Lib Dems to double innovation spend
15 Apr 2015
Party’s manifesto supports Catapult Centres, while Ukip promises to scrap STEM subject tuition fees.
The Liberal Democrats promised to double spending on innovation as deputy prime minister Nick Clegg launched the party’s election manifesto this morning.
The 158 page document promises the creation of more Catapult innovation and technology centres, as well as a ringfencing of the science budget until 2020.
Other proposals include a “major expansion of high-quality and advanced apprenticeships” and the creation of “new sector-led National Colleges”.
The party also promised it would develop a national skills strategy for key sectors.
Meanwhile, Ukip leader Nigel Farage also launched his party’s manifesto today.
Perhaps the most eye-catching proposal for engineers was the promise that the party would scrap university tuition fees for those studying medicine and Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
This promise was on the condition that students were from the UK and that they “work in their discipline and pay tax in the UK for at least five years after they complete their degrees”.
