Debate contribution: Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997
Debate contribution by Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly on .
- MLA
- Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 11 May 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5523702
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for his important question. We saw significant disruption last summer in his constituency, in the Ballymena area. It is incredibly important that we get out and speak to people who live and work in those communities about their issues and concerns. I believe that people are sick, sick, sick of not being listened to by their elected representatives, not just in Northern Ireland but across the United Kingdom. It is important that all of us get out. I thank the Member for bringing me out on the ground in Ballymena, speaking to organisations, including women's groups and community organisations, and young people, and listening to the issues that really matter to them. We need to wake up and listen to the fact that people have genuine concerns about social cohesion. People are absolutely sick, not only of not being listened to but of being called racist or being dismissed when they are articulating genuinely held concerns. We need to listen to people and step up to that challenge, and, working with my colleague, I am determined to do so.
183 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not qualifying”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.44 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.51).
- Subject area: Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers.
- The overall probability was low and the text did not adopt any identity-based framing.
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 | 0.31 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.08 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.13 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.20 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.26 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.16 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.44 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.51 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.07 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.11 |
| Adopts it | 0.31 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.70 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.30 |
| 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 15:35 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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