PM: ‘There must be a way to save Jodrell Bank’

On his first day in Parliament, new Prime Minister Andy Burnham commits to saving iconic radio telescope after UKRI funding cuts. 

The new Prime Minister has weighed in to the debate around funding for one of the UK’s best-known centres of science. He said there ‘must be a way to save Jodrell Bank’ and then promised: ‘we will find it.’

At the end of July, it was revealed that UK Research and Investment (UKRI) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) will not renew funding for the e-MERLIN array when the current money comes to an end in March 2027. The e-MERLIN array comprises a network of seven radio telescopes across the UK. When these different telescopes are all trained on the same target at the same time, and share their data via superfast optical fibre, the effect is like having a uniquely sensitive, miles-wide telescope dish.  

The decision not to renew funding for e-MERLIN is a particular issue for the site at which the project is headquartered: the iconic Jodrell Bank observatory in Cheshire. Jodrell Bank has been a leading centre of UK science since the end of the Second World War. Its 76-metre wide Lovell Telescope, completed in 1957, is a familiar sight from science programmes and sci-fi, such as Doctor Who. 

Now it could face closure. 

Last month, more than 150 leading scientists and public figures signed a letter calling for the government to reverse the decision. Yesterday, local MP Sarah Russell asked the Prime Minister – on his first day in Parliament – about the issue. She asked if he would meet with her and another local MP, Tim Roca, about finding some way to ensure the famous site is protected. 

Mr Burnham replied: ‘ Every one of my generation went on a school trip to Jodrell Bank, and there is no way that we can see its demise – it will not happen under my government. I know that changes have been made in relation to research funding, but Jodrell Bank is a heritage asset for the country as well as a research asset. I will indeed set up the meeting that my hon. Friend requires. There must be a way to save Jodrell Bank, and I give her a commitment today at this Dispatch Box: we will find it.’ 

Photo by T / Unsplash

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