Why science needs progressive voices more than ever

Brexit has thrown British science into a mess. During this period of political upheaval, it might be tempting to duck the challenge of picking sides, and instead play the card of scientific neutrality. But ignoring the politics behind the EU referendum result – and those at work in how we organise, run and fund research – will mean that the science community aligns itself with more powerful political interests.

It might be hard to hear (and it doesn’t apply to all researchers) but the way we do modern science and engineering sits at the heart of some of the inequalities that underline the divisions behind Brexit.

There has been a lot of discussion recently about “post-truth” politics, alongside concern about swathes of the public turning against experts. A lot of this relates to people talking about economics – or spuriously adopting the trappings of expertise. When people say they hate experts they don’t necessary mean natural scientists who - unless there has been a massive shift in public attitudes recently - remain popular and trusted by...