Articles and Speeches

It’s a pleasure to be here today.

Thank you for the invitation.

And my thanks goes to Stephen Benn for being such an energetic and effective advocate and organiser on your behalf.

Parliamentary Links Day is now a well-established fixture in the Westminster calendar.

It’s good to see so people from the scientific industry here today,

Because this year has been a turbulent one.

Many of the things we have taken for granted now look shaky.

When uncertainty surrounds our everyday lives, the field of science has not stood unaffected.

Recession has swept through the economy revealing dangerous imbalances.

What’s been exposed is an economy that’s leaning too heavily on house prices and government borrowing.

We cannot continue with the same old approach.

It is time to start innovating.

It is time to use our world-class research base to engineer the products and services that will form the basis of the new economy.

Thankfully, Britain has many research-intensive industries that can be built upon.

We are strong in fields ranging from chemicals and biosciences to aerospace and pharmaceuticals.

And I hope that this will bode well for the future or our science and engineering base.

Because ultimately, the pace of innovation will determine our place in the world.

SCIENCE AND GLOBAL SECURITY

This year’s theme is Science and Global Security.

It’s the right theme.

The biggest security challenges are also biggest global challenges.

The solutions are scientific.

Whether it’s tackling climate change, cyber terrorism or the economic downturn, governments around the world will rely on input from science.

There is good reason to be hopeful for Britain.

We’re leading the way in plastic electronics, nanotechnology and synthetic biology.

With the right decisions, I believe that we can continue to lead the world with the emerging technologies of the future.

Britain is not just a nation of bankers and borrowers.

 We have a proud tradition of scientific excellence:

excellent scientists,

excellent laboratories,

and excellent universities.

This scientific tradition deserves proper recognition in Parliament and in government.

SCIENCE IN DBIS

Now I have to say that the recent changes in my department are disconcerting.

In 2007 many people couldn’t quite see the sense of creating the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

I’m not here to defend it.

But at that time it was given the benefit of the doubt.

I’m much more interested in the position of science in government. 

And that’s why I am pretty concerned about the latest reshuffle.

The sheer size of the new Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is quite unusual.

Science now competes with more departmental bedfellows than ever before.

For me and my colleagues in opposition, it is really frustrating.

We have 6 of the 11 ministers in the unelected House of Lords.

This includes the science minister and the secretary of state.

It restricts the ability of the elected MPs to hold the government to account.

So today, I want to say a few words about the place of science in public life.

When politicians talk about putting science and engineering at the heart of public policy, they should mean it.

And I suspect you’ll want to know what that means if there is an incoming Conservative Government.

 3 Key Points

So I want to make three key points today.

First, I am committed to working with scientists, the learned societies and professional institutes to raise the level of scientific literacy. 

1. Both science and our policy-making will benefit from a solid understanding of science among politicians;

We really cannot afford another re-run of the MMR fiasco. 

2. This is why I’ve been pretty firm. 

Scientific literacy lessons are compulsory for all incoming Conservative MPs.

They will include a basic understanding of the scientific approach, evidence-based policy-making, the use of statistics and key contemporary scientific concepts.

3. And I’m delighted to say that I am working with the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology to develop the programme which will be available to all incoming MPs.

Second, I am committed to preserving the independence of science from undue political interference. 

1. Successive governments have rightly emphasised the synergy between science and economic growth.
    

2. But there are questions that really must be answered:

How far should science policy answer to government industrial policy?  

How far should the science budget support regional economic development as well as scientific excellence? 

3. So this is why I’ve urged the government to conclude the debate and provide certainty about the future of the Haldane Principle. 

I want to clearly establish the proper roles and responsibilities for ministers.   

We need to have clarity on where their control of the allocation of research budgets ends.

And finally, Parliament must be able to scrutinise science policy. 

The return of a reinvigorated science committee is essential.

1. Science matters in Parliament: debating stem cells, responding to flu pandemics and setting budgets requires scientific input and effective scrutiny.
    

2. I’m not convinced that a single, unwieldy ‘BIS’ select committee can possibly do justice to science.
    
3. When I first entered parliament I was a member of the Science and Technology Committee.
    

4. It did a good job.
    

5. It would be a sorry day for science in Parliament if it were reduced to a bit-part in a new ‘super committee’.
    

6. And this is why I will not let the matter rest.

In conclusion: 

An incoming Conservative government recognises the role and value of science and engineering. 

Basic research is essential and cannot be sacrificed. 

Applied research is vital for economic recovery.

It is not one or the other, it is both:  they are not mutually exclusive. 

David Cameron has said, ‘we have to broaden our economic base to include more science, more hi-tech services, more green technologies, more engineering and more high-value manufacturing…’[1] 

So be in no doubt that a Conservative Government will want Britain to lead the world in science and innovation. 

With the public finances are under exceptional pressure, the science base must be free to flourish. 

It must deliver a more balanced economy and it must secure the pace of innovation for the future. 

Making ‘Parliamentary links’ between scientists and MPs today is an established and important part of the process. 

When ministers promise to put science at the heart of public life, they should mean it. 

Raising the level of scientific literacy, 

Re-affirming scientific independence and    

Scrutinising science policy in Parliament. 

That’s the least we can do. 

And I look forward to working with you in the future. 

Thank you.