Artificial intelligence

What positions have MPs and peers taken on artificial intelligence over the past twelve months?

A briefing written by AI (Claude) from the Hansard records cited below, prepared 27 October 2026 from records up to 26 October 2026. Check the sources before relying on it.

In brief

• Government ministers presented AI as an opportunity to be managed with security safeguards, as when Kanishka Narayan told the House the Government was "ensuring robust regulation at the point of use". [Source 4]
• Peers in the Lords debate of 5 June 2026 were divided between optimism and warnings, as when Lord Markham said "The answer to risk is not to retreat; it is leadership" while Lord Knight said the Government and Parliament need "backbone and regulate AI". [Source 8] [Source 14]
• Committee witnesses stressed the limits of AI in practice, as when Ofqual's Chief Regulator said "we do not believe AI is yet ready to undertake sole marking of student work". [Source 26]

Ministers - supportive, with a focus on safeguards

Ministers framed AI as an economic opportunity requiring security controls, as when Kanishka Narayan wrote that Britain should be "a country which develops, deploys, and benefits from the most advanced AI". [Source 5]

• Narayan's 7 September 2026 statement said "Should AI capabilities advance faster than the techniques to secure, control, or reliably direct them, this could pose a significant risk to public safety and national security." [Source 5]
• Baroness Lloyd of Effra said on 16 July 2026 that the Government supports children, students and workers to "understand this, discern it and use it wisely" [Source 2].

Conservative peers - mixed: optimism, caution and scepticism

Conservative peers differed among themselves, as when Lord Magan of Castletown said "AI is a gigantic, inflated bubble" [Source 18].

• Lord Markham, a Shadow Minister, warned against "regulating ourselves into irrelevance" [Source 8].
• Lord Kamall urged that for health and care, "let us continue to innovate, but let us do so with caution and humanity" [Source 11].

Other Lords backbenchers - pressing for regulation or opportunity

Lord Knight of Weymouth (Labour) argued for firm action, as when he said "We must do something about addiction by design." [Source 14]

• Lord Loomba (Crossbench) said on 22 October 2026 that "The challenge before us, therefore, is not simply how to protect children from technology. It is how to ensure that technology serves children." [Source 19]

Committee witnesses - practical limits and concerns

Witnesses told committees that AI needs human involvement, as when eBay's Associate General Counsel Wolfgang Weber told the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee "AI can only be as good as the prompts, the systems and the modelling." [Source 25]

• Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the NEU, told the Education Committee "We have real concerns around deprofessionalisation." [Source 28]

About the evidence: The records are mostly written questions, which state questions rather than positions, plus one Lords debate (5 June 2026), one ministerial statement and a few committee sessions. Few Commons backbench speeches are included, and no division records are supplied. Several speakers' views rest on a single contribution.

