Labour MP delivers first ever iPad Commons speech

Politics gets a tech twist

Labour MP delivers first ever iPad Commons speech

29 March 2011 10:57 GMT / By Paul Lamkin

Earlier this year on Pocket-lint we told you how peers had put forward proposals for the use of iPads in both Houses, and now Labour MP Kerry McCarthy has delivered the House of Commons' first ever iPad based speech.

The Bristol East MP used her original iPad to deliver a speech during the third day of debating on George Osborne's latest budget, although she said that its use was down to chance, rather than a planned technological statement.

She described it as "pure coincidence" and confessed: "I did have a printed version, but was called so late I started playing around with speech on iPad so read it from there."

Twitter user McCarthy (@kerrymp) later tweeted that Hansard (the printed transcript record of parliamentary debates) wanted her iPad.

She said: "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... Wonder if statue in Traf Sq is still wearing its Unison tabard?"

The use of iPads is allowed under the new Procedure Committee rules, although laptops are still not allowed. A device has to be no bigger than a sheet of A4 paper.

Via: uk.news.yahoo.com

Read our review of the new iPad (3rd generation)

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House of Commons, iPad, Tablets, Apple