The Labor government has announced a record £55 billion investment in research and development (R&D), marking the largest long-term commitment to science and innovation in British history.
The announcement underlines Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s promise to transform the UK into a “science and technology superpower” by the end of the decade.
The plan, confirmed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), will inject billions into the UK’s leading research agencies and innovation bodies by 2030. It forms a central pillar of the government’s modern industrial strategy, which aims to increase productivity, create quality jobs and strengthen public-private partnerships in new technologies.
Announcing the package at IBM’s London headquarters, Science and Technology Minister Liz Kendall said the funding was “absolutely critical for economic growth and the creation of more good jobs”.
“Every pound of public investment in research and development generates twice as much from the private sector,” Kendall said. “This £55 billion commitment will drive innovation in AI, clean energy and advanced manufacturing – and help solve some of the biggest challenges we face.”
The investment includes:
• £38 billion for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the national funding agency for science.
• £1.4 billion for the Met Office to support climate and meteorology research.
• £900 million for the UK’s national academies, including the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering.
• Almost doubling the annual budget of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) – from £220m to £400m by 2030 – to fund breakthrough technologies with commercial potential.
The initiative underlines the government’s focus on aligning public resources with private sector innovation. Kendall’s visit to IBM highlighted collaboration between tech giants and UK research institutions, including UKRI’s £210m Hartree Centre, which is working with IBM on artificial intelligence and supercomputing projects in medicine and clean energy.
Recent DSIT research found that every £1 of public R&D spending generates £8 of wider economic benefits, from productivity gains to increased private investment.
“This is about good jobs, innovation and better value for taxpayers,” Kendall told Daily Sparkz. “There is no path to above-average growth without putting technology and innovation first.”
The government said total DSIT research and development spending will reach £58.5 billion by 2030, a cornerstone of Labour’s industrial and growth strategy. The announcement follows months of lobbying by business groups such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which has called on ministers to set long-term research and development targets and increase national investment to 3.4 percent of GDP by the end of the decade.
Louise Hellem, chief economist at the CBI, described the new R&D package as “a crucial step to mobilize private capital and ensure the UK remains competitive in the global innovation race”.
As the government seeks to balance fiscal discipline with its drive to boost growth, the record investment signals a decisive shift towards a science-led economic renewal – one that puts research, technology and innovation at the heart of Britain’s industrial future.
