Councillor with MND uses AI to keep his voice

A councillor who struggles to speak after developing motor neurone disease (MND) is using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to communicate using his own pre-recorded voice.

Nick Varley, who represents Kippington on Sevenoaks district and town councils, was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disorder in November 2024 after beginning to have difficulty speaking.

"It can be very emotional because your voice is such a big part of you, and no one wants it to sound like Stephen Hawking did," he said.

Shortly after his diagnosis, Varley made recordings of himself speaking, which were used to train the AI to produce an accurate copy of his voice.

The technology has been created by the MND Association and a California-based tech firm called 11Labs.

Varley used it for the first time in public by asking a question at Sevenoaks District Council's cabinet meeting on 13 January.

"It's amazing because when you get your diagnosis, part of you thinks, 'my life is over'," he said.

"And being able to still work, still talk, and still participate is amazing."

MND affects nerves found in the brain and spinal cord, which tell your muscles what to do, which leads them to weaken and stiffen over time and usually affects how you walk, talk, eat and breathe.

The form of MND that the Liberal Democrat councillor has begins in the mouth and throat, before progressing to other parts of the body.

The 58-year-old said he felt "terrible shock and fear" after his diagnosis.

"It was nine months after I first noticed at a council meeting that my voice was sounding ever so slightly odd, a tiny bit slurred," he said.

Since his diagnosis, the former journalist has been involved in fundraising for charities connected to MND.

His participation in the 2025 Moonlight Walk by Hospice in the Weald, which had been caring for him since his diagnosis, raised more than £11,000.

In December, he also took part in a charity run in Leeds, raising more than £10,000.

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