Tag Archives: science

Prateek Buch

Conference gets its wish – drug policy review announced

By Prateek Buch | Mon 5th December 2011 - 9:00 am

Liberal Democrats are always looking for distinctive ways to show that the party is making a difference in government – things we can proudly point to and say “look, we made this happen.” This week’s announcement that the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee is to launch a new inquiry into drugs policy is one that activists, MPs and Peers alike can rightly point to as an example of the positive influence Lib Dems have on public policy.

There is now widespread recognition that the UK’s drugs laws are ineffective and expensive, with MPs of all parties signing …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 7 Comments
Mark Pack

It’s not a science journalism problem, it’s a journalism problem

By Mark Pack | Mon 11th October 2010 - 10:25 am

Late last month, Martin Robbins wrote a fantastic spoof of science journalism for the Guardian’s website – This is a news website article about a scientific paper. In his subsequent commentary on the reaction to that spoof he wrote,

Science is all about process, context and community, but reporting concentrates on single people, projects and events … Hundreds of interesting things happen in science every week, and yet journalists from all over the media seem driven by a herd mentality that ensures only a handful of stories are covered. And they’re not even the most interesting stories in many

…

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
Ed Long

Opinion: science should be protected from the cuts

By Ed Long | Fri 8th October 2010 - 1:05 pm

It’s been a heady week for British science in the wake of the Nobel prize announcements.

British reproductive biologist Robert Edwards was awarded the prize for medicine for his role in developing the in-vitro fertilisation techniques that led to the world’s first “test-tube baby”. In the same awards, the prize for physics was given to a pair of Russian-born scientists, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, who we are lucky enough to have currently working at Manchester University. Incidentally, Geim is also an Ig Nobel laureate for developing an experiment in which he levitated a live frog using magnetic fields acting …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 22 Comments
Stephen Tall

LibLink: Evan Harris – Vince Cable’s science spending cuts: how harsh will they be?

By Stephen Tall | Wed 8th September 2010 - 2:45 pm

This morning’s news that Vince Cable will announce in a speech today how the cuts to his Business, Innovation and Skills department will impact on science attracted a vigorous reaction from commenters on the Voice today.

Former Lib Dem MP Dr Evan Harris — whose Political Science blog for the Guardian has quickly established itself as essential reading — has contributed his throughts to the debate there. Evan, as Lib Dems will know well, is firmly on the social liberal ‘wing’ of the party (a staunch defender, for example, of higher taxes for the wealthiest), and has great credibility …

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged and | 17 Comments
Stephen Tall

BBC: Vince signals science funding cuts

By Stephen Tall | Wed 8th September 2010 - 10:10 am

The BBC reports:

Business Secretary Vince Cable is expected to signal a squeeze on public funding for scientific research. He will urge universities to do “more for less” and say taxpayers should only back research that has a commercial use or was academically outstanding.

Mr Cable’s London audience will be told the government “values” UK science and research and spends £4.3bn a year. Lord Rees, president of the Royal Society, said cutting science funding would be a false economy. Mr Cable’s speech comes ahead of next month’s Comprehensive Spending Review, which is likely to squeeze resources.

Well, these are the realities …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged and | 29 Comments
Helen Duffett

Julian Huppert says all MPs should brush up on their science

By Helen Duffett | Tue 3rd August 2010 - 4:40 pm

Julian Huppert MP promoting scientific researchThe Independent today carries an interview with Julian Huppert, Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge, who is also the only scientist in the House of Commons:

Julian Huppert, a research biochemist who became the Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge at the last election, said he was alarmed at the lack of scientific knowledge among colleagues.

In an interview with The Independent, he also accused political leaders of paying “lip service” to the importance of scientific proof and warned that looming cuts

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 21 Comments
Julian Huppert

Dr Julian Huppert MP’s maiden speech

By Julian Huppert | Sat 29th May 2010 - 2:45 pm

Back when Cix was the main way of talking to other Lib Dems online, a tradition emerged of posting Lib Dem MPs’ maiden speeches so that people could read them and respond – a tradition LDV would like to continue. The first new Lib Dem MP to speak in the 2010 Parliament was Gordon Birtwistle, with Julian Huppert shortly after.

Dr Julian Huppert (Cambridge) (LD): Thank you for giving me this chance to speak so early in this Parliament, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is great to see you in the Chair. There has been a long succession of maiden speeches …

Continue reading »
Posted in Parliament | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Evan Harris – Here comes the Lib Dem science

By NewsHound | Fri 9th April 2010 - 7:45 am

Over at TheEngineer.co.uk, Lib Dem science spokesman Evan Harris – the party’s star Twitterer – sets out the party’s policy on all things scientific. Here’s an excerpt:

We have long-argued that the UK has become over-reliant on the financial services as a foundation for growth; that a knowledge-intensive economy is not only more reliable, but also more rewarding and a better strategic base in the long-term. It is the scientist and the engineer who will ultimately develop and build the supply of clean energy we will need, the artificial organisms key to future biotech, or the robotics crucial to our

…

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged | Leave a comment
The Voice

Nick Clegg calls for reform of UK libel law

By The Voice | Mon 18th January 2010 - 6:45 pm

Nick Clegg has taken the opportunity of a speech today to the Royal Society – on the relationship between science and politics – to press for reform to the UK’s “stifling” libel laws. Here’s how the Press Gazette reports it:

There appears to be a growing political consensus that Britain’s libel laws are too waited in favour of rich claimants and money-grubbing lawyers. Today Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg is set to use a speech to the Royal Society to call for libel laws to be reformed, The Independent reports.

“Libel tourism is making a mockery of British justice,” Clegg

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

CommentIsLinked@LDV … An Evan Harris double-bill: embryon research and BNP teacher ban

By Stephen Tall | Mon 5th October 2009 - 5:40 pm

It’s not only Vince Cable who’s been all over the papers – the Lib Dems’ science spokesman Evan Harris also has his say today on two very different issues.

First up, in today’s Independent, animal-human hybrid embryo research which, says Evan equires three things to prosper: legal permission, good scientists and more funding. Here’s an excerpt from his article:

Those of us involved in campaigning for human-animal embryo research to be legal during the passage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill always knew that this was a controversial area of research. But we also knew it was a

…

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged , , , and | 3 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Ben Wood
    It is such sad news. I was lucky to get to know Micheal over the last few years (working on a book project for the John Stuart Mill Institute). He reaffirmed fo...
  • Ed Sanderson
    Very sad news. I remember many a lively evening of erudite discussion in Leeds - Michael was a true intellect - and a genuinely warm soul. My condolences to his...
  • Jack
    This is bang on. What is the point of a liberal party that won't stand up for rights, especially when both government and opposition want to make hay out of div...
  • Matt (Bristol)
    I totally understand this is a key issue for many Lib Dems (and I'm not speaking for Lib Dems myself, I'm an ex-member). But I don't understand how this 'vangua...
  • John Grout
    Fully agree with all of this. I've seen a few MPs' Pride Month posts reference Section 28 abolition and Same-Sex Marriage - we need to start talking about this...