British physicists have shaped our understanding of nature and the universe for more than a century, uncovering the building blocks of matter and furthering our knowledge on cosmic puzzles from the big bang to black holes.
But senior scientists warned on Friday that the field of particle theory faces an existential threat after universities were informed of savage cuts to research. Brian Cox, a TV scientist and professor at the University of Manchester, said the impact amounted to the “destruction of the future”.
Having already suffered a funding delay that meant the UK may have no new postdoctoral researchers in theoretical particle physics this year, universities heard that grants from 2026 to 2030 had been slashed by nearly 70%. It means fewer than 20 postdocs per year will be working in the field across the country.
Cox said the impact was “unquantifiable”, adding that the work underpinned advances in fields from quantum computing to medical imaging. One senior physicist at a prestigious university said some physics departments were likely to close.
The place where Ernest Rutherford discovered the proton and proposed the neutron – the constituents of atomic nuclei – has been hit particularly hard, with Manchester’s particle theory grants slashed by 90%.
In a letter from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the grant panel said the situation was “critical” and posed “long‑term risks to the health and sustainability of the UK theory community”.
Prof Jeff Forshaw, also at Manchester, said the cuts were “annihilating” a field of research that inspired young people into physics and fired up the public imagination.
“This is the physics of the Higgs boson, black holes, dark matter and the big bang,” he said. “And it is a field where the UK has traditionally led the world: think Stephen Hawking, Peter Higgs, Roger Penrose and Paul Dirac. These cuts attack the very pipeline of talent that the government wants to encourage.
“Young postdoctoral researchers are the lifeblood of scientific progress and they are the primary immediate victims,” Forshaw added. “I’m bewildered by what’s been allowed to pass. It’s an act of wanton self-sabotage.”
Cox at the premiere for the film Project Hail Mary in London earlier this month. Photograph: Mike Marsland/WireImage
Despite an uplift in the overall science budget, UK Research and Innovation has shelved four major infrastructure projects to save £280m while the STFC is seeking £162m of further savings by 2030.
The move comes after costs spiralled at national facilities and subscriptions to international projects such as Cern in Switzerland rose with foreign exchange rates. In January, researchers in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics were told to expect 30% cuts to grants, and were asked to model reductions up to 60%.
Prof David Waters at University College London, a world-leading centre for particle physics, said within 18 months the university was set to lose STFC postdoc funding for theoretical particle physics for the first time in two decades.
He called for a pause on the decisions and for existing programmes to be restored to 2025 levels while the consultations were completed “in a more considered fashion”.
The threat to British physics has prompted alarm around the world with more than 600 international researchers signing an open letter in support.
Prof Ed Witten, considered one of the greatest physicists since Albert Einstein, said he was concerned. “It will not help Britain to go down the same road that the US is taking, with major cuts to science,” he said.
A second open letter from scientists in industry urged the government to reconsider the “drastic action”.
Prof Stefan Soldner-Rembold at Imperial College London said the cuts would have a “devastating impact” on the research programme there. At King’s College London, Prof Malcolm Fairbairn said excellence required a “critical mass of activity”, with the cuts making the UK a much less attractive destination to foreign scientists while driving our own talent abroad.
Another senior physicist at a prestigious university said some colleagues had already secured positions in other countries. “Unless these cuts are reversed, it’s difficult to see how we can recover,” he said. “Jobs will be lost, and physics departments will close.”
The STFC said support for relevant training and skills was set to rise. But the STFC budget faced “particular pressures”, it added, due to inflation and higher operating and staffing costs.
“STFC is now working to make sure its budget is balanced and sustainable. This is the responsible approach to take, and involves making savings across the entire portfolio, with the majority of savings coming from efficiencies within STFC rather than reducing funding for research,” a spokesperson said.
