Who is the UK's Science Chancellor? And Why Has He Caused Such a Controversy?

We’re all familiar with the Prime Minister, but one individual you may not be so familiar with is the UK Science Chancellor. That’s because at present, he doesn’t exist. However if the current First Secretary of State and Chancellor of the Exchequer gets his way, the position could soon come to light.

In his first term, George Osborne sold himself as a man who took science very seriously. He went on to make a series of speeches highlighting the importance of research, and backed them with financial support of several initiatives focussing on graphene research, space technology and data science. This paved the way for his appointment as the country’s first Science Chancellor.

“There is one more thing we have to do, if Britain is to become the best place to do science and apply it: we have to give British science the funding it needs for the long term,” he stated.

A not so scientific ‘science minister’

Unfortunately, Osborne appears to be more talk than walk. Earlier this month he had the chance to deliver on his claims that Britain could become a world leader in science. However instead of securing the country’s science sector financial protection, his latest plan dupes Research & Development of much needed funding. Instead, extra cash will be generated by the creation of a new Global Challenges Fund.  This will boost the public R&D budget of £4.7 billion to £5.2 billion over the next five years.

While it is a significant increase, R&D professionals maintain that is whittles down to next to nothing. In a fiscal manoeuvre by the treasury, the R&D fund is also counted as part of the UK’s commitment to investing 0.7% of GDP in overseas development. This puts substantial restrictions on how, and where the cash can be used.

An unimpressed scientific community

The science sphere is not impressed, with calls for political leaders to take a long hard look at the state of the R&D ecosystem. They maintain that if the UK wants to maintain and boost its world-class reputation for cutting edge scientific developments, a new ‘science chancellor’ needs to step up ASAP.

For more insight into the fascinating world of science, ‘Bright Lights, Big Science’ is a must read article. It explores everything from bacteria and plants to humans and animals, focussing on how all organisms on planet Earth depends on sunlight to survive.

Image via Flickr Creative Commons. Photo credits: Tom Blackwell