• Question: What is your opinion about Brexit?

    Asked by moms_spaghetti to Aaron, Ananthi, Ashley, Christopher, Emma, Lea on 14 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Aaron Brown

      Aaron Brown answered on 14 Nov 2017:

      Brexit is potentially really bad for UK science, a lot of the money to carry out research comes from the EU. Also a lot of work goes on between UK and other European scientists where they discuss ideas to help each other’s research out… these relationships can also be damaged by brexit. Fingers crossed the impacts won’t be too bad!!

    • Photo: Emma Stevenson

      Emma Stevenson answered on 14 Nov 2017:

      Brexit has pros and cons depending on what industry you are in. European collaborations and grants are an important part of research. So for me personally, I didn’t want Brexit as it might restrict what grants I can apply for and make it harder to collaborate with my European counterparts. However, I realise that this is just a vert small part of the big picture.

    • Photo: Christopher Richardson

      Christopher Richardson answered on 14 Nov 2017:

      Personally I voted for brexit, there are many arguments for and against but mine was actually influenced more by politics rather than my job. I studied politics in college and always remember being annoyed that we vote for MPs in this country that then make decisions and can be fired by the people if they do bad! But in the European parliament none of the MEPs (members of the European parliament) are voted for by us except for the UK ones and we have people from other countries making decisions (good ones as well as bad ones to be fair) for the people of the UK which I don’t agree with.

    • Photo: Ashley Otter

      Ashley Otter answered on 14 Nov 2017:

      I *personally* think Brexit will be the biggest mistake that the UK has ever made. From a science perspective, without being in the EU, we might not be part of great funding opportunities like Horizon 2020 funding, but also things like ‘erasmus’, which allow UK university students to spend time in studying in a different country. In addition, we are seeing the devastating effects of Brexit, increased attacks on non UK people, more debt, higher interest rates, less £ to $/€ and further isolation from other countries. I am very much a pro-EU person though 🙂

    • Photo: Ananthi Ramachandran

      Ananthi Ramachandran answered on 14 Nov 2017:

      I was and still am very anti Brexit. I was thinking from a scientist’s point of you. There are a lot of valuable funding opportunities that UK science can benefit from and I hate the thought of this being affected!

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