Data analysis

What the data actually shows

These reports go beyond the individual MLA scores to find the bigger patterns. Every claim links to a primary source. Every number is reproducible from the raw data published on each MLA and party page.

15 April 2026

Manifesto vs Reality: Q1 2026

How the five main parties' 2022 election pledges compare to their record four years on

educationhealthhousinglegacyenvironment

Four years into the 2022-2027 mandate, MLA Tracker has assessed 60 individual party pledges across five parties. The headline finding: only 22 pledges are fully backed by the voting record or legislation; 29 are partially delivered or stalled; 9 have been actively contradicted by events or votes.

Key finding

The DUP's 22-month Stormont boycott is the single biggest factor suppressing delivery scores. Without the boycott, the DUP's adjusted score would be approximately 54, not 38.

Education: the selection divide holds

The most visible education pledge — Alliance's commitment to abolishing academic selection at age 11 — has not been enacted. Grammar schools continue to set their own transfer tests. Both the DUP and UUP backed retention of selection, and the Executive has not reached the cross-community consensus needed to legislate. Alliance's countervailing success, the Integrated Education Act 2022, is real but applies to a small sector.

Worth noting

Pledge scores reflect legislative and policy outcomes as of 31 March 2026. Bills at committee stage are scored as 'partial'. Westminster legislation is assessed separately from Stormont action where both chambers are relevant.

Legacy: a contested verdict

The Legacy Act 2023 passed at Westminster over the objections of Alliance, Sinn Féin, the SDLP, and the UUP. The DUP partially supported the veterans' immunity provisions. A judicial review is pending before the Belfast courts, and the Irish Government has referred the Act to the European Court of Human Rights. This is scored as a mismatch for all parties that pledged victims-centred legacy mechanisms — and a partial for the DUP, which won some but not all of its preferred provisions.

Environment: the bright spot

The Climate Change Act (NI) 2022 is the mandate's clearest legislative success. Alliance, Sinn Féin, the SDLP, and the UUP all supported it. The DUP voted against, citing costs to farming and business. NI now has legally binding targets for 2030, 2040, and net zero by 2050 — though delivery of the underlying strategy depends on funding decisions that have yet to be made.

By MLA Tracker editorial team

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