Hunt’s “science superpower” stuff is all very silly.
There are three clear science superpowers in the world (by researchers, output volume, equipment mega-structures, etc) - they are:
1) the EU (with UK in)
2) the US
3) China
The order varies depending on criteria used. But Brexit broke the first of these — and removed us from the driving seat of an actual science superpower. Further, it’s diminished Britain’s science on purely national terms too. There’s been a colossal chilling effect.
@mikegalsworthy How good is the science coming out of China? More often than not, when I hear about a breakthrough from China, it ends up being followed by another report that it's fraudulent or frighteningly unethical.
@ilsa @mikegalsworthy - its really not about break throughs. Its about expenditure on engineering expertise, and China is pushing the boundaries on things like renewables and automation like nowhere else. Leaving the EU we now aren't even on the same page.
