INTRODUCTION
Jodrell
Bank was established in 1945, in a Britain rebuilding in the aftermath of the
Second World War.
Motors
from the gun turrets of battleships were built into the machinery used to
rotate the dish of the awesome Lovell Telescope behind me.
The
first scientists to use it were continuing research into radar which had begun
in wartime, with the purpose of defeating our enemies, but which they continued
in peacetime, to extend human knowledge.
Memories
were fresh of the destruction that had been wreaked through what Winston
Churchill called ‘the lights of perverted science’.
But
stronger than the doubts about technological change was a faith in the
potential of scientific inquiry to overcome the great challenges of their time
– want, disease, ignorance and squalor – and to light the path to a better
future.
They
were men and women who stood at the threshold of a new age.
Their
grand-parents lit their homes with oil lamps and travelled by horse and cart,
but they would live to see jet travel and space flight.
Jodrell
Bank is an icon of the United Kingdom’s tradition of scientific achievement and
is today at the cutting edge of twenty-first century discovery.
And
as I look towards the future, that spirit of scientific inquiry, and its power
to shape a better tomorrow, is at the heart of my vision.
Because
the world today stands at the threshold of a new technological age as exciting
as any in our past.
Great
changes in how we live, how we work, how businesses trade will reshape our
economy and transform our society in the years ahead.
This technological revolution presents huge opportunities for countries with the means
to seize them.
And
Britain is in pole position to do just that.
We
are ranked first in the world for research into the defining technologies of
the next decade, from genomics and synthetic biology, to robotics and
satellites.
With
1 per cent of the world’s population, we are home to 12 of the top 100
universities.
And
London is Europe’s leading tech start-up cluster, attracting more venture
capital investment than any other city.
But
this success is not automatic.
We
are at the forefront of scientific invention because we embrace change and use
regulation not to stifle but to stimulate an environment for creativity.
We
have great universities because we have strengthened historic institutions and
nurtured new intellectual powerhouses with public investment.
Britain’s
businesses can take on the world because they have access to a skilled
workforce and modern infrastructure.
Key
to our success has been the combination of individual ingenuity and ambition
with government action to invest in the future.
BRITISH SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT
UK
global leadership in science and innovation is one of this country’s greatest
assets.
For
Centuries Britain has been a cradle of scientific achievement.
William
Harvey’s discovery that blood circulates around the body provided the basis for
modern physiology and lead directly to every great medical advance of the last
400 years.
Isaac
Newton’s establishment of the laws of motion, optics and gravitation defined
the parameters of physics and laid the foundations on which modern science
rests.
Michael
Faraday’s discovery of electromagnetic induction unlocked the potential of
electricity to light up the world and power the modern age.
Every
day, we benefit from the work of generations of British scientists and engineers.
Every time we use a computer or go online, we benefit
from the genius of Alan Turing and the foresight of Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
Every journey in an airliner is powered by the turbo-jet technology
pioneered by Frank Whittle.
Every day my life and the lives of millions of people
around the world are made infinitely better because of the ground-breaking work
on the structure of insulin by Dorothy Hodgkin.
Each of these scientists and inventors has an inspiring
story of human achievement borne of hours of patient labour from which we all
reap the rewards.
Contemporary British science is just as inspiring.
Developing gene therapies to treat – and even cure –
diseases that until now have been beyond us.
Creating new materials like graphene that open-up opportunities
across industry and medicine – from lighter display screens to synthetic bone
tissue.
Producing CT and MRI scanners to provide new ways of
seeing inside the body to diagnose disease and target treatments.
Scientific research is a noble pursuit and a public good
– whether or not it leads directly to a commercial application.
But
when a discovery does have the potential to create or transform an industrial
sector, time and again British entrepreneurs have been the first to capitalise on
it.
In
the eighteenth century, Stoke-on-Trent became the ceramics capital of the world
after Josiah Wedgewood industrialised the manufacture of pottery.
In
the nineteenth century, George Stephenson made Newcastle the first city anywhere
to export railway locomotives.
In
the twentieth century, Arthur Pilkington made St Helen’s the global centre of
innovation in glassmaking.
The
great towns and cities of Britain grew up as global centres of innovative
production.
However,
the nature of innovation and progress is that new technology inevitably
replaces old.
And
in the twenty-first century, some parts of the country that once thrived because
of innovation and technology have seen the jobs and opportunities of the past
fall away.
But
in others we have seen Britain’s capacity for invention and reinvention create twenty-first
century success stories:
·
Cardiff has gone from exporting coal to
pioneering in semiconductors.
·
Dundee from jute to computer gaming.
·
Hull from whaling to wind-turbines.
