UK must aim higher than 2.4%, says Lib Dem candidate

Liberal Democrat leadership candidate Jo Swinson has said that even the Conservative government’s target to vastly boost research spending will still leave the UK lagging behind other countries.

Earlier this week the Campaign for Science and Engineering called on Swinson and her rival for the Lib Dem leadership, Ed Davey, to show their commitment to investing in R&D. In her response, published by CaSE on 11 July, Swinson said she wanted the UK to be a “world leader” in research.

But she warned that the current government target of spending 2.4 per cent of GDP on R&D by 2027 was not enough. “The current Government’s commitment to 2.4 per cent is welcome; however, this would still leave the UK lagging behind other countries,” she wrote.