Post-Brexit cuts catastrophic for scientific research, say experts
This is potentially really serious; it's reported in the Times so is behind their paywall, but this is the first part of the article:Threatened post-Brexit cuts to the science budget represent a “catastrophic” and potentially “existential” risk to research, some of the UK’s leading scientists have said.The mooted £2 billion cuts, which account for almost a quarter of the public research budget, come on top of £120 million of research funding already lost from the overseas aid budget.The shortfall will hit many of the teams who worked on the coronavirus response and also jeopardise government plans to make Britain a “science superpower”, the researchers, who included the head of the Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences and Universities UK, said.“It is absolutely vital that the government continues to support science, and some of the cuts that we have been hearing about would be catastrophic, even existential,” said Sir Paul Nurse, head of the Francis Crick Laboratory and a Nobel laureate.“It will drive scientists elsewhere, it will destroy networks, it will damage the UK’s power to make connections throughout the world. . . none of this makes any sense.” He said that the government had praised UK science throughout the pandemic, but that it “needed to walk the walk”.https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/post-brexit-cuts-catastrophic-for-scientific-research-say-experts-50rrvv2pkIt won't do much for "Global Britain," for sure.
Richard Carter ● 1829d2 Comments