Experience the Elekta Differ - Institute of Physics and Engineering in ...

FEATURE | SCOPE
SCIENCE AND
PARLIAMENT:
A CALL FOR ENGAGEMENT
© r.nagy / Shutterstock
Andrew Miller MP discusses the links between
science and politics, outlining a challenge that
all members can be involved with in order to
benefit not only the profession but also
healthcare and the whole science community
Irecently spent a weekend at
Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire,
a house that has not only been
graced with great names like
Winston Churchill among its
visitors, but has been the
home of high-level brain storming
sessions amongst experts on many
subjects over the last 60 years.
Initially Sir David Wills, who
conceived the idea and at that time
owned the house, saw it as a venue
for improving relations across the
Atlantic, especially between our
respective governments here and in
the US.
Today the transatlantic dimension
is just as strong but many other
nations participate in trying to find
solutions to problems that face us
all. That is why I leapt at the
opportunity when I was invited to
attend a seminar entitled ‘Putting
Science, Government, Business and
Innovation Together’. All of my
adult life I have been fascinated with
the challenge of how to use science
in a way that benefits people, and
also the vexed question of engaging
our society in the scientific
challenges of today and helping
people without a science
background to understand the
relevance of research that is
undertaken. Those challenges exist
throughout our society but are
especially acute in Parliament. MPs
are expected to take important
decisions not just about the science
budget but about the application of
science throughout the country we
seek to represent, dabbling in areas
ranging from education through to
why we should invest in CERN or
the next generation of astronomy.
You do not need to know much
about the political process to realise
that this presents a challenge;
politics is all about priorities. But as
only about 10 per cent of the House
of Commons (a figure that has
stayed relatively stable for some
time) have ever worked in an STEM
discipline, engaging with MPs is
essential.
At the end of the Ditchley Park
weekend we were each asked to sum
up in one sentence what we got out
of the event. In my case I learnt a
tremendous amount but it
convinced me more than ever of the
importance of continuing the
longstanding work I am involved in
within Parliament to help build a
bridge between science and politics.
SCIENCE IN PARLIAMENT
There are some stunningly good
arrangements in place, such as the
Royal Society’s pairing scheme,
which offers Fellows an opportunity
to pair with an MP or civil servant
▼
SCOPE | SEPTEMBER 2012 | 09