Image credit: University of Cambridge
Image caption: Professor Charlotte Summers says incentives are needed to retain and attract talent in the UK. Article information Author: Amelia Reynolds Post: BBC Politics East
40 minutes ago
Sustained investment in science is vital to “improve the health and wealth of our nations”, a leading clinician told the BBC.
“Cambridge has more patents per capita than any other city in the country,” she said.
BBC Politics East's Race Across the East sees the team travelling around the region to investigate key topics in the general election.
Prof Summers, who led the Cambridge team battling Covid-19 during the pandemic, said: “UK PLC relies on talent – we need the best talent to come here and do their best to improve the health and wealth of our people.”
“I think we have to make sure we're competitive. We have to make sure that people who are as smart and talented as we need them are willing to come and work with us.”
Prof Summers, who splits his time between treating critically ill patients for the NHS and running the laboratory at Addenbrooke's Hospital, said whichever party wins the election must provide “sustainable funding for British science”.
Image credit: Ben Schofield/BBC
Image caption: Major biotechnology companies such as AstraZeneca have chosen to locate their main research laboratories in Cambridge.
“You can't build on a large scale without sustainable investment,” Prof Summers added.
“We also need systems that help us recruit and retain the best talent in the world.
“We’re successful in this business because we’re able to attract the best people to work here.
“It's important to make sure that continues.”
She added that the UK economy needed to be a good environment for business if scientific discoveries were to have a “meaningful impact on patients and the economy”.
Image credit: University of Cambridge
Image caption, The Victor Philip Daddare Heart and Lung Institute is part of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Science Party
The party added that it would “support research into new treatments for conditions such as Parkinson's and motor neurone disease, and secure more commercial clinical trials.”
“The revolution underway in data and life sciences has the potential to transform healthcare in our country,” the Labour manifesto said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that a strong, mission-led industrial strategy, bringing together government, industry and academia, can turn the tide of the pandemic. This is the approach we will take in Government.”
Image credit: University of Cambridge
Image caption, The Victor Philip Daddare Heart and Lung Institute is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus
The Liberal Democrats said they would “support science, research and innovation, particularly in the areas of small and medium-sized enterprises, start-ups, universities, zero carbon, the environment and medical technology.”
As part of this, the party has set a goal of “investing at least 3% of GDP in research and development by 2030, rising to 3.5% by 2034.”
The Green Party said it would “aim to increase investment in research and development by more than £30 billion over the five-year term of Parliament”, adding that it would focus on “tackling the climate and environmental crisis”.
The party said it would encourage the UK government to partner with universities to assess which areas are most important for research and development.
Reform UK said it would “abandon net zero, cut costs and restore growth”, reversing the current government's commitment to remove as many greenhouse gases from the atmosphere as we emit by 2050.
Reformers claim “net zero and the removal of associated subsidies” would save £30 billion a year, and aim to focus on British oil and gas, shale and “clean nuclear energy from new small modular reactors”.
