argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Future Relationship with the EU — House of Commons, 2020-12-10
Topic: Foreign Trade
Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The EU is the source of 26% of the UK’s food. The next highest country of origin for food imports to the UK provides only 4%. Considering that we are not acceding to any new markets on 1 January, never mind that we are leaving one with which we have unfettered access, will the Minister finally come clean with consumers and shoppers that no deal will mean increased costs for putting food on the table and that it is the actions of this Government that are directly responsible for this?
The Future of the High Street — House of Commons, 2020-12-10
Topic: Macroeconomics
Richard Gordon Thomson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I absolutely welcome anything that ensures a better balance of taxation, and that example shows the importance of co-operating internationally. Much time has been taken up in this House pursuing a theoretical sovereignty, but we may be about to find some of the limits of the practical sovereignty we can get. However, certainly I am all in favour of making people pay what they can in taxation and doing so on a collaborative international basis That brings me neatly on to my next point, which is about tax-free shopping. The Government have announced their intention to withdraw tax-free shopping. That will have a deleterious impact on our airports, particularly our regional airports, and also have a massive impact on tourism. Much of the tourism traffic that comes into all parts of the UK is led, at least in part, by the opportunities for tax-free shopping.
Strengthening the Union — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: International Affairs
Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Today, a poll revealed that 58% of Scots would vote for independence. This is the 17th consecutive poll to show a positive result and we are seeing a rise in support for independence across all age groups. The Cabinet Office can hoist as many Union flags as it wants, but what part of "We are leaving" does the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster not understand?
Strengthening the Union — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: International Affairs
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): You most certainly can, Mr Speaker, and thank you I listened carefully to the right hon. Gentleman’s answer, and yes, we are grateful for the vaccine, but I did not hear a response as to why he thinks that Scottish independence has now become the settled will of the Scottish people. This is not like him. He is usually quick to give his views about certain things, so why does he think that Scottish independence has sustained majority support, reaching a height of 58%, and is now the settled will of the Scottish people? Why is that the case?
Strengthening the Union — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: International Affairs
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am likely to be the ghost of Christmas future, because it is not going the right hon. Gentleman’s way. Let me try to give him a few reasons. Let us see if he agrees with any of these: the disastrous Brexit that Scotland did not vote for; the attacks on our democracy; the undermining of our Parliament; and the Prime Minister—him. Maybe they are some of the reasons that we are now in the lead, but the main one is the arrogantly Trumpian way in which the right hon. Gentleman says no to a majority in a democracy. Does he think that constantly saying no to a majority in Scotland will drive support for independence down, or will it only further drive support for independence up?
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill: Strength of Union — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: International Affairs
Neil Charles Gray (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The majority support for independence in the last 17 polls in a row—58% this morning—is in part due to how Scotland has been treated by the Minister and his colleagues since the Brexit referendum. It is exemplified by the dictatorial United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, which rips the devolution settlement apart and is now the subject of legal challenge. Why are the UK Government unilaterally legislating without legislative consent with the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill when the required common frameworks could have been negotiated with the devolved nations, as they are still at the table?
European Union (Future Relationship) Bill: Business of the House — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: International Affairs
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I beg to move amendment (a), in line 10, paragraph 1, leave out sub-paragraph (c) and insert — "(c) Proceedings on Second Reading shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion five hours after the beginning of those proceedings; and proceedings in Committee of the whole House, any proceedings on Consideration and proceedings on Third Reading shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion no later than seven hours after the beginning of proceedings on second reading." Brexit is diminishing the UK’s role in the world, and this programme motion diminishes the role of Parliament in the UK. Today was supposed to be about taking back control and reclaiming parliamentary sovereignty. Well, this is not the kind of parliamentary sovereignty that is acceptable. The Leader of the House is wrong to say that if we force a Division, it will eat up time, because if he accepted our amendment, it would create more time—it would give five full protected hours for Second Reading and then two hours for Committee. We have lodged amendments, and if we do not get a Committee stage, those amendments will never even see the light of day. That is not the primacy of Parliament. If that is the control that the Brexiteers in the ERG fought for, good luck to them, because it sets a very dangerous precedent. We will divide the House on this amendment.
