argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Member may want to reflect the same question to the Mayor of London, I suppose, for the same reasons. I am delighted that Merseyrail has been able to do its thing. I do hope that he will now join me—will he join me?—in condemning the strikes, because I think that would have real weight from the Labour and unions party, but the Opposition will not do it, will they? They will not condemn these strikes, and millions of people up and down this country have taken note.
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Education
Anna Firth (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the Secretary of State agree with me that Labour Members who refuse to condemn these strikes have no regard for the potential effect on the exam results of children taking GCSEs and A-levels up and down the country? Both the AQA and Edexcel—both well-known exam boards—have confirmed that they will not allow the strikes or their impact to be used as grounds for appeal for students who arrive late or perhaps are unable to arrive at all. Given the experience that schoolchildren in this country have had over the last two years, which has been the worst in our lifetimes, does the Secretary of State agree that it is utterly reprehensible for all sides of this House not to be condemning these rail strikes absolutely?
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Labor
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend puts it brilliantly, and she is absolutely right. It is actually callous. That is what it is. I have a daughter who is taking an exam on Thursday. Thursday is a strike day, and she will now go in by car. I can see that the stress is already building on her, because she is now worried about getting there. Yet the Opposition have nothing to say on the subject. They refuse to condemn the strikes. My hon. Friend is right: it is a callous approach.
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Labor
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): First, I assure the hon. Gentleman that it is anything but confected rage when I see what is happening not just to my daughter and others taking exams but to hard-pressed people across the country who cannot get to their jobs as well as veterans who want to go and celebrate. Secondly, will he join me in condemning the strikes?
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right and she gives another example of how not condemning the strikes is being part of the problem. People must be prepared to stand up for what they believe in. If they want school trips, companies doing corporate social responsibility and people to be able to visit Parliament—all those different activities—they have to be on the side of people using the railway, and they have to condemn the strikes.
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Labor
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): I was just checking whether the hon. Member is repeating the RMT’s handout, because what he says is factually untrue in the same way as a series of things that the RMT and Mick Lynch said on television and at the press conference this afternoon. One of the untruths is that anybody is trying to cut anyone’s pay. That, I am afraid, is being propagated by Opposition Front Benchers, who try to suggest that this is somehow like P&O. That is not true. We are putting salaries up. We want people to earn decent wages for decent days of work. We just need to get the reform so that we are not stuck in the 1970s on a railway that is having to recover from coronavirus.
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Labor
Paul John Holmes (Conservative, Centre-right): These strikes will cause untold harm to businesses, students and vulnerable people who have lived through some of the toughest of the last two years. Considering the huge sums of money that the RMT donates to the Labour party, does the Secretary of State agree that Labour should publish a table of donor receipts so that constituents can lodge a claim for their lost wages from Labour party coffers or from the extortionate union salaries?
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Martin John Vickers (Conservative, Centre-right): In generations past, the railway industry played a major part in developing seaside resorts such as Cleethorpes. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, were these damaging strikes to continue, all they would succeed in doing is damaging many small businesses in communities such as mine? Will he do all that he can to ensure that working people can get to work on the trains?
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Labor
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): This is the great irony: the people whom the strike will hurt the most are not the white-collar workers who will sit behind their computers using Zoom and Microsoft Teams but the people trying to support tourist industries in places such as Cleethorpes—people trying to run bed and breakfasts—and people trying to get to work to do their jobs, and often they can least afford to lose a day’s work. However, they will lose not one day’s but at least three days’ work, and there will be chaos on the other days of this week. It is a disgrace, and the Opposition cannot find their way to condemning it, which is disgraceful, too.
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Labor
Scott Lloyd Benton (Conservative, Centre-right): The trade unions decided to go on strike without even knowing what the industry was offering on pay and conditions. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that exposes the strikes for exactly what they are: political game playing from the Labour party and its trade union paymasters, without a second thought for the hard-working travelling British public?
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Labor
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is exactly right. He has seen through it. The leader, Mick Lynch, said that he is "nostalgic" for the union power of the ’70s, and that is exactly what they are driving for. As my hon. Friend rightly points out, Mick Lynch called his members out on strike, telling them that it was about getting a pay increase, but not telling them that they would already be getting a pay increase because the pay freeze had ended.
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Labor
Lee Anderson (Conservative, Centre-right): This strike is a real kick in the teeth for hard-working taxpayers, who have dug deep over the past 18 months to keep this industry alive. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Labour party—the spineless party opposite—should grow a backbone and condemn these strikes?
