argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Saudi Arabia — House of Commons, 2016-01-05
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Minister said that the UK Government had no role in securing the chairmanship of the United Nations Human Rights Council for Saudi Arabia. Following the execution of 47 people in a judicial process widely deemed to be grossly unjust and deeply flawed, and with the threat of execution hanging over Abdullah al-Zaher and Dawood Hussein al-Marhoon, will the UK Government now be lobbying to get Saudi Arabia to stand down from that chairmanship?
Saudi Arabia — House of Commons, 2016-01-05
Topic: International Affairs
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Minister is simply not facing up to the revulsion felt by British people at this outrage. He should have acknowledged and condemned it at the start of his statement, and he did not. He says it is important to deal with Daesh, who are executing their cultural and religious enemies, yet we are sitting down with a state that is executing—beheading—its cultural and religious enemies without proper trial. Is it any wonder that people around the country, including members of the all-party group on the abolition of the death penalty, are concerned and suspicious that Saudi Arabia is not on the FCO strategy list of 30 countries where we are trying to abolish the death penalty?
Future Funding for S4C — House of Commons, 2016-01-05
Topic: Education
Mark Fraser Williams (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): May I be first to say bore da, Mr Speaker? I congratulate the hon. Gentleman—indeed, he is my hon. Friend—on introducing this debate. Will he go further in speaking about culture and talk about the significance for education? We must consider the broader remit of S4C in supporting the language among young people and children and helping to grow the language. My background is not particularly different from his, but I am proud that my children all speak Welsh. They do so partly because of an excellent education system, but also because of S4C.
Prisoners: Employment after Release — House of Commons, 2016-03-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Employment is the single biggest factor that prevents reoffending, and I remind the House of the excellent changes that were made under the coalition Government in 2012, but will the Minister update us on what cross-departmental work takes place? This is a process that must start within the prison system but must continue afterwards, and that is obviously the job of the Department for Work and Pensions.
Budget Changes — House of Commons, 2016-03-21
Topic: Macroeconomics
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I regret the chaos that one tends to get with these unstable single-party Governments, but not half as much as I regret the failure of the Chancellor to be here to answer for himself. His Budget will leave the richest 10% of people £260 better off, and, until he was found out this weekend, that was going to be paid for by punishing the disabled. Does not all that conjuring just show that the Chancellor’s choices are driven by cynical politics, and not by economic necessity? Should not the fiscal charter, which is now utterly discredited, be scrapped?
Welfare — House of Commons, 2016-03-21
Topic: Macroeconomics
Norman Peter Lamb (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I welcome the Secretary of State to his new role and genuinely wish him all the very best of luck. I suspect he realises that he will need it. The problem is that there is a sense of double -unfairness in the Budget. Not only were taxes cut for the better-off while the burden on disabled people increased, but better-off pensioners were again completely protected while working-age people suffer another cut. Does he set himself completely against looking again at the problem of inter generational fairness?
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): In the words of John Kenneth Galbraith: "All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership." Once the EU negotiations are complete, will the Prime Minister confront people’s anxiety, demonstrate strong leadership and unequivocally come out in favour of our EU membership?
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Liberal Democrats believe in the UK being in Europe, but we also believe in the EU being reformed, so I congratulate the Prime Minister and his team and wish them well in the remaining negotiations. When he is leading the campaign to stay in, will he remind the British public of the mutual defence clause and that, frankly, in this unstable world now would be an absurd time to turn our backs on our nearest neighbours and allies?
Public Finances: Scotland — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is right to say that accountability is at the heart of this matter. That is why we must have a deal, and if we do not get one, we in this House and those in the Scottish Parliament need to be told the reason why. Without a deal, the people of Scotland face the prospect of going to the polls in May not knowing exactly what powers will be given to the Parliament.
Panama Papers — House of Commons, 2016-04-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I welcome, of course, the Prime Minister’s announcement that people will be criminalised if they assist with tax evasion, particularly as that was announced by the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liberal Democrat Danny Alexander. Will the Prime Minister revisit other Liberal Democrat proposals put forward in coalition to see whether they can also play a significant role in dealing with the really difficult issue of tax evasion?
