No 10 says PM writes ‘most of his own speeches’ after aide seen using ChatGPT

Andy Burnham writes “most of his own speeches”, Downing Street has said after an aide was pictured using ChatGPT.

One of the Prime Minister’s team was photographed seeking feedback from the AI agent on a draft of his address to the Welsh Labour conference on Saturday, with the chatbot then suggesting how to make it “a little more emotive”.

The picture, published by the Mail on Sunday, appears to show the aide drinking Prosecco while working on the speech on 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.”

Mr Burnham used his speech on Saturday to speak about the importance of “industry” in giving people a “deep sense of belonging”, describing the workplaces in Wales 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”.

Criticising Margaret Thatcher’s legacy, he said 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 joked that it must be “thirsty work” writing the Prime Minister’s speeches.

“AI Andy’s man-of-the-people act has been exposed as a sham,” he said.