IOP responds to budget

Responding today to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's budget, the chief executive of the IOP, Tom Grinyer, said:

"It’s clear from today’s budget that the Chancellor has limited room for manoeuvre but it’s also crucial we don’t lose sight of the importance of putting the right resources into UK research and development (R&D), education and our scientific future.

"The UK has a stark choice of futures. One route sees our economy and society transformed by a new, research-driven, industrial revolution based on green energy and advances in quantum, semiconductors, fusion and AI. The second choice leaves us on the sidelines of this technological transformation, with our economy contracting, our role in the world diminished.

"That is why the Institute of Physics is calling for real investment in R&D to at least match the levels of the highest spending industrial nations and for a concerted effort to solve the skills crisis in the scientific and technical sectors."