Our
challenge as a nation, and my determination as Prime Minister, is not just to
lead the world in the 4th industrial revolution – but to ensure that every part
of our country powers that success.
That
is what our modern Industrial Strategy is all about.
Investing
in science and research to keep us at the forefront of new technologies and the
benefits they bring.
Nurturing
the talent of tomorrow – through more outstanding schools, world-leading
universities and the technical skills that will drive our economy.
And
transforming the places where people live and work – the places where ideas and
inspiration are born – by backing businesses and building infrastructure not
just in London and the South East but across every part of our country.
SCIENCE AT HEART OF A MODERN INDUSTRIAL
STRATEGY
Government
has always had a crucial role in supporting scientific research and the
technological advancements that flow from it…
…from
the founding of the learned societies under royal patronage in the seventeenth
century to the expansion of state-funded research in universities through the
twentieth century.
In
the last few years, Government support has helped create new landmark institutions,
like the Francis Crick Institute – Europe’s biomedical research facility – and
the Aerospace Technology Institute in Bedford – leading on research and
technology in the aerospace sector.
And
in the Industrial Strategy, we have made a commitment to take our support for UK
science and technology to another level.
£7
billion in new public funding for science, research and innovation: the largest
increase for 40 years.
But
to truly succeed we will go even further.
As
a Government, we have set the goal of research and development investment
reaching 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027 – more than ever before.
That
could translate to an additional £80 billion investment in the ideas of the
future over the next decade.
But
even that figure fails to capture the scale of the possibility this will
create.
Because
science and technology have a dynamic relationship.
The
scientific breakthroughs of today will lead to technological advances which
themselves open the door to further scientific discovery, the likes of which
are beyond our imagination.
And
it won’t just be public funding – our R&D target covers the combined power
of Government and business alike.
That
is what the Industrial Strategy is all about – not just the state spending
money but using smart public investment to harness private funding.
Not
Government running enterprise, but a strategic state using its power and
influence to create the right conditions to allow us to thrive in the long
term.
A
strategic approach means ensuring we have an education system that gives young
people the skills they need to contribute to the economy of the future.
That
means more free schools and academies providing great school places, a
curriculum that sets the highest standards, and proper support for our teachers
to deliver it…
It
means more rigorous science GCSEs preparing young people better for further
study and work, and more young people going on to do sciences at A-level.
And
to attract talented science graduates into the teaching profession, we are
offering tax-free bursaries worth up to £26,000 in priority subjects.
And
it means going even further in the future.
Transforming
technical education with new high-quality T-levels that are every bit as good
as A-levels.
New
Institutes of Technology to provide higher-level education and training.
And
a national re-training scheme to help workers of all ages adapt their skills to
the jobs of tomorrow.
This
is action from a strategic state to drive policy changes that will benefit our
economy, our society and the individuals we serve.
And
it’s not just in education.
A
strategic approach means…
…renewing
and extending our infrastructure with faster trains, bigger stations, better
road connections…
…delivering
next generation mobile and broadband connections, with faster speeds and better
coverage…
…ensuring
we have the right regulation, modern employment standards, effective corporate
governance rules.
It
means Government doing what only it can do: fixing the essential foundations of
our economy.
That
allows researchers, innovators and businesses to do what only they can do:
generate and develop the great ideas, products and services that create jobs
and produce growth.
And
if we do this – if we get the essentials of our economy right – we can focus
our talents and ambition on seizing the opportunities of the future.
GRAND CHALLENGES
We
cannot predict the future or guess what technological or scientific
breakthroughs might lie just around the corner.
But
we can observe the long-term trends that are shaping change in our world today
and which will drive and demand innovation in the years ahead.
We
know that artificial intelligence and the big data revolution is transforming
business models and employment practices across all sectors of the economy –
especially in services, which are so important to our country.
We
can see that a rising global population and ever-increasing urbanisation,
combined with new transport technologies, are driving profound changes in how
we move people and goods around our cities and countries.
We
know that our society here in the UK, and in other developed countries around
the world, is getting older – creating new demands and opportunities.
And
the international determination to address climate change and deliver clean
growth in the future is one of the facts of our time – and one of the greatest
industrial opportunities of all time.
The
modern Industrial Strategy identifies these four Grand Challenges as the areas
of enormous potential for the UK economy.
By
channeling our efforts into meeting them – building on our strengths in science,
innovation, and commerce – we can develop technologies to export around the
world, we can grow whole new industries that bring good jobs across the UK, and
we can achieve tangible social improvements for everyone in our society.
FOUR MISSIONS
From
John Harrison’s development of the marine chronometer, to the sequencing of the
human genome and treatments to tackle the AIDS crisis…
…we
have seen throughout our history that setting ambitious and clearly-defined
missions motivates human endeavour.