European Union (Future Relationship) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Agriculture
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your clarification. I am just wondering how on earth the Prime Minister can talk about taking back control of waters when Scottish fishermen are going to have less access and less fish to catch as a consequence of his con deal.
European Union (Future Relationship) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: International Affairs
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I feel that I have to point out to the House the historic principle in Scotland, as established by law, is that it is the people of Scotland who are sovereign, and it is the people of Scotland who will determine to take them back into the European Union with independence.
European Union (Future Relationship) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Agriculture
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am immensely grateful to the Prime Minister for briefly pausing that monologue that was designed for the European Research Group. On fish, he is waxing lyrical about how amazing this deal is, but I would like to read him a quote from Andrew Locker, chair of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, who says: "I am angry, disappointed and betrayed. Boris Johnson promised us the rights to all the fish that swim in our exclusive economic zone and we have got a fraction of that." Is he wrong?
European Union (Future Relationship) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: International Affairs
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for the question, because it is very simple. This is a piece of legislation that has been put forward today. No deal is not on the Order Paper. The deal that we currently have—the deal that exists today—where we are in the single market and customs union is the best deal for us. We have argued many times in this House, as the right hon. Gentleman knows, that we should have extended the transition, and that offer to extend the transition was there from the European Union. It is not our choice to accept a shoddy deal. What we should be doing—
European Union (Future Relationship) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: International Affairs
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Thank you, Mr Speaker. We will accept your guidance on these things, although I was looking forward to the debate that we were having Now that we see the scale of the bad Brexit deal, the question before the Scottish people is clear: which Union does Scotland wish to be part of? Which future will we choose: this broken Brexit Britain or the European Union? If this whole Brexit saga was truly about sovereignty, the Scottish people cannot and will not be denied our sovereign right to that self-determination. No democrat and nobody in this House should stand in the way of that—even boris with a small b. The Tory denial of democracy is a position that cannot and will not hold. Scotland will have the right to choose its own future Now that the detail of this deal is finally in front of us, people hope that Brexit fictions are swiftly replaced with Brexit facts. Judging by the Prime Minister’s performance today, his Government are still drowning in delusion or simply just putting on an act, but for those of us who have lived in the real world these past four years, it is long past time that reality finally bursts the Brexit bubble. In recent days we have heard wild celebrations and claims from leading Brexit cheerleaders that this is the largest free trade deal in history. I am sorry to inform them that it is not. The biggest and best free trading bloc in the world is the one that this Tory Government are dragging Scotland out of. It is made up of 27 nations and 500 million citizens. It is called the European Union In the middle of a pandemic and economic recession, Scotland has been removed from a market worth £16 billion in exports to Scottish companies and a market which, by population, is seven times the size of the United Kingdom. Leaving the European single market and customs union would be damaging at any time, but in the middle of the current crisis, Prime Minister, it is unforgivable. It is an act of economic vandalism, pure and simple As usual with the Tories, it is people who will pay the price. Initial Scottish Government modelling estimates that the deal could cut Scotland’s GDP by around 6.1%—that is £9 billion in 2016 cash terms by 2030. That will leave people in Scotland—the same people who have always opposed Brexit—£1,600 poorer. That is the cost of the Prime Minister’s Brexit.
European Union (Future Relationship) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: International Affairs
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the hon. Gentleman. May I reciprocate and say that I love England and its people? I want us to maximise our opportunity, but this deal limits our opportunity. I want to unleash Scotland’s potential. That potential will be unleashed with an independent Scotland at the heart of Europe The Prime Minister’s broken promise on Erasmus has been such a totemic issue in the last few days. He will remember standing in this House and promising us that we will stay in the Erasmus programme. That betrayal denies our young people the opportunities that European citizenship has given us. It denies them the European freedoms that we cherish—living, working and studying abroad. Around 200,000 people have taken part in Erasmus, including around 15,000 UK university students each year. It is also important to say that Erasmus is not solely about university students but about supporting youth workers, adult education, sport, culture and vocational training. That is why the Scottish Government are so committed to exploring every opportunity to keep Erasmus in place for our people Even the very name Erasmus signals our long-established European links. That long tradition of connection comes right into the modern day with our own Winnie Ewing, Madame Écosse herself. Winnie, a former mother of the European Parliament, was Chair of the EU Education Committee that brought in the Erasmus scheme. [Interruption.] People at home will be watching this, and we have the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster laughing about the success of the Erasmus scheme. Utterly, utterly, utterly pathetic—utterly pathetic All that history between Europe and Scotland, all those links and all these opportunities are now at stake. Scotland’s story is European, and that story does not end today. Our past is European, and our future must be European. As a nation, that is a choice that we made in 2016, and I am confident that it is a choice we make now. We cannot support this legislation because it does not respect that choice and it does not provide for our future. Scotland’s course is now set, and it is a very different course from the decisions being taken in the Westminster Parliament. We know that the only way to regain the huge benefits of EU membership is to become an independent state at the heart of Europe once more. That is the decision that the Scottish people will make. We begin that journey today. There is now an empty seat at the top table in Europe. It will not be empty for long.
