The state of British science rarely surfaced in a campaign pre occupied with welfare and defense. Although both main opposition parties—Labour and the alliance of the Liberals and Social Demo crats—made promises to increase R&D spending, their poor showing puts little pressure on the Thatcher government to heed their advice.
The ruling Conservatives responded to warnings that basic re search in the United Kingdom is in decline with a statement that "a country our size cannot afford to do everything." The only public meeting of the campaign on science, arranged by the lobby group Save British Science, drew 100 people.
At the same time, there are plans to reform British science policy. The government has announced it will reduce the share of the R&D budget going to defense (see The Scientist, June 1, p. 1). And the third-term administration is expected to move swiftly to set up a new Advisory ...
