Jess Asato on suing xAI, managing childhood trauma and coffee with Rupert Lowe
Growing up in East Norfolk, Jess Asato MP talks about ‘doing what was required’ when growing up as a young carer, and the importance of having a Government that understands childhood trauma. She talks about getting a real opportunity at 16 of getting a ‘stable, loving family’ to fulfil her dream and study law at Cambridge University.
Drifting between sport and politics and university, including a short-lived career as the women’s football goalkeeper, she realised she wasn’t that interested in Law as the political bug took over the legal one. Born in California, Jess occasionally imagines an alternative life as a ‘Californian beach babe’.
She joined the Labour Party in 1997 and soon became involved across multiple political campaigns, including running David Miliband’s social media for his leadership campaign. Initially a huge fan of social media, Jess is now in the process of suing Elon Musk’s xAI over non-consensual deepfake imagery of her, and is trying to get nudification apps banned. Psychologically, she says the impact of deepfakes is incredibly unsettling and calls out the ‘emboldened, entitled men’ who are behind it. She calls for a complete halt to developing super-intelligent Artificial Intelligence (AI) over the risks posed to humanity.
It was during the leadership of the Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn that Jess considered leaving the party altogether. The party’s handling of antisemitism ‘nearly broke’ her, describing the atmosphere as ‘hellish’ as many of the party leadership sought ideological purity.
As an MP, she actively campaigned against the Assisted Dying Bill, arguing it does not do enough to protect people against possible coercion. She was worried about the implications for the most vulnerable in society in the care of the state, arguing that the state can’t be trusted to deliver a system of death and palliative care should be improved.
13 Oct 2026
Westminster at 27: Joshua Reynolds MP on £60k Debt, Big Tech and Headphone Dodgers
In this episode of Meet The MPs, we interview Joshua Reynolds, Liberal Democrat MP for Maidenhead and member of the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee.
Elected at just 25 years old, Reynolds talks about keeping online giants Amazon and eBay accountable for unsafe marketplace products, having £60,000 in student loan debt, and the security concerns surrounding intimidation against a Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner in his constituency.
Reynolds also discusses the secrets of the Lib Dem election, voting on the Assisted Dying Bill, the crisis facing British high streets, and why he is campaigning for a ban on passengers playing audio through phone speakers on commuter trains.
#MeetTheMPs #JoshuaReynolds #LibDems #UKPolitics #Maidenhead #BusinessAndTrade #Westminster #HouseOfCommons
Episode Timestamps
00:00 – Political stunts, mega-donations, and sending Ed Davey to space
02:40 – Superintelligent AI: Economic productivity vs national security
05:15 – How MPs actually use AI for casework and daily correspondence
08:00 – Inside the Assisted Dying Bill Commons division lobbies
11:30 – Entering politics at 16 and representing Maidenhead
14:45 – The future of the High Street: Business rates and independent retailers
18:20 – Select Committee scrutiny: Interrogating Amazon and eBay on unsafe goods
21:50 – Facing £60,000 of student debt whilst serving as an MP
24:30 – Digital campaigning, glue stick tactics, and Elizabeth line travel
27:10 – Headphone dodgers: The campaign against phone speakers on trains
29:40 – Transnational repression: Protecting Hong Kong activists on UK soil
17 Sept 2026
Commando to Commons: Alex Ballinger MP on Defence, Gaza, and a Pakistani Rescue Cat
In this episode of Meet The MPs, we interview Alex Ballinger, Labour MP for Halesowen, former Royal Marine Commando and Foreign Office crisis manager.
Ballinger shares insights from his frontline service in Helmand Province and his role on the Pakistan border during the 2021 evacuation of Kabul during Operation Pitting.
He outlines why he considers Britain's 20-year involvement in Afghanistan as a whole “can only be described as a failure”, why the situation in Gaza meets the legal threshold for genocide, and why Benjamin Netanyahu must be held accountable as a war criminal.
Ballinger warns that cutting foreign aid is a "strategic error" and pledges to vote against his own government whip to protect West Midlands steel manufacturers.
He talks about his campaign to reform gambling laws to protect young service personnel and the wider public, his push for a new Halesowen tram link, and the lighthearted story behind his viral PMQs name mix-up.
23 Jul 2025
Zoe Franklin MP
Zoe Franlin MP MP MP
13 Jan 2025
- Pippa Heylings MP, South Cambridgeshire
Pippa Heylings MP, South Cambridgeshire, shares her insights on key policy issues affecting local communities, empowering listeners with a deeper understanding of the impact of politics on everyday life.
30 Dec 2024
Growing up with domestic violence to becoming an MP - Josh Babarinde MP
From growing up as "Eastbourne's Cutest Baby”, new Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde speaks about being born and bred in ‘one big village’ Eastbourne. Josh speaks about growing up having to be ‘hyper vigilant at home’, with domestic abuse and violence being a part of his childhood. Joining the Liberal Democrats over a beer mat at a freshers’ fair, Josh went on to receive an OBE after starting a social enterprise fixing smartphone screens.
Josh describes his family’s historical routes to Eastbourne, when his father was ‘shipped off’ by his grandparents to Eastbourne to be raised by white families, a common occurrence in 60s and 70s.
As a new MP, Josh tells us about snooping around the Houses of Parliament with his friends, calling himself a ‘politics buff’ on his Tinder bio and having a place in their constituency tattooed on their arm.
Parliament Webpage: https://members.parliament.uk/member/5086/contact
Josh’s Lib Dem website: https://www.eastbournelibdems.org.uk/josh
X: https://x.com/joshbabarinde
IG/Threads: https://www.instagram.com/joshbabarinde
About Meet The MPs
Meet The MPs is a series that brings politicians to the public, with in-depth profile interviews with MPs from across the House of Commons, as well as political commentary and analysis of the latest key events happening on the green benches.
17 Sept 2024
"I'm still hot desking in Parliament" | Peter Bedford MP - Mid Leicestershire
Peter Bedford MP is the member of Parliament for mid-Mid Leicestershire.
MeetTheMPs is produced by London Broadcast (https://www.londonbroadcast.co.uk).
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