Government Referendum Leaflet — House of Commons, 2016-04-11
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am very pleasantly surprised that the Government have decided to issue an EU leaflet. Does the Minister agree that, in publishing the leaflet, they are simply responding to the huge public appetite for more information, which will enable the comprehensive demolition of many Euromyths—for example, that the European Union stops the recycling of teabags or prevents children under the age of eight from blowing up balloons—that are peddled by some of the Brexiters?
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-04-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the Minister for being so accommodating in giving way. Looking at part 10 of the Bill and given the pressure the Prime Minister has been under this week, with the Panama papers and the statement today, I wonder why the Bill does not include a measure to allow HMRC to name and shame publicly those who are involved in tax avoidance not after the third warning but after the first warning, and so send a much clearer signal?
EU Referendum: Civil Service Guidance — House of Commons, 2016-02-29
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I previously asked whether the Prime Minister was going to throw his weight behind the in campaign, and I am very pleased that he has done so, because for the sake of our peace, prosperity, opportunity and security, we need to be in. As for what we are discussing now, I would like some clarity from the Minister. Is it the case that there is a list of Ministers who are in, a list of Ministers who are out and a list of Ministers who are undecided, and what happens if a Minister switches from the in to the out campaign or the out to the in campaign?
Referendums — House of Commons, 2016-02-29
Topic: Government Operations
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Will the Minister take some reassurance from the fact that in the canvassing that I have been doing for Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London mayoral candidate, I have found that voters have no difficulty whatsoever in understanding that there will be elections for the London Mayor and the London Assembly, and that the European referendum will take place a few weeks later?
Referendums — House of Commons, 2016-02-29
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Liberal Democrats will support this statutory instrument, which, as the Minister says, puts in place legislation for the referendum on 23 June. He will know that the coalition legislated so that any treaty change would trigger a referendum, but, as we know, his party won the election on the basis of a manifesto commitment to offer a referendum independent of any treaty change, and so we are where we are now.
Referendums — House of Commons, 2016-02-29
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): We have a referendum ahead of us, and I suggest we get on with that before looking at whether to make any changes to that Act The Liberal Democrats support the referendum on 23 June. I have been in this House for some time now—longer than some Members but not as long as others—and it seems to me that, in this House and beyond, we have had a very full debate in recent general elections about the EU and whether we should or should not be members of it. As I said in an earlier intervention on the Minister, there is certainly no confusion in the minds of the electors in my constituency between the mayoral and Assembly elections taking place in May, and the EU referendum that will take place, presumably on 23 June. Clearly, it is more difficult for the political parties and the campaigners if one election follows on so relatively quickly after another.
Referendums — House of Commons, 2016-02-29
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am aware of that, and I suppose one consequence of devolution is that people in different places adopt different positions. Like many others, I am suspicious of the motives behind the Scottish National party’s position: is it about the need to delay the referendum for the reasons it sets out, or is it about increasing the chances that the UK might vote to come out of the EU, in order to facilitate the SNP’s campaign to hold a second referendum? In relation to splits within parties, there appears to be one within the SNP, as the First Minister of Scotland is clear that this should be a positive campaign, but what we have heard here today from SNP Members has been all about the procedure and not at all about the positive nature of what the EU campaign should be.
Referendums — House of Commons, 2016-02-29
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Liberal Democrat position is that those who want to stay in the EU should be united behind the campaign and should start campaigning positively. That includes not only the SNP but the leader of the Labour party, who perhaps needs to spend some time with the leader of the Labour campaign and draw on some of his enthusiasm so that he can put his back into ensuring that we win on 23 June.
Referendums — House of Commons, 2016-02-29
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am confident that if we have a united front from the SNP campaigning positively on the matter, from the Labour party and from the Prime Minister—I am pleased to say that he has, after I requested it, come out forcefully behind the campaign in support of staying in—we will collectively win the campaign. I look forward to doing that As I said, we need to get on with the campaign, which is actually about the peace, prosperity, opportunity and security that we derive from being a member of the EU; it is not about "Project Fear" at all. The Conservative party, or those on the Benches immediately in front of me, may refer frequently to "Project Fear", but I must say that quite a degree of whitewash or "Project Status Quo" is coming from those on the Government Benches.
