It is a longstanding ambition of the government for the UK to be recognised as a global science superpower.
It is an alliterative platitude but it speaks to a sentiment that is widely held by policy makers across the UK.
The sentiment is that whether it is security, soft power, improving global health outcomes, or the UK’s economy, science is one of the few national assets where the UK can rival any global competitor.
The UK as both a collaborator and a competitor walks a line of science as a tool for advancing global interests and using its research capacity as a bulwark against threats to national security.
