Andy Burnham makes a commitment to “save Jodrell Bank”
Andy Burnham’s first appearance in the House of Commons saw a question from Labour’s Sarah Russell, MP for Congleton, about funding cuts at Jodrell Bank. The Prime Minister replied:
“There must be a way to save Jodrell Bank, and I give her a commitment today at this dispatch box: we will find it.”
Referencing the observatory’s popularity as a school trip destination, Burnham said that there was “no way that we can see its demise” and that it would not happen under his government.
The future of Jodrell Bank has been called into question since the STFC decision to cease funding the e-MERLIN telescope array from 2028 – UKRI has been at pains to stress that this “does not represent a withdrawal from the Jodrell Bank site more broadly.”
The Prime Minister’s remarks highlighted the heritage value of the facilities, and did not directly speak of overturning specific decisions around research funding.
Other facilities
Sarah Russell had also raised the issue at a Westminster Hall debate earlier the same day, saying that it would be an “absolute travesty” for funding to be withdrawn.
The debate had been brought by another Labour backbencher, MP for Scarborough and Whitby Alison Hume, who sought to highlight a different element of the recently announced STFC budget decisions: a reduction in the operational budget at Boulby Underground Mine by 40 per cent.
The mine, between Saltburn and Whitby on the north-east coast, is involved in experiments aimed at dark matter detection (including the international XLZD project). In Hume’s words:
“The lab’s worst fears were realised in July this year, as the Science and Technology Facilities Council prioritisation review proposed cutting Boulby’s operating budget by a massive 40%, creating a perception of uncertainty about continued support for XLZD. Boulby has substantial fixed operating costs, so the bulk of required savings might have to be found from cuts to the staffing budget, potentially leading to redundancies at the lab as well as limiting opportunities for future expansion. The cuts are so drastic that they pose an existential threat to Boulby’s future.”
Regional impact
Luke Myer, MP for the neighbouring constituency of Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, argued that the facility is providing skilled jobs in a region that “desperately needs them” and that STFC ought to ensure that it was “not cutting from the regions that have already suffered the most.”
Alison Hume agreed, pointing out that a facility in northeast England was facing “more than double the cuts faced by facilities in the south.” Andrew Cooper, Labour MP for Mid Cheshire, picked up the theme, saying that the research council was “circling the wagons around facilities in the south of England at the expense of those in the north.” He brought up the mothballing of the compact linear accelerator for research applications (CLARA) facility in Daresbury.
Hume asked the government to publish the evidence underpinning the STFC prioritisation decisions. Recently appointed BIST minister Kate Dearden answered for the government, referencing “difficult choices about how to prioritise funding.” She promised to pass on concerns back to the department, and said that science minister Chris McDonald would write to Hume separately.
On Jodrell Bank, Deardem said that the facility would “continue to be a significant centre for radio astronomy, science and research, with a strong future ahead.”