Member's statement: Politicking in the Chamber
Member's statement by Ms Kate Nicholl on .
- MLA
- Ms Kate Nicholl
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 3 November 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Politicking in the Chamber
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5212808
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I was going to talk about Ballynafeigh School of Irish Dancing's success, but I will make my Member's statement on the House, because the past hour has been so deeply depressing. My six-month-old baby is in crèche at the moment. Just before I came back to work, I thought, "I am outsourcing the care of my kids because we are here to try to make this place better". That is how I justify it to myself: my six-month-old baby is being looked after by someone else — not me — because we have the privilege of trying to make this place better for everyone who lives here now and for future generations. There has been so much politicking in the Chamber. I have noticed such a difference in this place in the six months from when I left to when I came back. We can make political points, and we can argue about things. We can disagree on things, and we will disagree on so many different levels, especially on huge moral questions. However, it has become so personal and nasty. Anytime that anyone stands up, there is a niggling behind them. Are we going to do that for the next 18 months? Are we honestly going to have to come here for the next 18 months and put up with that? Who is inspired by such discussions? Who is watching that and thinking, "Wow, those people really represent me. They will really make a difference". Who watches how we discuss things and feels hopeful right now? We disagree on so many things, but when we are in the corridors, it is human and personal. We are able to talk to each other, human to human. Please, can we do better? I honestly do not know why I have come away from my children to be here if we are not actually going to make a difference to people's lives. We can disagree on things, but we can do so in a respectful way, not by constantly attacking one another's party in such a personal way. It is so personal. There is no humanity in politics across the world right now, but we have a duty to live up to this: people come to the Assembly every day because the Good Friday Agreement offers hope for how things can be better and how we can have huge differences but still sit in a room and think about how to make life better for people. They come here to learn from us, but what hope are they taking away right now? I just think that we can be better. Sorry, Ballynafeigh: I will write you a letter instead.
447 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: 0.06 (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).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.65).
- 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 | 0.05 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.04 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.08 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.04 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.06 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.65 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.35 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.41 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.19 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.13 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.10 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.05 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:46 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.