Liberal Democrat activists at the party’s conference in Liverpool have adopted a ‘wait and see’ attitude to the coalition’s science policy.
“I think the jury’s still out,” Ken Cosslett, chairman of the Association of Liberal Democrat Engineers and Scientists told Research Fortnight. “But we will definitely be discussing it at our AGM on Wednesday.”
After winning the support of many scientists in the election campaign, when the Liberal Democrats were seen to have the best science policy of the three main parties, opinion has swung away in recent weeks as the reality of big cuts to the science budget begin to hit home. Cosslett says the association is concerned about how much influence the party is having in the coalition. Read more in Research Fortnight.