He has since defended his approach in The House,<\/a> arguing that AI should be used by MPs as long as \u201csafeguards are in place and a human always has the final say on what goes out the door\u201d.<\/p>\nMeanwhile, Parliament has been carrying out a pilot scheme for some MPs to use Microsoft Copilot for tasks such as summarising reports and correspondence \u2013 a programme which is already widely used across government and the civil service.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reader told PoliticsHome he believes the use of AI is necessary when he receives \u201cover 500 emails per week, from campaign petitions to complex legal queries\u201d. He insisted that many MPs are using AI tools like ChatGPT every day to draft correspondence and also parliamentary speeches.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Labour MP and his team play \u201cChatGPT Bingo\u201d to spot when they think an MP has used it to write their speech: \u201cThey have certain terms they use\u2026 ChatGPT thinks parliamentary speeches should start with \u2018I rise to speak in support of\u2026\u2019 If you see someone say that, chances are they’ve probably written it with ChatGPT.\u201d<\/p>\n
PoliticsHome analysis of Hansard shows that the phrase \u201cI rise to speak\u2026\u201d has been used 601 times across the Commons and the Lords so far this year \u2013 compared to only 131 in the first eight months of 2024, and 227 times in the same period in 2023.<\/p>\n
While Reader said he does not share any personal data from constituents with the AI tool, he was \u201creally worried\u201d about the data risks across Parliament more widely, with many parliamentary staff not necessarily trained in how to use AI safely. The MP said he has personally trained his own staff on its use.<\/p>\n
Conservative MP Luke Evans has been another early adopter of AI in Parliament, and delivered the first speech in Parliament written by AI in 2022. He is now directly involved in Parliament\u2019s pilot of Microsoft Copilot.<\/p>\n
He told PoliticsHome that the pilot was aimed at making MPs \u201cmore productive and creative\u201d by using AI for simple tasks such as summarising briefings or organising social media posts.<\/p>\n
Evans said that he would be worried if anyone was using it to \u201coutsource either opinions or ideas to a computer\u201d, and expressed concern that some MPs and staff might not be fully equipped to use it safely. However, he insisted that it was important for MPs to try to be ahead of the technological curve and figure out how to use AI productively.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike in every industry and sector across the country, AI is there and should be looked at and explored,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question from an MP\u2019s point of view is how do you do this safely and make sure that people are protected, that data is protected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other MPs were less confident about the idea of AI being deployed safely in their own offices. Labour MP Charlotte Nichols said she has avoided AI entirely in her own work, describing herself as \u201ca bit of a Luddite\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it comes to casework, I wouldn’t go anywhere near it for that, because I just think it’s a GDPR minefield,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor starters, I’d be worried about where any sensitive information was going.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was sceptical about the practicalities of getting staff to manually check everything that AI produces: \u201cThat sounds like more work, not less.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Nichols told PoliticsHome she saw the potential value in AI for helping with communications, such as writing social media posts or press releases \u2013 especially when she does not directly employ any comms staff in her own office.<\/p>\n
But ultimately, she argued that the reason MPs and their staff were being tempted to use AI was because public expectations of MPs are too high, while MPs\u2019 resources do not stretch far enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe we need an honest conversation about what level of correspondence we are expected to deal with, and how small our teams are,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe live in a culture where everyone wants everything within a day or two days. And sometimes it’s not as straightforward as that. We need twice the amount of staff that we’ve got\u2026 but I’m not convinced AI is the answer to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Labour MP Noah Law agreed that the casework load for MPs was \u201cenormous\u201d, but that AI tools like ChatGPT should not be seen as a \u201csilver bullet\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said he currently uses it as a research tool \u2013 \u201clike Google\u201d \u2013 but that it needs more checks, and can therefore sometimes end up taking more time.<\/p>\n
Multiple MPs told PoliticsHome they were deeply cynical of Sewards\u2019 experimental AI bot.<\/p>\n
Reader described it as \u201cvery bold\u201d, but \u201cmore of a branding exercise than a helping constituents exercise\u201d.<\/p>\n
![\"screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot_2025-08-06_at_13.34.53_uj.jpg\")
\nLabour MP Mark Sewards launched an AI version of himself to respond to constituents’ questions (PoliticsHome)
<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be interesting to see what he declares [as expenses], because that’s not a cheap piece of work, even if it was a volunteer doing it.\u201d Reader said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s great to see people innovating\u2026 I’m not sure the product was quite ready when he launched it. People have played with it and it\u2019s not actually particularly useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nichols said she would be worried about what an AI-generated MP could say, and the potentially damaging impact on public trust.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s a perception that MPs are out of touch robots anyway, and I don’t think adding an AI interface between you and the public is necessarily going to help,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty told PoliticsHome that he felt using ChatGPT for any form of constituency correspondence was unacceptable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMPs relying on ChatGPT to respond to constituents makes a mockery of the role MPs play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unacceptable for MPs to outsource casework to AI, any more than it would be unacceptable to use an overseas call centre. I\u2019m old school and don\u2019t use it myself. I think speechwriting needs to be done from scratch if you want to develop your own style and tone, but I\u2019m sure not everyone thinks that…\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/impression.ashx\")
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<\/p>\n![\"Zoe](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/_DSC7866_copy_ikglts.jpeg\")