Debate contribution: First Minister and deputy First Minister Titles
Debate contribution by Mr Robbie Butler on .
- MLA
- Mr Robbie Butler
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 9 March 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Opposition Business
- Heading
- First Minister and deputy First Minister Titles
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5452880
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for giving way. He mentioned the Assembly and Executive Review Committee (AERC). I note that it is mentioned in the amendment, which we will not support. The purpose of that amendment is to have the issue considered by the AERC. Does the Member agree that the Good Friday Agreement was an incredible step forward for cross-community voting in how First Ministers were elected and that it was the St Andrews Agreement that embedded sectarianism in how we elected the First Ministers.
85 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: 0.52 (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 adopts the identity-based framing in its own voice (0.59).
- Subject area: Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations.
- The overall probability was moderate at most and none of the culture-war criteria was close to being met.
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 | 0.41 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.07 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.05 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.28 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.22 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.30 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.52 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.33 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.06 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.02 |
| Adopts it (chosen) | 0.59 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.98 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.02 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:03 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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