A tech-savvy Labour Member of Parliament has become the first in Westminster to refer to an iPad to deliver a speech in the House of Commons, using the slab in favour over trusty traditional paper pages.
Kerry McCarthy, Bristol East Politician, later posted on Twitter saying that the use of her first-gen Apple tablet came about due to edits made to her text while waiting to be called up. With no time to make amendments to her paper notes, she simply read directly from the iPad – all fair and square according to new procedure rulings, which allows no document larger than A4, whether it be paper-based or now gadget-based.
The MP was however confronted by Hansard to hand over her iPad as a record of her speech, standard to all parliamentary debates. McCarthy declined, instead handing over her roughly hand-written paper notes.
McCarthy tweets “Hansard always ask for copy of speech notes after you’ve spoken, doorkeepers pass you an envelope to put them in. Not getting my iPad. I had a rough draft on paper, so I gave them that. And now I’m going home…”
The innovative iPad Labour lady is already well known in Westminster for her know-how of gadgets and current technology fads, being labelled the “Twitter Tsar”. But this latest bold step by the Bristol MP is claimed to be by pure chance and not a pre-planned play on her tech-friendly reputation.
This news begs the question – will other politicians follow McCarthy’s example and how long before more gadgets pop up in parliament?
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