If the Tories are in power following the election they are committed to an in/out EU referendum. And if that results in an "out" vote British science will be a major loser. The EU may be a lumbering giant but it is good for British science. EU policy is to "encourage the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding....on the basis of scientific excellence". Now scientists in the UK publish 16% of the world's most cited papers. And the EU funding rewarding this excellence amounts to receipts by UK scientists of £1.40 for every £1 that the country puts into the pot. That's not to be sniffed at!
Not only would we lose access to this cash, we would lose influence, too. And UK scientists would no doubt lose collaborators as well (just look at what has happened to the Swiss recently).
So an "out" vote most definitely is not a vote for science.
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