Member's statement: Commonwealth Games: Northern Ireland Flag
Member's statement by Mr Brian Kingston on .
- MLA
- Mr Brian Kingston
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 25 November 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Commonwealth Games: Northern Ireland Flag
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4674527
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Last month, the Minister for Communities, Gordon Lyons, hosted a very successful and enjoyable evening at the SSE Arena honouring our athletes who competed and won medals in the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. Those who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland and those who represented Ireland were honoured. Many will now be looking forward to the next major games, which will be the Commonwealth Games. We welcome the fact that Glasgow has stepped forward to host the games in 2026, albeit with a reduced number of disciplines. Of course, in the Commonwealth Games, our athletes from all community backgrounds unambiguously represent Northern Ireland, and we take pride in their representing our wee country on the international stage. We regret the push from some quarters to promote the view that we should scrap all previous convention and practice and no longer use the Northern Ireland flag, which is commonly known as the Ulster banner, at those games. I make it absolutely clear that the DUP would completely oppose removing the Ulster banner — the Northern Ireland flag. We know that many issues around flags and anthems are established by convention. It is entirely clear that Northern Ireland has the Ulster banner, and it should be used on appropriate occasions when people and teams represent our wee country. We see it used across a wide range of sports, including football, golf, snooker, athletics, darts, bowls and many others. Such matters belong in the political arena for consideration by elected representatives and, in particular, this elected Assembly, where they are part of the ongoing process on flags, identity, culture and tradition. That is where such matters should be decided. We do not wish to see sporting bodies being divided against each other on the matter. We do not agree with those who wish to impose such a political matter on sporting bodies where the convention is clear and unambiguous. Northern Ireland has a proud tradition of punching above its weight in sporting achievement. Let us all be proud of those who represent us at the highest level of international competition.
348 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials
Decided as qualifying on a second assessment, because Jev’s answers did not settle it. The reasons are given below.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.57 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- Criteria met: Identity framing (0.81); Cultural grievance politics (0.91); Controversy escalation (0.72).
- The text adopts the identity-based framing in its own voice (0.52).
- Subject area: Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials.
- The answers did not meet either automatic 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.
Second assessment
Jev’s answers did not settle this record, so a second model, claude-opus-5-5, read the same text (without the MLA’s name or party) and gave its reasons on 21 October 2026. How the second assessment works
- Verdict
- Qualifying
- Public interest or divisiveness
- Mixed
Against the published rubric
The statement's central point is a symbolic dispute: it opposes "the push from some quarters" to stop using the Ulster banner at the Commonwealth Games and declares the party would "completely oppose removing" it. It presents a flag that is contested in Northern Ireland as plainly "the Northern Ireland flag" and frames the proposal to drop it as discarding convention. It raises no cost, safety, legal or service question. It does not attack any community, and it praises athletes "from all community backgrounds", but its function is to put one tradition's position on a recognised flags flashpoint on the record, which fits the rubric's cultural grievance test.
Public interest or divisiveness
Part of the statement is conciliatory and serves the public. It celebrates athletes from both Olympic teams, says it does not want sporting bodies "divided against each other" and argues that such questions belong with the Assembly. Its core purpose, though, is to stake out a position in a communal argument over a contested symbol and to resist its removal, which keeps an identity row going. Both elements are substantial.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.81 | Yes |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.06 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.91 | Yes |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.24 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.72 | Yes |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.23 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.57 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.35 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.03 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.10 |
| Adopts it (chosen) | 0.52 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.99 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.01 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:38 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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