): I agree with that. One of the specific problems faced by the farmers the hon. Gentleman describes is the fact that those flocks possess unique characteristics, and that once they are gone they may never be able to be bred back into our national flock.
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Wayne David (Labour, Centre-left): Is not the heart of the problem the fact that lamb would not be competitive if it had a 48% tariff placed on it? That would be an absolutely ridiculous situation. The Government might talk about short-term subsidies to help the immediate situation, but that is no way to save the industry as a whole.
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Helen Catherine Goodman (Labour, Centre-left): Last week, I went to the Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Service. Its concern is that because the Government have failed to bring forward the Agriculture Bill, it is not clear whether the Government have the legal powers to make payments in the event of no-deal Brexit. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Minister must answer that point this evening?
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): That is the first time I have heard that point made in the House; it is one that my hon. Friend and I discussed earlier today. She is absolutely right: farmers need to hear from the Minister what he intends to do about their payments, and we need to ensure that he has the power to make those payments. The principal problem for the sheep sector is that, according to the report the hon. Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Deidre Brock) mentioned, under no deal the export of sheepmeat to the EU 27 would be almost entirely wiped out, with the only exports being those via a tariff rate quota of less than 400 tonnes. Of course non-EU exports could increase over time, although the possible rise of around 5% would not be anywhere near enough to offset the loss of EU trade. Reduced trade with the EU would leave around one third of UK meat without a market.
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Ruth Lorraine Jones (Labour, Centre-left): I congratulate my hon. Friend. She is absolutely correct to raise concerns about the impact of a no-deal Brexit on the sheep industry in Britain, and nowhere will that impact be felt more than in Wales. In acknowledging the work that the NFU Cymru and the Farmers Union of Wales do on behalf of Welsh farmers, may I point out that 96% of all the Welsh lamb sent out of the UK goes to the 27 other nations in the EU? If we do not get this right, sheep farmers in Wales will be pushed to breaking point, and we cannot allow that.
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): This affects every region of the country, from the Lakeland fells, to Exmoor, to Teesdale, where I live. People are saying, "Why does this matter? Surely this just means that there will be more lamb for the UK market, the price will be cut, and we can all enjoy more lamb this Christmas", but the problem is that we just do not have the facilities to safely slaughter, store and freeze that volume of lamb in the UK. If the Minister plans to introduce such facilities, he needs to say so tonight, because knowing that this year’s yield of around 15 million lambs can be safely stored and enjoyed by consumers, and therefore paid for, would be of huge benefit to the 34,000 people currently employed in the industry. If that meat cannot be stored and sold—even at a knock-down price—the sector will be decimated The Government have said that they are aware of the special circumstances that would lead to a substantial negative effect on the income of UK sheep farmers, and that they would compensate farmers. To their credit, the Government have pledged to continue to commit the same cash total in funds for farm support until the end of this Parliament—although obviously that might be coming sooner than was anticipated. Financial support is already included in farmers’ business plans, but it does not compensate farmers for a sudden loss of market or for feed costs for animals that they cannot now slaughter. It does not ensure that sufficient feed is available to keep lambs bred for slaughter alive. It does not create abattoir or cold-storage capacity. It certainly does not create new export markets or offset tariffs, because that would be against WTO rules In answer to one of my written parliamentary questions on 18 July, the then Minister, the right hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr Goodwill), said: "We are doing all we can to mitigate the challenges our farmers will face and we have contingency plans in place to minimise disruption." But Ministers have not explained, and continue to refuse to explain, what those contingency plans are. The Minister’s predecessor offered from the Dispatch Box to meet me, but the current Minister then declined that invitation and has refused to discuss the issue. If a wasteful cull of millions of lambs and breeding ewes is to be avoided, measures need to be put in place now. If the slaughter and storage facilities are not in place and no deal happens, farmers will have little option but to cull their flocks. The meat will not be eaten, and the waste will be shameful. The lack of new trading arrangements and an implementation period would mean that farmers will set about drastically reducing the size of their flocks. Chillingly, the AHDB says: "Culling rates would record significant uplift driving the increase in adult sheep slaughterings. Quarter one of year two"— of a no-deal Brexit— "records a year-on-year uplift in slaughterings as the remainder of the year-one lamb crop are slaughtered." The estimate of 3 million lambs is at the lower end of the estimates.
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Matthew Raymond Western (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is making an important speech. Perhaps she can enlighten us or confirm this, but my understanding is that the breeding season is probably just about to start, because sheep gestation is typically around 150 days, if I well recall, so farmers must be planning now exactly what their programmes will be.
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): That is exactly right. I think the phrase is "In with a bang and out like fools," because sheep breed at the end of October or the beginning of November, and the lambs arrive in the spring. As the Minister well knows, farmers make their arrangements and plan such things a long way in advance, which is why, according to farming bodies, we need at least a two to three-year transitional period. The AHDB report I was referring to goes on to say that "under a rapid response scenario, the national flock would be culled to reduce size".
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend share my astonishment that the Welsh Secretary said over the summer that we could start exporting to Japan and that that market has opened up? They do not eat lamb in Japan at the moment, and they are certainly not going to start eating it on 1 November just to oblige us.
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend makes an important point. Yes, in theory and given enough time, it may be possible to find new markets, but it will be too late by then, because our flock will have been decimated and will take decades to rebuild. Should the situation improve in future years, with new markets, it might just be possible to re-establish the flock, but it really is not likely. Once the breeding ewes have gone and their special characteristics have been lost, it will take years to recreate the unique features of our national flock. Tens of thousands of jobs and our treasured landscape would be lost, and this is all so preventable A minimum of a two to three-year transitional deal is needed, and we need agreements that recognise the safety and quality of our produce. Critically, we must increase the capacity of essential cold storage facilities now. When Ministers reassure me and try to reassure farmers, they need to explain what precisely they intend to do.
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Antonia Louise Antoniazzi (Labour, Centre-left): This is an important debate, particularly for my Gower constituency, where the lamb industry is very vibrant. Does my hon. Friend share my concern about the amount of cold storage that will be needed and about the Government’s plans to meet that need? Does this country have enough cold storage for medicines post-Brexit?
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): If any of us were in the business of cold storage or large-scale fridges, we would be doing quite well at the moment. My understanding from the trade body that represents such businesses is that there is no additional capacity, so should we suddenly need to store this volume of meat, those facilities will not be there and the safe consumption of that meat will not be a possible solution to this issue I did not believe it when I first heard about the mass culling of millions of lambs that would be rendered inedible, but then I read the reports, listened to the National Farmers Union and spoke to agricultural workers and farmers across the country. It is very clear that this is not "Project Fear" I ask the Minister to get out from behind his ministerial desk and deal with this now, before it is too late.
Sheep Farming: No-deal EU Exit — House of Commons, 2019-09-03
Topic: Agriculture
Helen Catherine Goodman (Labour, Centre-left): I am astounded by what the Minister has just said. The pound has fallen by 20% since the referendum, which means that for every export the farmers are getting 20% less money. How can that be good for them?