Debate contribution: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers
Debate contribution by Ms Sinéad McLaughlin on .
- MLA
- Ms Sinéad McLaughlin
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 27 October 2022
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Assembly Business
- Heading
- Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4178288
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I got involved in politics for simple reasons: to stand up for the city that I love and its people; to help to bring jobs and investment to a place starved of both; and to break down barriers for everybody on our island, especially for women, who were denied a voice for so long. I am sure that every Member of the Assembly had their own reasons. It might have been to improve our schools, to get more people seen in our hospitals, to tackle sectarianism or to end divisions between our people. I believe, however, that none of us got involved in politics to hold our society to ransom or to force the vulnerable to pay the price of our political dysfunction in refusing to elect a Speaker today. Yet that is the shameful situation in which we find ourselves today because of this obscene boycott of power-sharing. Jeffrey Donaldson, a man who will not even come here to sit in the seat to which he was elected, is too busy listening more to wee Jamie Bryson than to the majority of people in Northern Ireland. The truth is that one party refuses to accept the verdict of the electorate just six months ago. That is why the rest of us cannot elect a Speaker today to allow us to do our full jobs. Right now, we can give out vouchers for food banks, but we cannot tackle the reasons why people need to go to them. We can raise cases with the health trusts, but we cannot bring down our waiting lists. We can ask questions of Ministers, but we cannot hold them accountable for their answers. An Executive will not solve all our problems, but they have the power to set our priorities, and that is the very least that people should expect of us. I cannot meet my responsibilities to my constituency without an Executive, and neither can any of you. It is hard to adequately convey the frustration of people in Derry when you ask them about the current paralysis. They are angry that our politics is not working. It is forcing more of our young people to leave, and they are sick to the back teeth of the division that holds us back. However, they do not want pity; they just want representatives who will be on their side and speak up for their needs and who will work with and for each other to get something done to bring the jobs and opportunities that are owed to our city. They want us to introduce childcare that does not cost the earth but gives their children the best start in life. They want us to fund services, like Northlands, that can deal with the addiction crisis that plagues our people. They want us to finally deliver a university of the size that was promised. That is the least that the people of Derry deserve, and it makes me furious that it has been denied. Next week, we may well ask for votes again — asking people to put us in a job when those who should be helping to make this place work are not doing theirs. I ask the DUP to reflect carefully on its election pitch at the doors in the weeks ahead before it votes on whether to elect a Speaker today. Will you tell people — freezing pensioners — that you will continue to do nothing to heat their homes? Will you tell people who cannot make ends meet through their jobs that you will continue to boycott yours? Will you tell people languishing on waiting lists that you will continue to let their waits get longer? Next year, we will celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. It was not then and is not now a document that guaranteed peace on this island, but it was a commitment to future generations that a different way forward was possible and achievable and that we could leave the painful memories of the past behind and look forward to a future.
However, that will be possible only if we put the hard yards in to make peace work. This place works only when you work for it. At this moment of crisis, we should fulfil that commitment by coming together to show the people of the North that there is a reason across our history and traditions —
— to work together: it can make their lives better. That is why I am in politics, and that is what the SDLP will continue to work and fight for. This place is worth fighting for.
774 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.17 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.52).
- Subject area: Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.14 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.06 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.32 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.11 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.36 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.17 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.47 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.52 |
| Adopts it | 0.01 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.83 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.13 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.03 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.01 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:32 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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