A cynical government
You do not have to be a rocket scientist or any kind of scientist to know that the EU’s Horizon programme is a winner. It is so good that even this government managed to negotiate membership of Horizon when the UK left the EU.
Then it cocked things up by its ridiculous attitude over the NI protocol and was punished by being excluded from Horizon. Thousands of research projects were lost to UK universities, billions in funding stopped, the UK government failed to fill the gap.
Now after the Windsor Framework the UK has been invited back, only for the government to haggle over the bill and now, according to the FT, delay a decision on re-joining until after the summer break. Why?
Every day of delay is damaging the UK’s universities and its science base, the real fear is that the PM will finally decide the UK should go it alone, with some underfunded, pathetic attempt to prove the UK is an independent science super power.
Even New Zealand has joined Horizon, it is so good they can see the benefits there but not here, on the other side of the Channel.
Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised, we obviously have a government that knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.
By Jonty Bloom Media