Sources

1. Chi Onwurah (Labour; MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West, city seat (Tyneside urban area, 775,000 people), North East; role on this date: Chair, Science and Technology Committee (Commons)) — has raised this subject repeatedly (on several separate days) — Written question, Commons written answers — 27 April 2026 — UIN 127451 — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology: North East
2. Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Labour; member of the House of Lords; role on this date: Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)) — House of Lords — 16 July 2026 — col. 687 — Artificial Intelligence: Legislation - Question
3. Ian Murray (Labour; MP for Edinburgh South, city seat (Edinburgh urban area, 521,000 people), Scotland; role on this date: Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology); The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport) — Written answer, Commons written answers — 30 June 2026 — UIN 13350 — Department for Culture, Media and Sport — Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Artificial Intelligence
4. Kanishka Narayan (Labour; MP for Vale of Glamorgan, town seat (urban area of 55,000), Wales; role on this date: Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)) — House of Commons — 20 May 2026 — col. 532 — Science, Innovation and Technology — Artificial Intelligence
5. Kanishka Narayan (Labour; MP for Vale of Glamorgan, town seat (urban area of 55,000), Wales; role on this date: Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)) — Written statement, Commons written statements — 7 September 2026 — UIN hcws314 — Cabinet Office — Artificial intelligence update
6. Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Labour; member of the House of Lords; role on this date: Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)) — Written answer, Lords written answers — 17 June 2026 — UIN HL649 — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Artificial Intelligence: Public Sector
7. Lord McLoughlin (Conservative; member of the House of Lords; role on this date: Chair, Services Committee) — House of Lords — 22 October 2026 — col. 750 — Procedural Flexibility: Scrutiny of AI and Emerging Technology - Question
8. Lord Markham (Conservative; member of the House of Lords; role on this date: Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)) — House of Lords — 5 June 2026 — col. 1091 — Artificial Intelligence: Impact on Human Relationships and Society - Motion to Take Note
9. Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat; MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, town seat (urban area of 30,000), East of England; role on this date: Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Science, Innovation & Technology)) — has raised this subject repeatedly (on several separate days) — Written question, Commons written answers — 14 January 2026 — UIN 103044 — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Artificial Intelligence: Training
10. Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat; MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, town seat (urban area of 30,000), East of England; role on this date: Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Science, Innovation & Technology)) — has raised this subject repeatedly (on several separate days) — Written question, Commons written answers — 13 January 2026 — UIN 103045 — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Artificial Intelligence
11. Lord Kamall (Conservative; member of the House of Lords; role on this date: Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)) — House of Lords — 5 June 2026 — col. 1068 — Artificial Intelligence: Impact on Human Relationships and Society - Motion to Take Note
12. Wendy Morton (Conservative; MP for Aldridge-Brownhills, city seat (West Midlands urban area, 2.4m people), West Midlands; role on this date: Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)) — Written question, Commons written answers — 24 February 2026 — UIN 109123 — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Government Departments: Artificial Intelligence
13. Ben Spencer (Conservative; MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, town seat (urban area of 17,000), South East; role on this date: Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)) — has raised this subject repeatedly (on several separate days) — Written question, Commons written answers — 18 December 2025 — UIN 99879 — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Artificial Intelligence
14. Lord Knight of Weymouth (Labour; member of the House of Lords; role on this date: backbencher) — House of Lords — 5 June 2026 — col. 1034 — Artificial Intelligence: Impact on Human Relationships and Society - Motion to Take Note
15. Iqbal Mohamed (Independent; MP for Dewsbury and Batley, city seat (West Yorkshire urban area, 1.8m people), Yorkshire and The Humber; role on this date: backbencher) — Written question, Commons written answers — 27 March 2026 — UIN 121999 — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Artificial Intelligence: National Security
16. Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated; member of the House of Lords; role on this date: backbencher) — has raised this subject repeatedly (on several separate days) — Written question, Lords written answers — 29 April 2026 — UIN HL16581 — Department for Business and Trade — Artificial Intelligence: Digital Technology
17. Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated; member of the House of Lords; role on this date: backbencher) — has raised this subject repeatedly (on several separate days) — Written question, Lords written answers — 4 February 2026 — UIN HL13810 — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Artificial Intelligence: Investment
18. Lord Magan of Castletown (Conservative; member of the House of Lords; role on this date: backbencher) — House of Lords — 5 June 2026 — col. 1074 — Artificial Intelligence: Impact on Human Relationships and Society - Motion to Take Note
19. Lord Loomba (Crossbench; member of the House of Lords; role on this date: backbencher) — House of Lords — 22 October 2026 — col. 795 — AI, Screen Usage and Social Media: Effect on Children - Motion to Take Note
20. Iqbal Mohamed (Independent; MP for Dewsbury and Batley, city seat (West Yorkshire urban area, 1.8m people), Yorkshire and The Humber; role on this date: backbencher) — Written question, Commons written answers — 5 March 2026 — UIN 114725 — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Artificial Intelligence: National Security
21. Chi Onwurah (Labour; MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West, city seat (Tyneside urban area, 775,000 people), North East; role on this date: Chair, Science and Technology Committee (Commons)) — has raised this subject repeatedly (on several separate days) — Written question, Commons written answers — 27 March 2026 — UIN 122096 — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Artificial Intelligence and Digital Service Providers: EU Law
22. Julia Lopez (Conservative; MP for Hornchurch and Upminster, city seat (Greater London urban area, 8.1m people), London; role on this date: Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology) — has raised this subject repeatedly (on several separate days) — Written question, Commons written answers — 17 March 2026 — UIN 118849 — Department for Work and Pensions — Social Security Benefits: Artificial Intelligence
23. Dan Aldridge (Labour; MP for Weston-super-Mare, town seat (urban area of 84,000), South West; role on this date: backbencher) — Written question, Commons written answers — 12 March 2026 — UIN 117546 — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Artificial Intelligence: Labelling
24. Samantha Niblett (Labour; MP for South Derbyshire, town seat (urban area of 122,000), East Midlands; role on this date: backbencher) — Written question, Commons written answers — 26 October 2026 — UIN 35988 — Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport — Entertainers: Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
25. Wolfgang Weber (Associate General Counsel, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations, eBay) — Oral evidence to the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee — 23 June 2026 — Consumer protection
26. Sir Ian Bauckham CBE (Chief Regulator, Ofqual) — Oral evidence to the Education Committee — 13 January 2026 — The work of the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual)
27. Rt Hon Kanishka Narayan MP (Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) — Oral evidence to the Science and Technology Committee (Commons) — 21 October 2026 — Machinery of government changes
28. Daniel Kebede (General Secretary, National Education Union (NEU)) — Oral evidence to the Education Committee — 16 January 2026 — Teacher Recruitment, Training and Retention