Funding cuts to scientific research represents a “destruction of the future,” renowned physicist Professor Brian Cox said. This comes after cuts to research at universities, including physics departments, were announced.
Having seen a funding delay, the UK could potentially see no postdoctoral researchers in theoretical particle physics this year, The Guardian warns. Universities have been informed that grants from 2026 to 2030 will be cut by almost 70%, meaning fewer than 20 postdocs annually will be working in the field throughout the UK.
The impact was “unquantifiable,” said Professor Brian Cox. The work included advances in fields including quantum computing and medical imaging. Some physics departments may have to close, one researcher has warned.
The situation was “critical” said the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in a letter, adding that it presented “long‑term risks to the health and sustainability of the UK theory community.”
The cuts were “annihilating” a field of research that was inspiring youngsters into science and captured the public’s imagination, Prof Jeff Forshaw of Manchester University said.
“This is the physics of the Higgs boson, black holes, dark matter and the big bang,” he said. “And it is a field where the UK has traditionally led the world: think Stephen Hawking, Peter Higgs, Roger Penrose and Paul Dirac. These cuts attack the very pipeline of talent that the government wants to encourage.
“Young postdoctoral researchers are the lifeblood of scientific progress and they are the primary immediate victims,” Forshaw added. “I’m bewildered by what’s been allowed to pass. It’s an act of wanton self-sabotage.”
Four major infrastructure projects have been shelved by UK Research and Innovation to save £280 million, with the STFC looking to save £162 million by 2030. This is despite a rise in the overall scientific budget.
The cuts come following a rise in costs at national facilities and subscription fees for international projects including CERN rising alongside foreign exchange rates.
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