Andy Burnham actually does write ‘most of his personal speeches’ after aide used ChatGPT
Downing Street has said Andy Burnham writes ‘most of his own speeches’ after one of his aides was pictured using ChatGPT to seek feedback on a draft of his Welsh Labour conference address
Not AI.(Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz, Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Andy Burnham writes “most of his own speeches”, Downing Street has confirmed after an aide was snapped using ChatGPT to refine one of his addresses. A member of the Prime Minister’s team was photographed seeking feedback from the AI tool on a draft of his speech for the Welsh Labour conference on Saturday, with the chatbot suggesting ways to make it “a little more emotive”.
The photograph, published by the Mail on Sunday, appears to show the aide sipping Prosecco while working on the speech aboard an afternoon train from London Euston to Holyhead.
A No 10 spokesperson said: “The PM writes most of his own speeches. An aide sought feedback on a speech draft that had already been written.”
It is understood that the ChatGPT suggestions were not ultimately used.
According to the Mail, the chatbot had written: “I prefer the second (passage). It moves from the miners to their families to the wider community, showing how the experience of industrial work created bonds well beyond the workplace.”
In his Saturday speech, Mr Burnham spoke of the significance of “industry” in giving people a “deep sense of belonging”, paying tribute to Welsh workplaces that “created a way of life, the social infrastructure that we took for granted, the working men’s clubs, the sports teams, the choirs, the trade unions”.
Taking aim at Margaret Thatcher’s legacy, he declared that the country “took some wrong turns in the 1980s that shattered the way of life for communities up and down Britain”. “Economic power privatised, political power centralised and, overall, a loss of agency in places up and down Britain,” he said.
“The mines closed, factories closed, steelworks silenced. It was felt everywhere.
“And, you know, that has kind of left us for 40 years in a place where communities haven’t had the power that they needed to turn things around.”
Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson took a swipe at the Prime Minister, joking that it must be “thirsty work” writing his speeches.
“AI Andy’s man-of-the-people act has been exposed as a sham,” he said.
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