What British election results mean for science

London: Although not all the political ramifications are clear, scientists should expect an emphasis on austerity allied to economic growth -- a central pillar of the Conservative-led coalition government of the past five years, scientific journal Nature has reported.

Like the rival Labour party, the Conservatives made no promises before the election to protect funding for science.

In the past five years, the nation`s science budget has been frozen and has dropped in real terms.

According to Paul Nightingale, deputy director of the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, there is support for science in Westminster as well as a strong understanding of its relation to the economy.

So cutting the research budget would be a "hard sell".

"Instead, I think there is more likely to be movement within the research budget, perhaps towards innovation policy as well as more explicit attempts to align research with economic growth," Nightingale was quoted as saying.

"The new government will now have the opportunity to make transparent and ambitious plans for science, investing for the long term in a national success story," added Naomi Weir, acting director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering in London.

From an outright majority in Parliament for the Conservatives to the decimation of the Liberal Democrats and the extraordinary rise of the Scottish National Party, the British election was full of surprises -- many of which will have implications for science.

Greg Clark, the current Minister of State for Universities, Science and Cities, was re-elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP).

"But overall, there has been a high turnover in Parliament as a result of the election which could present a challenge for the science community," noted Mark Downs, chief executive for the Society of Biology in London.

"The science community will have to work even harder to ensure that new parliamentarians understand the critical role of science," Downs added.

North of the border, the Scottish National Party (SNP) increased its representation in the House of Commons from six to 56 seats out of a total possible 59, making the party the third-largest grouping.

The move towards nationalism in Scotland is likely to lead to a greater focus on regional development across Britain.

"This could manifest as a tendency to allocate funding directly from the Treasury in London to regional projects such as the UK National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester rather than through the traditional system of allocating cash through national funding agencies," the report added.

Elsewhere, some scientists took to Twitter to express their disappointment with the election result.

Researcher Peter Coles from University of Sussex tweeted: "Dear Other Countries, Any of you need a middle-aged bearded astrophysicist?"