A Century of Parliamentary Rhetoric on Immigration

The Guardian has undertaken a comprehensive analysis of the language used by UK Members of Parliament (MPs) regarding immigration over the past century. Utilizing an in-house machine learning model developed in collaboration with University College London, the Guardian's Data Science and Data Projects teams have uncovered a significant rightward shift in sentiment towards immigration within the House of Commons in the past five years.

Unlike off-the-shelf sentiment analysis tools, the Guardian's model was specifically designed to distinguish sentiment directed at immigration from general emotionally charged language on any topic. This nuanced approach allowed the team to gain deeper insights into the evolving rhetoric surrounding this politically charged issue.

To conduct this groundbreaking analysis, the researchers trained their machine learning algorithm on a vast trove of parliamentary debates, speeches, and transcripts dating back to the early 20th century. By meticulously mapping the linguistic shifts over time, the Guardian was able to uncover patterns and trends that shed light on the changing tone and framing of immigration within the halls of British government.