The Press Association has reported the the Liberal Democrats have announced plans to extend the ring fence around the science research budget as part of next year’s General Election manifesto. The Party also plans to introduce a “green innovation arm” to the British Business Bank to help expand innovation funding in the UK green technology sector.
In moves to differentiate the Party from its Conservative coalition partners, Business Secretary Vince Cable argued that “in Government we have fought to protect funding for these innovations, and we will continue to do so in the next Parliament. We will not allow others to scrap this vital funding because of a short term outlook”.