Downing Street says Burnham writes most of his speeches after aide's ChatGPT use

The photograph

The Mail on Sunday published a picture of a member of Andy Burnham's team working on the Prime Minister's speech on an afternoon train heading from London Euston towards Holyhead. The picture seems to show the speechwriter sipping Prosecco while revising the text. According to the newspaper, the aide had asked ChatGPT for help making the address to the Welsh Labour conference, due on Saturday, more emotional in tone.

The chatbot reportedly replied that it preferred the second of two passages, because it moved from the miners to their families and then to the wider community. That reply, as the Mail related it, argued that industrial work had created bonds reaching well beyond the workplace. Downing Street said the suggestions were understood not to have made it into the final version.

Downing Street's response

Downing Street answered the pictures with a statement. The spokesperson argued that Burnham does most of his speechwriting himself and that the aide had only been seeking feedback on a draft written earlier.

“The PM writes most of his own speeches. An aide sought feedback on a speech draft that had already been written.”

What the speech said

On Saturday, 14 November, Burnham used the Welsh Labour conference to argue that industry gave people a deep sense of belonging. He pointed to Welsh workplaces that built a way of life, along with working men's clubs, sports teams, choirs and trade unions. He also criticised Margaret Thatcher's legacy, saying the country had made mistakes in the 1980s that damaged how communities lived across Britain.

He described the closures of the past decades in blunt terms.

“The mines closed, factories closed, steelworks silenced. It was felt everywhere.”

Burnham added that the losses had left communities for 40 years without the power they needed to turn things around.