General Election 2024

During this General Election campaign, CaSE is supporting the R&D sector’s advocacy by exploring attitudes to R&D and politically salient issues. Our latest poll explores the public’s perception of aspirational research goals, actions for the next Government to support R&D, and the impact of political messengers on statements about R&D.

The General Election is a crucial time for R&D advocates. To support them to make an effective case for R&D to both political and public audiences, CaSE is conducting a series of polls to explore attitudes to R&D and topics relevant to the election, such as economic growth and how people would like their MP to act on issues related to R&D and their local area. 

On Wednesday 19th June CaSE and partners organised a Science Innovation and Technology hustings ahead of the General Election. Watch back or read the summary.

Using results from polling carried out in March/April 2024 and June 2024, which polled a total of 6,111 UK adults, a Multi-Level Regression with Poststratification (MRP) analysis was carried out on 13 questions, to model the expected attitudes to R&D at a constituency level.

Using constituency-level analysis of public attitudes to Research & Development, CaSE has developed a guide for parliamentary candidates to support advocacy for R&D during the General Election campaign and into the next Parliament.

As part of our advocacy in the run up to the 2024 General Election on July 4th, we have written to the leaders of 13 political parties.

In these letters we have expressed the value of UK R&D to the prosperity of the country and what it means to the public. We have also asked for responses detailing how their parties will deliver for R&D.

The next Government must commit to using research and innovation as the route to improving people’s lives and livelihoods in the UK.

CaSE calls on the next Government to commit to invest in Research and Development (R&D) for the long-term, support the skills the UK needs, maximise the local economic impact of that investment and support the environment for business R&D.

Ahead of the General Election, CaSE is supporting the R&D sector’s advocacy by exploring attitudes to R&D and politically salient issues; our first poll looks at economic growth and how people would like their next MP to act on issues related to R&D.

The Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), in collaboration with 30 other leaders and representatives of the UK R&D sector, are issuing this joint statement calling for the UK to be a leading country in the G7 on R&D investment and stating our united position on the importance of R&D for the UK.