UK public votes to leave
On 23 June, the UK voted to leave the EU. This decision brings with it great uncertainty to the future of the UK, including the future of the UK’s research and innovation system.
The Royal Society of Chemistry will continue to support our members in developing collaborations and performing world leading science, and we will monitor developments to help ensure the best deal is reached for UK science.
In the run-up to the referendum we focussed upon gathering evidence from our community, showing the effect of membership of the EU on UK science. We shared this as part of the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee inquiry into the relationship between EU membership and UK science last year.
Our president, Dominic Tildesley, gave oral evidence to the committee last December. Professor Tildesley commented: "Our evidence showed that the UK’s EU membership was regarded as having a mostly positive influence on the effectiveness of UK science, research and innovation, especially with respect to funding and collaboration."
EU membership has been part of the UK in broad and deep ways. From the point of view of science, research and innovation there is now considerable uncertainty about how an EU exit will affect access to EU funding for research, the freedom of researchers to work across the EU and the application of EU regulations across the science and technology sector.
We will be monitoring post-referendum developments closely to understand and respond to the impacts on and opportunities for the research community. We will continue to support our members in developing strong international collaborations and doing the kind of cutting edge research needed to drive forward innovation and tackle global challenges.
Press office
- Tel:
- +44 (0) 20 7440 3351
- Email:
- Send us an email