UK science funding cuts spark fears over future of particle physics

Billions are being invested in UK research into AI and quantum – but in the process we’re losing scientific expertise in areas outside these target technologies. The funding changes have been described as ‘arbitrary’ and potentially ‘catastrophic’

You can’t see dark matter. Nor can you see the gluons and quarks that jostle in the high-energy colliders at some of the world’s premier physics facilities.

This is problematic as the benefits of billions of pounds of public investment in the more remote corners of physics are a hard sell to the wider public, but it’s often essential for emerging industries and technologies. From AI to semiconductors, quantum computing to nuclear and defence, physics research feeds the wider economy and national interests. 

And now, warn those who work in particle and nuclear physics and astronomy, the rug is being swept from under them with a slew of potential cuts, delays to grants and changes to funding. This will lead to ‘catastrophic’ reputational damage, they say, to UK science and knock-on harm to key industries.

Read the full story here:

https://eandt.theiet.org/2026/07/03/uk-science-funding-cuts-spark-fears-over-future-particle-physics-and-early-career