Flood Defences (Leeds) — House of Commons, 2016-01-27
Topic: Transportation
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I praise the hon. Lady for securing the debate and the work she is doing to co-ordinate this matter—the wonderful Kirkstall Bridge inn in her constituency, where a lot of help was necessary, is run by constituents of mine. Does she agree that the statement made by Ministers in 2011 that we did not need this Rolls-Royce scheme for the River Aire, but that a family-car scheme would do, was a flawed decision? We still have not had answers and, considering the damage, it was an utterly false economy.
Syria: Russian Redeployment and the Peace Process — House of Commons, 2016-03-15
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): While I acknowledge that Assad is principally to blame for the starvation of his own citizens, and therefore the departure of the Russians is unlikely to have much effect on humanitarian aid, does the Foreign Secretary envisage there being any new humanitarian aid initiatives to ensure that aid reaches the parts of Syria that are currently being starved?
Investigatory Powers Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-15
Topic: Technology
Nicholas William Peter Clegg (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that not only are ICRs poorly and very broadly defined, but, even in the context of a narrow definition, the Government would still be proposing that every website or domain visited by every citizen in the country, every minute of every day, should be retained and stored for 12 months? Does he agree that that principle, whatever the definition, constitutes a very extensive power for the Government?
Prisons: Population — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am sure that that is an aspiration with which we can all agree The independent review established by the Prison Reform Trust and chaired by Lord Laming found that up to 50% of all young people in custody had been in care at some point in their lives. What plans has the Secretary of State to reduce the number of looked-after children who end up in custody?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: Roughly 20% of prisoners have spent some time in care. I have met some young care leavers in my constituency and prison is often seen as an attractive option because it provides a roof over their heads and a hot meal each day. What measures are this Government taking to ensure that care leavers have better options in life than prison?; Will the prisons Minister simply confirm that, despite his recruitment efforts, there are still 7,000 fewer prison officers in post today than there were in May 2010? Will he simply say yes?; Hampshire’s new police and crime commissioner, Michael Lane, has put restorative justice at the heart of his agenda. Will the Minister join me in supporting that policy to ensure that victims of crime are never ignored in Havant or across Hampshire?; At Justice Questions in March, I raised serious concerns about the systematic failure of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in relation to a case in my constituency. From my experience of dealing with this case, it has become clear that the self-governing SRA needs reform both to improve accountability and to restore public confidence. Will the Minister meet me to discuss this issue so that, together, we can bring forward proposals to ensure solicitors are regulated properly and independently?; Will the Secretary of State be good enough to tell us, in the wake of the atrocity in Orlando, what steps he is taking to monitor and address homophobic hate crime against lesbian and gay people in this country?
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Constituents including the families of Jamie Still and of David and Dorothy Metcalf were dismayed after the report in the Telegraph that there would be an announcement on criminal driving in the Queen’s Speech turned out not to be correct. Will the Secretary of State give a clear assurance that the review will happen quickly and that we will finally get changes to give victims of criminal driving and their families better justice?
Football Fan Violence: Euro 2016 — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Any football fan who goes to a match intending to commit or initiate violence is clearly criminal and must be subject to the full force of the law. However, what we witnessed in the stadium were innocent people suffering unprovoked assaults, having to flee for their lives and risking serious injury. Will the Home Secretary ensure that the fact that those fans were wearing football shirts will not prevent them from receiving the Government’s full support so that they can seek justice against their perpetrators like people in any other walk of life?
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Mark Fraser Williams (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The short answer is that I am sure the head of the law department at Aberystwyth would enjoy teaching both English and Welsh law. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that one of the positives that has come from the Government in recent days is the at least partial acknowledgement of the need not for a separate legal jurisdiction but for a distinct legal jurisdiction? The difference seems to have been lost on some Conservative Members. People are talking about a separate jurisdiction, but many of us here are calling for a distinct one.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Government Operations
Mark Fraser Williams (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): But surely the hon. Gentleman would acknowledge that the creation of the working group that the Government have announced is a step in the direction of a distinct jurisdiction. Otherwise, we shall be revisiting this matter in the years to come, as the hon. Member for Islwyn (Chris Evans) has suggested.
