North of England snubbed by UK government bag-a-boffin scheme
- Reference: 1754633715
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/08/08/north_of_england_snubbed_by/
- Source link:
This oversight is highlighted in a letter from Dame Chinyelu "Chi" Onwurah, Chair of the UK Parliament's Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, to the Minister of State for Science, Lord Patrick Vallance.
In the letter, Dame Onwurah expresses disappointment that the [1]recently announced £54 million ($72 million) scheme to recruit the world's top researchers recognizes the important role of the devolved nations - Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - but appears to ignore large swathes of England.
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The result is that none of the 12 universities and research institutions selected for Britain's boffin fund are from the North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber or the East Midlands. That means these regions will not be given an equal opportunity to access talent from overseas, she said.
[3]
[4]
It notes that the University of Manchester had previously been considered worthy enough to receive €143 million ($167 million) of European Research Council funding across 83 projects since 2007, far more than the University of Southampton, which was one of those selected in teh GTF.
(The University of Manchester was also home to the pioneering Manchester Baby and Manchester Mark 1 computers, arguably the genesis of the UK's IT industry. While the original Mark 1 and Baby were taken apart, and components used in later computers, you can see a scale [5]replica built with vintage componentry at the city's Science and Industry Museum.)
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The letter also asks for details on how the government assessed which institutions to select for funding and why these did not include any in England that are north of Birmingham. The Chair has given the Minister until September 1 to respond.
"It's disappointing that whilst the Global Talent Fund distribution recognises the role of devolved nations, it doesn't recognise the importance of regions within England. The Fund misses out the north of England entirely, despite being home to many world-class research institutions that would benefit massively from extra help to attract top researchers from abroad," Dame Onwurah said in a statement.
[7]UK's answer to Darpa invests £23.3M in touchy-feely robots
[8]As US scientists flee Trump, MP urges Britain to do more to nab them
[9]Brit universities told to keep up the world-class research with less cash
[10]UK's new Minister for Science and Technology comes to US touting Britain's AI benefits
For many in the areas missing out, this will be perceived as just another episode in a story of neglect that sees resources concentrated around London, while other areas are ignored. The capital got a significant public transport upgrade with the £18.8 billion ($25 billion) Crossrail project, for example, while the northern legs of the HS2 high-speed rail program that would have served Manchester and Leeds [11]were cancelled .
Other countries, it seems, are more serious about attracting overseas talent than the British government. The EU outlined a [12]€500 million ($566 million) plan to pull in scientists from abroad, while France [13]stumped up another €100 million ($113 million) aimed at drawing US researchers unhappy with the Trump administration's attitude to science.
A cynic might also point out that the UK previously had no problems attracting top talent from mainland Europe, before the toxic rhetoric surrounding Brexit made many Europeans feel unwelcome in the country. ®
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[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/leading-lights-of-uk-research-spearhead-search-for-worlds-best-talent
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aJXKtjAeBIxAZGLNCQR7jwAAAE0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJXKtjAeBIxAZGLNCQR7jwAAAE0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aJXKtjAeBIxAZGLNCQR7jwAAAE0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/meet-baby
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJXKtjAeBIxAZGLNCQR7jwAAAE0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/30/uks_darpa_invests_233_million/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/09/uk_draws_us_scientists/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/08/ukri_funding_cuts/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/28/peter_kyle_ai/
[11] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68217031
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/06/eu_us_science_scheme/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/14/france_us_science_offer/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
No surprises here.
This is very much par for the course. The North (anywhere past Watford in the eyes of these people) receives absolutely pitiful levels of funding in pretty much anything.
Re: No surprises here.
Until government stops being so London-centric this will prevail. I don't anticipate any change in our lifetimes.
Re: No surprises here.
Successive governments have been dragging their feet over the relatively modest amounts of money involved in [1]stopping the Tyne Bridge from rusting into oblivion . It took forever to get the second Tyne Tunnel. The Metro is finally introducing the first new trains in 45 years. The historic underinvestment was partly compensated by the EU structural funds, while they were accessible, that also gave the region more say in how they were applied. No longer.
However, the bigger problem would seem to be that the UK is running out of money even for its day-to-day expenditure and clueless as to how to respond. I doubt there'll be much money for development or investment in the near future. Symbolically, parliament itself [2]is falling down , so perhaps there's an opportunity to ditch the nostalgia for the mock-Gothic past, relocate it to an empty office block in Leeds and start governing for the 21st century. But I suspect the flummery budget is sacrosanct.
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9vp3212x5o
[2] https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/sections/news/parliament-restoration-could-take-76-years-and-cost-22bn-24-02-2022/
Re: No surprises here.
"The Metro is finally introducing the first new trains in 45 years. "
Whilst agreeing with your general point on this, I'd just note that London Underground run most of their stock for that sort of period - eg the 1972 and 1973 stock still on Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines. If I travel to London from the South Midlands, that's usually in near 50 year old British Rail Mk3 coaches, and even when those get replaced next year it will be with newer cast offs from Trans Pennine Express.
"However, the bigger problem would seem to be that the UK is running out of money even for its day-to-day expenditure and clueless as to how to respond. "
Everybody knows the possible answers (cut spending/raise taxes) nobody agrees which one, or what balance to strike, and this government and previous ones have tied their own hands with an assortment of expensive commitments that were never properly funded or thought through. Increasing income tax, making the NHS contributory at point of use, killing the triple lock, slashing disability benefit costs, slashing foreign aid, making scumbag tech companies pay appropriate UK taxes....all possible, all will cause some group or other to throw their hands up and scream blue murder. We need a national debate on the public services that people want through taxation, and those services they'll give up or pay for privately, and the role of government in controlling the price and specification of privately paid services such as energy. But that adult debate is not going on.
"so perhaps there's an opportunity to ditch the nostalgia for the mock-Gothic past, relocate it to an empty office block in Leeds "
A shame they demolished the old Quarry Hill flats, that would have been an ideal hell hole to shove MPs into. What we could do with former MPs for their culpability remains open - Soylent Green maybe and ship it somewhere there's famine, or push them (alive) into the fish, blood and bone mixers and use it as agricultural fertiliser.
A solution?
With the current rate of climate change, it won't be too long before London is in the sea, and we have the eggs/basket result. Hang in there North & West, your time will come.
Sir Humphrey says:
The universities should be funded... both of them.
I don't think anyone is really surprised.
Three fifths of the fund going to Oxford, Cambridge and UCL. Arguably the three establishments that don't need money to attract talent.