Scientists and unions urge UK Chancellor to protect Jodrell Bank amid budget cuts
Leading researchers, including Brian Cox, have signed an open letter urging Chancellor John Healey to stop science budget cuts that threaten Jodrell Bank and other key facilities.
Prominent researchers, among them physicist Brian Cox, have joined a coalition of scientists and regional leaders in an open letter to Chancellor John Healey, demanding an immediate halt to planned cuts in the UK science budget. The petition, also endorsed by Steve Rotheram and coordinated by the Prospect union, argues that the reductions risk irreversible harm to the nation’s research infrastructure, citing Jodrell Bank observatory as the most visible example.
It urges the Budget on Wednesday to fund Jodrell Bank and other threatened facilities, and to commission a thorough economic impact study for the upcoming spending review. The letter notes that UKRI will cease prioritising Jodrell Bank after March 2028, and that cuts of up to 30% to the Science and Technologies Facilities Council could affect hundreds of jobs and key sites such as Diamond Light Source, Daresbury Laboratory and Boulby Mine.
The signatories stress that the cuts contradict the Prime Minister’s ambition to become an “innovation nation” and could undermine regional growth pledges. Government comment was not obtained.
Why it matters
Cuts could jeopardise world-leading research facilities and thousands of science jobs in the UK.
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