#TeamScience – a great idea from the Association of Lib Dem Engineers and Scientists

A great campaigning initiative from the Association of Lib Dem Engineers and Scientists (ALDES):

There have been a number of non-party political campaigns seeking to ensure the voices of scientists and engineers are better heard in the current parliament: against the threat of austerity measures, the Science is Vital campaign lobbied hard against cuts to research budgets, organising a rally outside the treasury, with the effect that research spending was ringfenced.

In 2012, a pledge campaign saw copies of Mark Henderson’s book The Geek Manifesto sent to every UK MP – many pledgers also taking the opportunity to write letters engaging their MPs on STEM issues, asking about their positions on evidence-based policymaking, and even offering their expertise on policy consultations.

The Team Science campaign thinks that candidates with a background in science, engineering, technology and medicine have a great deal to contribute to politics and are currently underrepresented in Parliament. For this reason we are championing support for the following team of Lib Dem candidates in the 2015 general election…

• Judith Bunting (Newbury): a Natural Sciences graduate with an inorganic chemistry focus and a career as a TV science director, working on programmes including Tomorrow’s World and Horizon
• Lucy Care (Derby North): an Engineering Science graduate and Chartered Engineer with a career in the manufacturing sector
• Dr Julian Huppert MP (Cambridge): holder of a PhD in Natural Sciences and the only MP to have had a science research career
• Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon): a Physics graduate with a career spent teaching Physics and Maths
• Dr Jenny Woods (Reading East): holder of a PhD in astrophysics and currently working to connect policymakers with academic research to drive evidence-informed policy
• Simon Wright MP (Norwich South): a Maths graduate and former maths teacher as well as being Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Space Committee

Donate time or money to help their campaigns here.