There
is huge potential in a missions-based approach to drive faster solutions – and
it is an approach being pioneered here in the UK, by University College
London’s Commission on Mission-Oriented Industrial Strategy.
So
today I am setting the first four missions of our Industrial Strategy – one in
each Grand Challenge.
If
they are to be meaningful, they must be ambitious and stretching.
That
means that our success in them cannot be guaranteed.
But
I believe that by setting a high ambition, we can achieve more than we
otherwise would.
So
these are the missions I am setting today.
AI AND DATA
First,
as part of the AI and Data Grand Challenge, the United Kingdom will use data,
artificial intelligence and innovation to transform the prevention, early
diagnosis and treatment of diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and
dementia by 2030.
Late
diagnosis of otherwise treatable illnesses is one of the biggest causes of
avoidable deaths.
And
the development of smart technologies to analyse great quantities of data
quickly and with a higher degree of accuracy than is possible by human beings opens
up a whole new field of medical research and gives us a new weapon in our
armoury in the fight against disease.
In
cancer, our ambition is that within 15 years we will be able to diagnose at a
much earlier stage the lung, bowel, prostate or ovarian cancer of at least
50,000 more people a year.
Combined
with the great treatment and care provided by our NHS, that will mean every
year 22,000 fewer people will die within five years of their diagnosis compared
to today.
We
will work with industry and the medical research community to announce specific
ambitions in a range of other disease areas over the coming weeks and months.
Achieving
this mission will not only save thousands of lives.
It
will incubate a whole new industry around AI-in-healthcare, creating high-skilled science
jobs across the country, drawing on existing centres of excellence in places
like Edinburgh, Oxford and Leeds – and helping to grow new ones.
HEALTHY AGEING
Second,
through our healthy ageing grand challenge, we will ensure that people can
enjoy five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035, whilst narrowing
the gap between the experience of the richest and poorest.
We
are living longer lives because of medical advances, better drugs, healthier
lifestyles, and safer workplaces.
It
is a sign of our success, of our progress as a society, and is to be
celebrated.
But
as we extend the years of our life, we should also work harder to increase
quality of life in our later years.
That
should not just be the preserve of the wealthy – everyone, of every background
and income level, has the right to enjoy a happy and active retirement.
We
can do that by supporting more people to stay happy, healthy and independent in
their own homes for longer, instead of going into hospital.
It
will take a collective effort to achieve this.
Employers
can help, by meeting the needs of people who have caring responsibilities and by
doing more to support older people to contribute in the workplace – and enjoy
the emotional and physical benefits of having a job if they want one.
Businesses
can contribute, and benefit, by supplying the needs of a growing market.
Innovative
and well-designed products and services – from housing adaptations that make
our homes safer for older people to live in, to smart technologies that help
people continue to enjoy life if they have a health condition.
These
innovations can also be exported to a rapidly growing market around the world.
And
we can all play our part – by making healthier lifestyle choices ourselves, and
by supporting our friends and neighbours as they get older.
We
can build a stronger society, where more people can contribute their talents
for longer and fewer people face loneliness and isolation.
FUTURE OF MOBILITY
Third,
in the future of mobility grand challenge, we have a mission to put the UK at
the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vehicles and for
all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040.
Technology
is revolutionising how we power vehicles, how they are driven, how we navigate
and how we access information about public transport.
Britain
led the world into the railway age. We pioneered jet air travel.
By
putting the UK at the forefront of the twenty-first century transport
revolution, we can ensure our automotive sector – one of our greatest success
stories – continues to thrive and create good jobs across the country.
We
can make our towns and cities cleaner, safer and more productive places to live
and work.
We
can set a global standard for managing technological change to maximise
economic and environmental benefits.
We
will work with industry to achieve this ambition, and share the benefits this
opportunity presents.
CLEAN GROWTH
And
fourth, in the clean growth grand challenge, we will use new technologies and
modern construction practices to at least halve the energy usage of new
buildings by 2030.
Heating
and powering buildings accounts for 40
per cent of our total energy usage.
By
making our buildings more energy efficient and embracing smart technologies, we
can slash household energy bills, reduce demand for energy, and meet our
targets for carbon reduction.
By
halving the energy use of new buildings – both commercial and residential – we
could reduce the energy bills for their occupants by as much as 50 per cent.
And
we will aim to halve the costs of reaching the same standard in existing
buildings too.
Meeting
this challenge will drive innovation and higher standards in the construction
sector, helping it to meet our ambitious homebuilding targets and providing more
jobs and opportunity to millions of workers across the country.
It
will be a catalyst for new technologies and more productive methods, which can
be exported to a large and growing global market for clean technologies.
