UK Science After Blair. (December 27, 2006)

Chancellor Gordon Brown  Credit: T. Melville/Reuters

Dr Peter Cotgreave

    With the announced departure of Tony Blair from Britain's prime ministership and the probability of the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, replacing him, there is a mixture

 of anticipation and trepidation as to the future of UK science policy.

As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Brown has been a consistent proponent for boosting the profile and funding of British scientific research. Since 1997 he has increased science spending by 70% to £2.5 billion (A$6.24 billion) per annum.

However, in concert with Australia's senior cabinet members he has shown a consistent tendency to micromanage with an eye toward short term goals.

Early in December Mr Brown brought down his pre-budget report. In it he proposes a reorganisation through a new Office of Strategic Coordination of Health Research to coordinate funding provided to the Medical Research Council and the Health Department.

In addition  a new Translational Medicine Funding Board appears will be set up to oversee the three organisations to move results from laboratories to clinical use.

To some the Chancellor's bureaucratic manoeuvres raise the spectre of basic-research funding being diverted to fund industry oriented applied research and development, not dissimilar perhaps to Australian Research Council Linkage Grants.

For example the fear has been voiced by Peter Cotgreave, director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering that the future for British science may look less certain if applied research is seen as the raison d'être for science per se. "You always have to be wary when people march down that road, they can forget about the science base."