Science and politics in the United Kingdom have enjoyed a summer of love, but now the holidays draw to a close. Universities, policymakers, and politicians prepare to return to the fray, and the detailed decision making due during the coming months about allocation of new funds announced in the summer will test just how strong the new relationship is.
Hopes are high. "We're seeing a renaissance of British science," enthused Ian Gibson (Labour, Norwich North), chair of the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology. As an adherent of the hard left, Gibson is not a natural supporter either of Prime Minister Tony Blair or "new labour" policies. Gibson's comment was in response to questions about the significance for science of the national spending review for 2002/03 to 2005/06 published in July. This review allocated an average increase of 10% per year in real terms to the science ...
