If I received £2.8 million this year and in 2028 I received nothing, even though my costs had not increased, what is your perspective on whether that is a cut from my perspective, @ersatzben? 😊
Yesterday I had £100 to spend on widgets that cost £10 each. Today I still have £100 to spend, but the cost is now £20 each so I can only afford half the number of widgets. Whether this a 50% “cut” depends entirely on your perspective.
To be clear about what’s happening here:
The budget of @STFC_Matters, which funds astronomy, particle physics and large research facilities *hasn’t* been cut: it’s staying the same in nominal terms - which is a good settlement given how constrained public finances are.
But…
Of course, we could ask STFC council if blue skies research is being cut or not. They would say 'a major shift of funding from curiosity-driven research to priority areas and targeted programmes' as @BBCPallab reported on this previously.
