Economic Growth

Ian Sollom Excerpts

Monday 7th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

The trade deals that we are doing, and also the reset of the relationship that we are taking forward with the EU, will bring down barriers with our biggest and closest market.

[Ian Sollom (St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

The Minister cites our world-class universities and an ambition to double the number of UK unicorns that run frontier technologies such as quantum and AI, but does she recognise that those breakthroughs often come from the curiosity-driven frontier physics research in our universities, and that that research base now faces a £700 million funding gap?

[Emma Reynolds]

UKRI—UK Research and Innovation —invests in that sort of research, and the Government will continue to do that through UKRI.