The University of Exeter could lose millions of pounds of European Union research funding as a result of Brexit, new analysis reveals.
A key fund which could be cut includes the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, which supports many projects in the region, including research into sustainable energy and lung disease prevention. With £1 billion in research funding pledged for the South West, £13.4 million of the fund has been put toward Exeter’s five-year project (as of August 2018), which will test a new wave energy converter on Cornwall’s North coast.
The UK stands as one of the biggest beneficiaries of EU research funding. The country contributed £4.3 billion for EU research projects from 2007 to 2013, but received nearly £7 billion back over the same period. According to the People’s Vote campaign body, who conducted the analysis, UK universities received 20% of the EU funding grant agreement – the highest share, ahead of Germany, Spain, Italy and France.
UK universities received 20% of the EU funding grant agreement – the highest share, ahead of Germany, Spain, Italy and France.
UK universities have been given no guarantee that funding will continue after Britain leaves the EU. The Lords Science and Technology Committee warned that substantial EU investment into UK research will likely not be covered by future governments under current Brexit proposals.
The likelihood that EU money would not be replaced by UK government investment was emphasized by Jo Johnson, the former Universities and Science minister, who told the committee: “It would be rash to pretend that it would be easy to replace it in the event of Brexit.”
a recent YouGov poll found that voters in the South West of England would back a second referendum on the Brexit deal by a margin of 42% to 35%.
These findings come after a recent YouGov poll found that voters in the South West of England would back a second referendum on the Brexit deal by a margin of 42% to 35%, despite voters backing the Leave campaign in 2016.