Ahead of the election on 12 December, Conservative and Labour Party manifestos have outlined their plans for research and science. The Conservatives’ have a broader life sciences focus, with Labour’s R&D focus more framed around a Green Industrial Revolution. Following their recent announcement on raising overall public R&D investment to £18 billion annually and creating a DARPA-like mission-oriented agency, the Conservatives pledge to double funding towards dementia research, create an Innovative Medicines Fund, and provide a dedicated NHS visa.

The role of charities in public service provision was explicitly mentioned in the manifesto. Labour maintains its pledge to create a state generics manufacturer from its recent Medicines for the Many policy document though leaves out other proposals previously trailed. Both parties commit to participation in EU funding programmes though it remains unclear whether this would be the Associate Member status sought by the sector.

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