These
four missions are just the beginning – and in setting further missions across
the four grand challenge areas, we will work closely with businesses and
sectors.
In
each one of these four missions, scientific and technological innovations have
the potential to create jobs, drive economic growth across the country and
deliver tangible improvements for everyone in our country.
This
represents a level of ambition every bit as high as that which created Jodrell
Bank and rebuilt Britain in 1945.
We
live in a different world today. Our economy is more globalised. Our strengths
are in services, as well as in manufacturing. Our population is older.
And
the Industrial Strategy sets its sights on our future, not our past.
As
we look towards that new future for the UK outside of the European Union, the
UK’s ingenuity and creativity will be what drives our progress as a nation.
SCIENCE AFTER BREXIT
William
Wordsworth described the statue of Sir Isaac Newton that stands in the chapel
of Trinity College, Cambridge as being ‘the marble index of a mind forever voyaging
through strange seas of thought, alone.’
That
romantic image belies the truth that the essence of scientific progress is not
private contemplation, but collaboration.
Nothing
is achieved in isolation and it is only through co-operation that advances are
made.
Every
great British scientist could only reach new frontiers of invention because
they built on the work of others, exchanged ideas with their contemporaries and
participated in an international community of discovery.
William
Harvey learned medicine at the University of Padua.
The
first secretary of the Royal Society, Henry Oldenburg, was an immigrant from Germany.
The
discovery of DNA in Cambridge was the work of an Englishman, Michael Crick; an
American, James Watson; a born New Zealander, Maurice Wilkins; and a descendent
of Jewish immigrants from Poland, Rosalind Franklin.
Indeed
Newton himself put it best when he wrote that, ‘if I have seen further it is by
standing on the shoulders of Giants’.
Science
is an international enterprise and discoveries know no borders.
The
United Kingdom today is at the centre of a web of international collaboration.
Our
immigration system supports this, with no cap on the number of the students who
can come to our universities, and thousands coming every year, learning from
some of the finest academics and contributing to the success of some of the
best universities in the world.
Indeed,
since 2010 the number of overseas students coming to study at UK universities
has increased by almost a quarter.
The
UK will always be open to the brightest and the best researchers to come and
make their valued contribution.
And
today over half of the UK’s resident researcher population were born overseas.
When
we leave the European Union, I will ensure that does not change.
Indeed
the Britain we build together in the decades ahead must be one in which
scientific collaboration and the free exchange of ideas is increased and
extended, both between the UK and the European Union and with partners around
the world.
I
know how deeply British Scientists value their collaboration with colleagues in
other countries through EU-organised programmes.
And
the contribution which UK science makes to those programmes is immense.
I
have already said that I want the UK to have a deep science partnership with
the European Union, because this is in the interests of scientists and industry
right across Europe.
And
today I want to spell out that commitment even more clearly.
The
United Kingdom would like the option to fully associate ourselves with the
excellence-based European science and innovation programmes – including the
successor to Horizon 2020 and Euratom R&T.
It
is in the mutual interest of the UK and the EU that we should do so.
Of
course such an association would involve an appropriate UK financial
contribution, which we would willingly make.
In
return, we would look to maintain a suitable level of influence in line with that
contribution and the benefits we bring.
The
UK is ready to discuss these details with the Commission as soon as possible.
CONCLUSION
What
I have set out today – unprecedented investment into science and research; four
missions to drive businesses, academia, and government to meet the Grand
Challenges or our time; and a clear commitment to extend our international
collaboration after Brexit – build a positive vision for our country’s future.
An
open and innovative economy.
The
best place to start and grow a high-tech business.
An
outward-looking country, open to talent and ideas from around the world.
A
global centre for scientific discovery and creativity, where progress is driven
by an optimism about the possibilities technological change can bring.
There
is no escaping the complexity of the challenge, but there should be no
mistaking the scale of the opportunity before us either.
The
world is about to change – and is indeed already changing – at a remarkable
pace.
Technologies
with the potential to transform our society will come of age in the years
ahead.
This
is an exciting time to be alive – and rich in possibility for the curious, the
inventive and the determined: the children in schools today studying STEM subjects
in record numbers thanks to our education reforms.
The
undergraduates from an ever more diverse set of backgrounds now embarking on
higher studies.
The
aspiring engineers and skilled workers who will benefit from our reforms to
technical education over the coming years.
The
young researchers from around the world, starting their careers working in
British laboratories.
All
have the chance to be part of one of the most exciting periods of discovery the
world has ever known.
Amongst
their number will be names to be inscribed alongside the greatest figures of
the past on the honour roll of scientific achievement.
And
together, we can continue a tradition of innovation that will extend our
horizons and transform our lives.
ENDS.
Follow this news feed: Conservatives