Industrial Action on the Railway — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Labor
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): That is an appropriate place to end. My hon. Friend is absolutely right. People have dug deep—that is exactly what they have done; it was £600 per household. People are furious. They paid out that money to make sure that nobody lost their jobs, and what thanks have they got? Where is the reward? Where is the "thank you" for keeping the railway going? It is a strike that will put people out of pay and hit people’s pockets once again, and Labour Members cannot even find their way to say, "We condemn the strikes." It is a disgrace.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Government Operations
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her very reasonable point of order. There has been some confusion as to what is required. She read out advice and rules from the Standards Committee. I believe what she said is absolutely correct, and it is useful for the House to hear that I cannot judge here and now, without having had a while to look at all the circumstances, exactly what any individual hon. Member should do when they have received in the past, are receiving, or might receive in the future, any financial help. There is, however, a very simple principle that transparency and honesty is always best. I know the hon. Lady will agree with me on that, and if any Member has doubt as to whether or not they should disclose anything about their own financial situation, I suggest that they think about what is the honourable thing to do, and what is the transparent and reasonable thing to do, rather than ask exactly where the line would come were it to be challenged in a court of law or a committee. If we all stick to principles, rather than the exact black and white of the rules, we are likely to have a Parliament that works best. I honestly think that the vast majority of Members act honourably in this respect. Does that answer the hon. Lady’s question?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Law and Crime
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Helen Morgan is unable to be present today, so we move to the next Bill on the Order Paper Sexually-motivated Manslaughter (Sentencing) Bill Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57) Laura Farris presented a Bill to amend the Sentencing Code to provide for a minimum sentence for cases of manslaughter which are sexually-motivated Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 25 November, and to be printed (Bill 59). Access to Elected Office Fund (Report) Bill Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57) Daisy Cooper presented a Bill to require the Secretary of State to report to Parliament on the merits of reinstating the Access to Elected Office Fund Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 17 March 2023, and to be printed (Bill 60).
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Labor
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Owen Thompson is unable to be present today, so we move to the next Bill on the Order Paper Paternity (Leave and Pay) Bill Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57) Gareth Davies presented a Bill to extend eligibility to paternity leave and pay; to make provision for more flexibility in the timing of, and notice period for, paternity leave; and for connected purposes Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 16 September, and to be printed (Bill 114). Employment (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57) Gavin Newlands presented a Bill to make provision for safeguards for workers against dismissal and re-engagement on inferior terms and conditions; and for connected purposes Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 24 March 2023, and to be printed (Bill 115).
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time Today, the House is considering the next stage of HS2—the section from Crewe to Manchester, a route that will bring high-speed rail to the heart of the north for the first time. When this section is completed, HS2 will link the UK’s three largest conurbations, Greater Manchester, the west midlands and London. It will double capacity on the UK’s busiest rail route, freeing up much-needed space on other congested rail lines. It will halve journey times between Manchester and Birmingham, and it will speed passengers from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston in just one hour and 11 minutes —a trip that takes over two hours today. By transforming rail travel for millions of people each year and acting as a catalyst for investment, jobs and regeneration, this vital route will honour the Government’s defining commitment to levelling up our country.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): I am aware of that station, but I gently remind the hon. Gentleman that the Government are investing record amounts in conventional rail alongside HS2 I am sure that the House was as delighted as I was to see the Elizabeth line open last month: a major new artery to meet growing passenger demand in the south-east for decades to come. The Elizabeth line had its beginnings in a hybrid Bill, and it is great to be able to celebrate the fruits of our labours. Today, we push forward again with another Bill for HS2, the third of its kind. This Bill, and what we are delivering for the north and the midlands, is even more ambitious than the Elizabeth line was for London.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): Perhaps I should gently remind the right hon. Lady that, owing to the way in which the Barnett formula works in spending reviews, the Welsh Government have received a significant uplift in Barnett-based funding as a result of the UK Government’s spending on HS2. Let me return to the subject of investment. We have a £96 billion integrated rail plan, including Northern Powerhouse Rail, to overhaul infrastructure and services across both regions. This is the largest rail investment ever announced by a UK Government.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): I will make a little more progress This is the biggest upgrade to the north and midlands rail network since the Victorian era, and the Bill is pivotal to the entire plan. Getting HS2 from Crewe to Manchester involves far more than just a 38-mile stretch of the high-speed network. It also provides critical infrastructure for Northern Powerhouse Rail services between Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, cutting journey times and significantly boosting capacity on east-west routes. For decades, passengers have put up with slow journeys and overcrowding on many routes across the north and the midlands.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Can the Minister tell the House whether she is determined to press ahead with HS2 irrespective of how high the cost goes? Is there a price at which she will say, "Actually, this no longer represents value for money for the taxpayer", or is she prepared to give HS2 a blank cheque and press on with it irrespective of how much it costs? If she is, I have a house to sell her.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): I can tell my hon. Friend that there is no blank cheque book. I can also tell him that we are delivering within budget. Thirdly, I know that the Minister for HS2—the Minister of State, Department for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Andrew Stephenson)—is keeping a very close eye on these matters.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): I am going to continue The infrastructure was simply not built for a 21st-century economy. For example, daily passenger journeys in the Greater Manchester region have quadrupled since 1995. This Bill will transform rail capacity into Manchester. There will be extra platforms and extra junctions, making it one of our best connected cities.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Environment
