Brexit is a disaster. The UK leaving the European Union is frightening British scientists.
The British academic world is trembling at the popular decision in the referendum that approved the United Kingdom's exit from the European community. These fears are explained in a map shown below.
By: Oasis Team
What this map shows is why no less than 84% of the British academic world closed ranks against Brexit and voted "Remain". In recent years, Great Britain, along with Germany, has been the country that has benefited most from European funds for scientific research.
The map of European funding allocations for scientific research between 2006 and 2015, compiled by The Economist magazine. In this map, the stronger and darker the blue of the country, the greater the funding received.
Between 2005 and 2016, Great Britain received the equivalent of €10 billion (approximately R$40 billion) in funding from the European Union for scientific research. Of course, as a very rich and developed country, Great Britain also contributed to European funds, accounting for about 12% of the total EU budget for the same purposes. However, the country received significantly more in funding than it invested, representing a share equivalent to 15% of the total.
Like 84% of scientists in the United Kingdom, British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking declared himself completely opposed to his country leaving the European Union.
GB received one-fifth of the European funding.
The United Kingdom, which has about 4% of the world's total researchers, has so far benefited from about one-fifth of the total research funding provided by European programs. The politicians who promoted the UK's exit from the EU promised that the government would financially address this shortfall. But at least until 2018, the planned cuts in research spending are enormous. With the serious economic consequences predicted for the country, it is highly unlikely that financial support for scientific research will become a priority.
In a letter sent to the London Daily Telegraph newspaper, British scientists, including three Nobel laureates – developmental biologist Sir John Gurdon, theoretical physicist Professor Peter Higgs (who predicted the existence of the particle named the Higgs boson), and genetic engineer Sir Paul Nurse – warned voters about the dire consequences of leaving the European Union for scientific research in the country.
An even greater concern is the mobility (both within and outside the country) of research scientists. The greatest scientific discoveries have resulted from collaboration between the highest international profiles in research. A huge effort will now be needed to ensure that, at least in the scientific field, the United Kingdom does not become isolated. This is what one of the world's most important scientists today, the British physicist Peter Higgs, Nobel Prize winner, thinks about Brexit; he is strongly opposed to his country leaving the European Union. For Higgs, Brexit is a complete disaster.