The importance of science and engineering to the long-term future of the UK

As an Engineer I am very interested in your campaign. I work in the construction sector, a site engineer responsible for setting out and supervising; buildings, roads, railways and other structures. I have recently worked on office blocks, factories,  Reading Railway Station. In the past I worked on the M25, a hospital in Basingstoke, Bluewater shopping centre, schools in Benson and Tilehurst. 

In 1995 I got an MSc. in Engineering for Development; water supply, sanitation and infrastructure at Southampton University. The Dissertation on water treatment was done in Guyana, South America.

In 1988 i got a ​B.Eng. (Hon.) Sandwich Degree in Civil Engineering at Westminster University

Engineering and scientific skills are vital for more than just the construction industry. There would be no Medicine, factories or research. Britain has in the past lead the way in scientific and technology, and we can again. 

We have fallen behind other countries in manufacturing. We need to invest in future technologies like tidal and wave energy. We can make every roof a solar energy collector, insulate every home to reduce all the wasted energy that leaks out. 

ST100 The basic aim of our Science and Technology policy is to encourage and promote research, development and application of science and technology which will:

1.Increase knowledge and understanding.

2.Help to understand and address the major environmental threats such as climate change, pollution and biodiversity losses.

3.Contribute to a better quality of life for all the inhabitants of the world.

ST201 Science and technology have made enormous contributions to our civilisation and wellbeing. However, irresponsible use of science and technology have undoubtedly resulted in problems for society, We recognise that when used responsibly science and technology have great potential to be part of the solution to many problems, including environmental ones, However, we recognize that that there are very unlikely to be any technological ‘quick fixes’ and that science needs to be part of a coordinated response alongside political and economic solutions.

Policies

ST210 Scientific research requires proper funding. We value basic research and will ensure it is properly funded. We believe that it is important to have a wide body of research that is not funded or controlled by large corporations.

ST211 We will increase public spending on R&D to at least 1% of GDP.

ST212 We will ensure funding streams are long-term and ensure sufficient revenue streams are available for the maintenance and operation of all capital investments. We will separate subscriptions for international projects from budgets for research grants and pay those subscriptions directly.

ST213 We will follow the Haldane principle that the Government may guide overall strategic direction, but research councils decide which projects are to be funded