The great beyond: will the UK science budget be cut by 40%?

Any change in a government brings uncertainty. For scientists in Britain, the waiting game ahead of the November spending review is turning into a nail-biter

Back in 2010, UK science dodged a bullet - sort of.

Following a global recession, the scientific community was warned to expect cuts of up to 40% to the core research budget. We rallied, presenting strong arguments for the role of science in fueling the economy. Afterwards, the 4.6b ring-fencing of these funds announced in the subsequent Autumn Spending Review came as a relief.