European Union (Future Relationship) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Foreign Trade
Angus Brendan MacNeil (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Feasgar math agus tapadh leibh, Madam Deputy Speaker. I notice that the Prime Minister had some trouble earlier with "national" and "nationalist", undoubtedly due to the better performance of the NHS in Scotland, which he probably calls the nationalist health service The hard Brexit deal that is about to be foisted on the UK economy will damage it by 4.9%. It is notable that the New York Times said that this trade deal is heavy on goods, where the EU has a surplus, and light on services, where the UK has a surplus—it is, as ever, the big guy winning, and the EU is winning this one This, in the UK context, is the Tories’ deal. It is their hard Brexit. They have ended up with a trade bloc that is smaller than the UK. Northern Ireland is out, and Scotland is leaving, too. The fact is that the UK had the Rolls-Royce of deals, but the Brexiteers have bypassed this, gone past the second-hand car shop and do not even want a motorbike; they are now at the back of the bicycle shop telling us that the unicycle is the best possible thing to do. They are extolling the virtues of the unicycle, but the people know better and can see through this Tory deal They should be absolutely frank about what they mean by tariff-free access. Under this deal, tariff-free access means lots-more-paper access—the bureaucrat is king. The achievement of Brexiteers is to turn the unelected European Union bureaucrat into a king. UK businesses and exporters must now satisfy the new kings of the UK, EU bureaucrats, and my shellfish producers and many others on the west coast of Scotland are unfortunately ignored The trade deal damages the economy by 4.9%. They talk of shiny new trade deals but, if this trade deal is worth £4.90, a USA trade deal is worth only 20p, if it ever happens; an Australia trade deal is worth only 2p, if it ever happens; and a New Zealand trade deal is worth only a penny, if it ever happens. This all costs, and it is the Brexiteers who have foisted it upon the UK economy The British Poultry Council tells us that the price of UK-produced chicken in the UK is going to rise by 5% as a result. Gibraltar and the Falklands have been cast aside. The Brexiteers have effectively told the Falklands, "We have a deal, but you don’t. Too bad." They talk about sovereignty, but France showed them last week that it has full, independent sovereignty. Dear Brexiteers, France is in the EU, as Scotland will be soon This takes me to the future. In 2014, 54% of Scotland voted for a UK in the EU, but 62% of Scotland voted for the EU. With 17 or 18 polls showing that Scotland is going for independence, it is pretty clear that Scotland is not a Brexit nation; it is a nation heading for independence. Hopefully, 6 May next year should determine that for us. It is time for Scotland to become a proper nation, and not under the self-centred UK.
