The new Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, George Freeman MP, spoke at an event as part of The Physiological Society’s party conference activities.
The event Following the Science: What Should the UK Learn from the Pandemic When it Comes to the Role of Science in Public Health? was held at Conservative Party Conference on Tuesday 5 October in Manchester.
Speaking at the event, Freeman noted:
‘The public have, like never before, seen the very immediate value of UK science. The whole public is so proud of UK life sciences which is a wonderful thing. We have to keep making the argument that “science superpower” links to the UK as an ‘innovation nation’ which links to future jobs and prosperity. There is a strong [Government] commitment to making this post-COVID, post-Brexit moment to commit to a different economic model for this country and we need to show we can turn every pound of investment into five or ten pounds of inward investment and job creation’.
The Minister was also asked about the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review, the Government’s previous commitments to increasing public spend to £22 billion by 2027 and what difference pressure from the science community could make.
In response, he said:
‘When you are carrying the biggest [national] debt since 1760, there is always more to do. We have to keep making the argument and there will be no more doughty a defender and advocate for science in Government than me. But we must show the taxpayer the value of every pound invested in science’
Speaking at the same event on behalf of The Physiological Society, Professor Mike Tipton commented;
‘Over the last 18 months, an increasing number of the general public have seen just how important scientific data are for making important clinical and public health decisions– truly “following the science”. Physiology is the science of how your body works, doesn’t work and can be made to work better. It has been at the forefront of every stage of the COVID-19 pandemic and was the key to unlocking many of the mysteries of its effects on the body.’
For more information, please see the Society’s blogs (Tory and Labour) on party conference season.
