Debate contribution: Scottish Election and Welsh Election
Debate contribution by Mr Paul Frew on .
- MLA
- Mr Paul Frew
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 11 May 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Matters of the Day
- Heading
- Scottish Election and Welsh Election
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5523499
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I, too, rise to discuss the election campaigns and results over the past few days, which prove that we are indeed at a seminal moment and that the plates are shifting in British democracy. They are shifting back to the people, who have found their voice. Successive Governments have not listened, and this Government are not listening. They have never listened to the people. They are squeezing us with further taxation, destroying farm businesses, eroding free speech, pushing mandatory digital IDs on us all and carrying on the Tories' damaging, flawed practices and policies, including those relating to illegal immigration. The Government are not working for the people, and the people have responded. Nationalism will grasp any thin thread that it can, but the failure is there for all to see. In Wales, 56% of people voted for pro-Union parties. In Scotland, 58% voted for pro-Union parties, and 41% voted for nationalist parties. The SNP vote fell by 9·2%, and the overall nationalist vote in Scotland dropped by 8%. Nationalism is at its ugliest when it makes things up. I am proud to hear the people speaking with one voice. We are watching and experiencing something dramatic among the British people: they will no longer tolerate bad governance from whatever quarter, be it the red of Labour or the blue of the Tories. We will see massive changes in the forthcoming years. It also gives voters hope that their voice can make a difference and shows them that they should get registered and vote, because they see that one household or one voter can make a difference to how they are governed and that they need to be governed far better than they have been in the past decades. I rejoice when I hear the people speak and see this great country's democratic practice. It is for the voters — the people of Britain — to decide how they are governed best.
322 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: 0.27 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- Criteria met: Identity framing (0.69).
- The text adopts the identity-based framing in its own voice (0.65).
- Subject area: Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty.
- 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 | 0.69 | Yes |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.23 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.50 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.14 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.15 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.27 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.33 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.02 |
| Adopts it (chosen) | 0.65 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.85 |
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.09 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.05 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:33 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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