European Union (Future Relationship) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: International Affairs
Kirsty Ann Blackman (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I want to take this opportunity to thank the Prime Minister. In recent years he has done more for the cause of Scottish independence than any other Unionist politician. Support for independence has been increasing. Seventeen polls in a row have shown majority support for independence Today’s debate and today’s propositions present a stark choice to the people of Scotland. The Prime Minister is offering this treaty and this Brexit. From the UK side, this treaty was negotiated on the basis of priorities decided by the Tories. At the beginning of this debacle, the UK Government had the opportunity to decide what their priorities would be. They chose sovereignty, and they chose to interpret sovereignty as isolation. It suits this elitist Tory Government to cement a future that keeps apart the haves and the have-nots. It suits this xenophobic Tory Government to cement a future that removes freedom of movement. It suits this well-off Tory Government to steal opportunities from young people whose parents are not rich Fishing has been done to death in this debate, but the reality is that the Tory Government did as they have ever done. They prioritised the needs and desires of those fishing in the English channel over the needs and desires of those in Scottish waters. They promised a sea of opportunity, yet are delivering a cut in access. They promised a reduction in unelected bureaucrats making decisions, but this deal creates a new joint partnership council, made up of unelected UK and EU officials, formed of over 30 sub-councils, each focusing on one specific area of the agreement. In fact, this Bill will be going across to the House of Lords this afternoon, where 850 unelected peers will have more say than the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish Parliaments The SNP will always do what we have been elected to do. We will always put the people of Scotland first. The alternative we are offering is an independent Scotland in Europe, access to a market 10 times the size of the UK, and the opportunity for young people to travel, live and work throughout Europe, and for our European friends to come to Scotland. We want to reduce inequality, putting wellbeing at the heart of our decision making, and dignity and respect at the heart of social security I refuse to vote for this dreadful deal. It is a bit like we had been drinking a lovely glass of water. The Brexiteers offered the UK a malt whisky, but they are now saying that we will all die of thirst if we do not choose to drink the steaming mug of excrement that the UK Government are offering us. There is no way that I am choosing to drink that excrement, and neither will I be complicit in forcing my constituents to do so. Scotland’s future must be in Scotland’s hands, not those of the Prime Minister.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Carol Frances Monaghan (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. I join others in recognising the work our teachers and school staff are carrying out in very challenging circumstances, and I hope they are managing to get some well-deserved rest over the Christmas break This new covid strain means that it is difficult to make concrete decisions and commitments for the future, but the problem is that Secretary of State is once again making last-minute decisions that leave schools with absolutely no time to plan. Will he therefore outline how his actions align with the advice received from SAGE Ongoing testing for school staff is welcome, but anyone who has spent any time in primary or secondary schools will know that these are busy, often tightly packed environments. According to Professor Neil Ferguson, this new strain hints at a higher propensity to infect children. We are therefore asking teachers, some with underlying health conditions, to work in a potentially risky environment. NHS and frontline care staff must of course be prioritised for the vaccine, but will the Secretary of State ensure that, following those groups, teachers are a priority for getting the vaccine Let me finish by saying that there is a massive difference between posting activities online and actual live online teaching and learning, with realtime interactions between a teacher and their class. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that schools have the capacity and bandwidth to deliver proper online learning? Will he accept that he may need to amend his current strategy if the need arises?
Private Members’ Bills — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: International Affairs
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I rise to say that this is an Act of constitutional vandalism. We are in the position this evening where the three devolved Parliaments—those in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast—have refused to give legislative consent. It is the practice that this House is supposed to legislate on matters that concern the devolved Administrations only with their consent. We were told in 2014 that if we stayed in the United Kingdom, our rights as European Union citizens would be respected. What has happened this evening is unacceptable to my Government in Edinburgh, to our Parliament and to the people of Scotland, because we have been taken out of a union, and out of our relationship with our historic partners in Europe, against our consent. I have long warned the Government that we in the Scottish National party would not put up with this. We understand that those in England have the right to remove themselves from the union with the European Union, but the people in Scotland did not and do not give their consent to be removed from the EU. There will be consequences to this, and tonight I give notice to this place that Scotland will have the right to determine its own future. It is historically the case that it is the people of Scotland who are sovereign, and I seek your advice, Mr Speaker, about what we have to do to make sure that the people of my country have that right and will seek their destiny as an independent member of the European Union.
UK Internal Market Bill: Devolved Administrations — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Labor
Gavin Andrew Stuart Newlands (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Of course, Rolls-Royce operates its own internal market in which plant is often set against plant, but more and more it relies on third-party suppliers rather than on in-house manufacture. Inchinnan has already seen some 700 jobs go, and despite favourable production stats, we now know that there will be further redundancies, with the aero shafts line closing and work being transferred to Derby, as well as other UK Rolls-Royce jobs being offshored to Spain. The Scottish Government’s Rolls-Royce working group was set up to protect jobs at Inchinnan. If the Government’s power-grabbing Bill is passed, will the Minister ensure that the Government will work with the Scottish Government to protect Scottish Rolls-Royce jobs?