On 18 April, the Prime Minister called a snap election to be held on 8 June 2017. Parliament was dissolved on 3 May and the General Election campaign is now officially underway.
This page lists some resources which Fellows and members of the public alike may find useful when raising issues relating to the economic and societal importance of geology (and science more widely) with parliamentary candidates, or when discussing these matters with friends and colleagues.
Parliamentary and Scientific Committee - Science priorities for Brexit
At the end of March, Stephen Metcalfe MP, the Chair of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee launched a report on the Science priorities for Brexit. The report was informed by advice and evidence from the research and innovation community and will be a useful document for framing the importance of science and research in the next parliament.
You can read the Science priorities for Brexit report on the Science in Parliament website.
CaSE
The Geological Society is a member of the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), which works to raise the political profile of science and engineering, and campaigns on issues including research funding, education and science in government.
The CaSE website details its work to promote science and engineering during the election campaign and in the new parliament. CaSE's activities include writing to the leaders of political parties and publishing their responses, making recommendations for parties to adopt if elected, and analysing key commitments from each party from their letters and manifestos. In the run up to the 2017 General Election, CaSE is posting a number of articles including a Letter to the Party Leaders and an article on how the election will impact upon science and engineering.
The Geological Society
During the 2010-2015 Parliament, the Society worked to highlight the many ways in which geology underpins society, supports economic growth, delivers resources and services to the population, and helps to tackle the challenges of living sustainably on our planet. Many of these topics are addressed in our flagship 2014 report ‘Geology for Society’. The report is accompanied by a Geology for Society web portal, which contains a wealth of further information and links to resources on aspects of our science which are vital to society.
The Society also responded to a large number of consultations and parliamentary inquiries during the course of the 2015 - 2017 Parliament.
Below is a selection of recent responses and policy statements that are most relevant to the upcoming General Election.
See the full list of Geological Society responses to consultations and inquiries
Other resources
Due to the nature of this snap election, there is only a very short period during which election-relevant content and resources can be put together. Below is a selection of relevant information and articles that discuss science in the context of the General Election.
This will be updated as more resources become available, including the relevant sections of the party manifestos.
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