SATs Results — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Education
John David Pugh (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Sometimes in debates such as this, criticising the Government can be quite difficult. When the Secretary of State describes the debacle of SATs as a great success, however, criticising Government policy becomes relatively easy. It is like shooting fish in a barrel I start by referring to a headteacher in my constituency—headteacher of the largest primary school in the north-west; it is a standard, middle-class school—who put his pupils through SATs recently. He was so shocked by the outcome that he felt it necessary to write home to the pupils in the following terms. He told the children to look on the bright side, and he wrote: "The only thing people will remember about the tests from 2016 was that they were one big mess! Your result will not stop you achieving really well at high school and going on to be a fabulous success in the future. Put whatever you got to the back of your mind and move on!" He told the children: "Fairness is always vitally important in whatever we do in life. Unfortunately, these tests were really not fair." This is a very experienced headteacher of a large primary school, in a standard, middle-class area, which has a record of success behind it. He said to the pupils: "They were much harder than usual and this meant that you didn’t get the chance to show how much you have learned. There has been lots in the news about this in the past week and schools all over the country are feeling the same…I think we all feel a bit let down." He continued: "You feel let down because you worked so hard and maybe you didn’t quite get what you deserved. Your teachers feel the same because they have tried everything in their power to help you achieve and they are frustrated because it hasn’t quite turned out as they would have wanted." He went on to say what a great experience it had been to have the children at the school and that, compared with everything they had enjoyed at school, "a few test scores mean very little, particularly when the test was unfair anyway."
SATs Results — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Education
John David Pugh (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): What does the hon. Gentleman make of the example of Finland, which is very light on tests but very strong on teacher buy-in? What conclusions does he draw from its favourable ranking in the PISA table compared with us?
Humanitarian Law (Yemen) — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The key test for the UK Government’s continued arms exports to Saudi Arabia in relation to international humanitarian law is whether there is a clear risk that those weapons might be used in the commission of a serious violation of that law. If the Government do not consider the repeated bombing of hospitals, schools and markets, and the designation of whole cities such as Ma’aran as war zones, a serious violation of humanitarian law, what does fall into that category?
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): As I think I made clear, amendment 177 is a probing amendment, which is designed entirely to make that point. We share the view that the reduction of corporation tax is flawed, but through this amendment we are saying that it needs to be done in a better way. It is a probing amendment and we will not be voting on it, but it is time that we had that debate and put something better in place.
G20 Summit — House of Commons, 2016-09-07
Topic: Foreign Trade
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the Prime Minister for her statement and for early sight of it. Now that Australia has today joined America at the G20 last week in slapping down her Government—telling us that we are in fact at the back of the queue for a trade deal—the plain fact is that this Government are not concealing their hand because they have not got a hand or, it would appear, a clue. Will the Prime Minister take this opportunity to reassure business and confirm that we will remain a member of the European single market? Does she agree with me that we trusted the British people with the question of our departure, so we should trust them with the question of our destination and put whatever deal she negotiates to the British people in a referendum?
Outcome of the EU Referendum — House of Commons, 2016-06-27
Topic: International Affairs
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): May I pay tribute to the Prime Minister, following the announcement of his resignation on Friday? We have not often agreed, but his commitment to the historic bipartisanship during the coalition Government and his energetic commitment to the remain campaign contrast favourably with the tribalism of others. He has my respect and my thanks I respect the outcome of the referendum, but I still feel passionately that Britain’s interests are best served at the heart of Europe, in the European Union. I can accept defeat, but I will not give up. I have not changed my beliefs. With the promises of the leave campaign unravelling and no leadership being shown by the Opposition, will the Prime Minister confirm that free movement of people and access to the single market are paramount to the economic stability of Britain, and will he launch an investigation as to the whereabouts of the hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) and of the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice?