Q:Since Prime Minister Thatcher came to power in 1979, her three governments have changed the agenda for political debate in Britain. Has Conservative rule also altered the agenda for science policy? Do you believe that the difficulties now facing U.K. science are simply the outcome of an attempt to save money, or are they the result of a coherent plan?
BODMER: Definitely not the latter. Our problems are largely to do with cash and with a monetary policy which says that government expenditure should go down and that people ought to be more self-sufficient, and which has almost become a religion. This has driven a lot of major changes, some of which—such as the forging of closer links between the universities and industry— have been for the better. But while some campuses, such as Salford, have thrived in that way, others are clearly very concerned at the suggestion that...
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