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman makes a really important point in raising the environmental impacts. We are keeping negative environmental impacts to an absolute minimum, creating new habitats and planting 7 million new trees in phase 1 alone. It is also fair to say that on the Crewe-to-Manchester phase, we have committed to raise our ambition even further, and we aim to deliver a 10% net gain in biodiversity.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to make some progress, but then I will take some more interventions Turning back to HS2 and the north-west, I must mention that this section of HS2 includes a new high-speed station at Manchester Piccadilly and a new high-speed station at Manchester airport, offering the potential to use the airport station to further promote the international airport.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): On the specific point of a Manchester Piccadilly underground station, I can assure the hon. Gentleman that my Department has been working closely with Greater Manchester stakeholders for a long time to try to understand their reasons for supporting an underground station at Piccadilly. HS2 Ltd has considered these reasons and done extensive investigative work on the feasibility of this option. That work has found that an underground station would cause major city centre disruption during the construction period and significantly delay the opening of services into Manchester by more than seven years. It would also add around an additional £5 billion to the cost of the Crewe-to-Manchester scheme alone. That is an absolutely crazy amount of money to spend on something that is quite frankly worse.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Graham Stuart Brady (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend mentions the station at Manchester airport, but she must beware that the proposed station is actually a quarter of a mile away from the airport, at Davenport Green. Would it not make far more sense to put the airport station at the airport?
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention. Obviously, a huge amounts of engagement has gone on, and in deciding on the location, extensive optioneering work has also considered connectivity, engineering and environmental matters as well as cost issues. The Manchester airport station is located as close to the airport as possible, given all of those competing factors.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Mary Josephine Robinson (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the airport connectivity, which is brilliant not only for our domestic rail travel but for those connections that we need with the airport. Would my hon. Friend agree that it is also crucial because we want to welcome investment into the north? What effect does she think this new airport link will have on that?
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Macroeconomics
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point and reminds us of the importance of investment. This investment will bring many new jobs and investments into the area, and that will bring benefits to local communities, local people and local businesses.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): I am going to make some progress, then I will take more interventions This hybrid Bill is the first one to deal with infrastructure in both England and Scotland. The Bill includes a new depot on the west coast main line in Dumfries and Galloway to ensure that HS2 trains can travel to and be maintained in Scotland. The environment will benefit greatly too. Rail is already the greenest form of public transport in this country, and the most sustainable, carbon-efficient way of moving people and goods quickly over long distances. HS2 will bring further significant reductions in emissions, with new trains and modern tracks helping us to move towards a net zero transport system. This Bill is going even further than previous transport hybrid Bills.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): We are looking at alternatives, because it is quite possible that we could come forward with something better. I know this is something that the Minister of State, Department for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle, is looking at very carefully The huge economic benefits that HS2 will bring to Scotland are not in question. HS2 services between London and Glasgow are set to be available once the HS2 trains start running on to the conventional rail network. We are also committed to exploring alternatives that deliver similar benefits to the Golborne link within the £96 billion envelope of the integrated rail plan.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Andrew John Carter (Conservative, Centre-right): I warmly welcome the Government’s decision to scrap the Golborne link. It is a £3 billion white elephant. The opportunity to put HS2 trains into stations such as Warrington is something that I know Warrington Borough Council and the hon. Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) would also welcome. Can the Minister tell us if that is something that HS2 is considering?
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): Within the envelope of the funding, I would like to assure my hon. Friend that we are considering all options Going back to the issue of biodiversity, we are aiming to boost biodiversity along the Crewe-to-Manchester route, which will mean greater environmental diversity than existed before construction, thereby continuing HS2’s commitment to leave a green legacy. This Bill will contribute not only to a greener economy but to a more skilled economy. In the two years since the construction of HS2 began between London and Birmingham, significant progress has been made on this milestone project I mentioned earlier that this is the third HS2 Bill. It is absolutely incredible to watch the move from the Bills being presented to this House to seeing real spades and tunnel-boring machines in the ground and the unveiling of the staggering 700-tonne bridge-building machine that is set to begin work on a 3.4 km bridge across the Colne Valley. We have also awarded the £2 billion contract for the delivery and maintenance of HS2 trains for phases 1 and 2a, and under budget, I might add.
High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-06-20
Topic: Transportation
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): We are not ignoring Wales or those concerns. The current plans will see Welsh passengers benefit from the HS2 interchange at Crewe, with shorter journey times to north Wales than are currently possible on the west coast main line. The proposed integrated station at Old Oak Common will be served by HS2, the Elizabeth line and conventional rail, including trains to Wales and the west of England.