17th July 2014
New Delhi, India
The recently announced federal budget by the newly elected Government of India has unveiled a slew of initiatives to boost growth of India’s scientific capabilities. The focus is particularly on improvement of agricultural productivity, biotech clusters, capacity creation in health and education, clean energy initiatives and development of water resources and river conservation. Most of […]
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28th March 2014
USA
There: I thought that would draw you in. What does it have to do with the UK economy though? Well, last week, the UK Chancellor presented the Government’s 2014 Budget. The annual Budget report and statement in Parliament offers an opportunity to take stock of the economic outlook and public finances, while making some policy […]
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4th December 2013
USA
Tomorrow, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer will deliver the UK government’s Autumn Statement. We’re often asked what the Autumn Statement is and how it differs to the Budget? The Budget (usually held in the early Spring) comes at the start of the UK’s fiscal year, which runs from April to March. Budgets set the […]
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28th June 2013
Toronto, Canada
On 26 June 2013, the Chancellor of the Exchequer presented the 2013 Spending Round to Parliament. The 2013 Spending Round sets out how the government will spend approximately £740 billion of taxpayers’ money in 2015-2016, and make further savings to improve the economy. What does this mean for science, research and international collaboration? Let’s take […]
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27th March 2013
Seattle, USA
When I was growing up in Canterbury, Kent, a house in our street had the name plate “Dunroamin” hung up on the outside wall. I was only about 8 years old, and hadn’t come across the term before. I thought it was a place in Ireland. But of course it means a state of mind […]
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21st December 2012
Paris, France
Christmas is a time to look back at the year and also forward to the next year, and this has been an exceptional year for the UK in many ways. For me it finished on a high note because I was able to be in the Foreign Office in London when The Queen came for […]
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26th November 2012
Paris, France
I want to talk to you about two things this week. First of all, the European Union budget. You may have seen in the press last week, in the run up to the European Council at the end of the week, a lot of stories suggesting that Britain was isolated. I saw one headline in […]
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20th March 2012
Washington DC, USA
On March 21st at 12:30 London time (8:30 on the East Coast), the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, will unveil his 2012 Budget to the British Parliament. The word ‘Budget’ comes from the French term ‘bougette’, meaning little bag. But rather than thinking about ‘little bags’, whenever I mention the Budget to American friends, they […]
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29th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
On Tuesday 15 March, Professor Dan Hamilton of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Transatlantic Relations in DC hosted a panel discussion to launch "Europe 2020 – Competitive or Complacent". Professor Hamilton warned that 2020 was the closing window for Europe within which it needed to position itself into a competitive place in an increasingly inter-connected […]
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