Labour’s Liz Kendall unveils record £55bn R&D boost for UK innovation
Labour has announced a £55bn funding boost for science and technology, dubbing it the largest-ever long-term investment in UK research and development (R&D).
The plan, confirmed today by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), will pour billions into British research agencies and innovation bodies through to 2030 – part of the government’s drive to make Britain a “science and technology superpower”.
The new tech secretary, Liz Kendall, told City PM the record investment is designed to “grow the economy, create good jobs and solve some of the biggest challenges we face”.
“£55bn into research and development is absolutely critical to growing the economy and creating more good jobs”, Kendall added. “We know that for every pound of public money that goes into R&D, you get double the amount for the private sector”.
The funding includes £38bn for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the UK’s national funding agency for science, £1.4bn for the Met Office, and £900m for the UK’s national academies.
The government also confirmed an expanded budget for the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), which will increase from £220m to £400m annually by 2039/30.
Kendall announced the allocations on her visit to IBM’s London offices on Wednesday, aligning the partnership between public and private research.
This includes IBM’s work with UKRI’s £210m Hartree Centre on AI and supercomputing for medicine and clean energy.
Investment and innovation ‘go hand in hand’
Recent DSIT research found that every £1 spent on public R&D delivers £8 in wider economic benefits, including private investment and productivity growth.
The R&D commitments come amid broader government efforts to reignite economic growth and support its Modern Industrial Strategy, announced earlier this year.
Under this new framework, total R&D spending from DSIT is set to reach £58.5bn by the end of the decade.
“This is about good jobs, innovation, and better value for taxpayers”, Kendall told City PM. “There’s no route to above-average growth without putting tech and innovation first”, she claimed.
The announcement also follows pressure from business groups like the CBI, which called for long-term R&D targets to lift investment to 3.4 per cent of GDP by 2030, and crowd in more private capital.