Burnham speechwriter used ChatGPT while drafting cost-of-living address

A Downing Street speechwriter was seen using ChatGPT while drafting Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s address to Welsh Labour, prompting criticism from Reform UK’s Lee Anderson. The episode drew attention because the speech addressed the cost-of-living crisis and came as Burnham faced Labour pressure over proposed welfare reforms.

The aide was reportedly travelling from London to Holyhead on Friday and used the tool to make passages more “emotive”, including material about communities affected by industrial closures. Burnham’s speech in Llandudno on Saturday described the cost of living as Wales’s top issue, as elsewhere in the UK. The article says the aide’s identity was withheld at Downing Street’s request; it also reports that Burnham planned to urge Labour MPs to back reforms involving upfront investment in youth employment and benefit cuts.