• Question: As a scientist do you think we will be better off out of the EU?

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      Asked by Tennis guy to Angus, Catherine, Jenni, Melissa, Waqar on 19 Jun 2016.
      • Photo: Angus Cook

        Angus Cook answered on 19 Jun 2016:


        I honestly have no opinion.
        As a scientist I should base my actions and opinions on facts and provable statements. For my own work I can test those statements and ideas directly in my lab. When I’m making an opinion on something outside my area of research then really I need to be able to trust experts in that field to present me with their own facts and provable statements.

        The trouble is that I don’t trust any of the statements that are either for or against the UK leaving the EU, and I’ve not done any research into the matter myself.

        So sorry it’s a cop-out of an answer, but as a scientist I honestly don’t know.

        As a person I reckon we’re better in the EU than not, but this is an opinion based on feeling, sentiment and my own un-verified ideas. Not particularly scientific 🙂

      • Photo: Waqar Ahmed

        Waqar Ahmed answered on 20 Jun 2016:


        Great answer Angus!

        For me personally, this would be a problem because I (and other scientists like me) need to travel between the UK and Europe quite often, and leaving the EU may mean I need a Visa to work in the Netherlands. Other important things might be at risk like health insurance or converting my driving licence to a Dutch one.

        From what I have seen here, big European scientific companies like Philips may prefer to collaborate with countries where scientists can work together without any border or funding limitations.

        People come from different cultures and its nice to learn about and experience them. They might think differently to us, but that’s not a bad thing. Like here in the Netherlands they eat raw herring whole as a delicacy, although I’ve have not tried it yet!

      • Photo: Catherine Ross

        Catherine Ross answered on 20 Jun 2016:


        My personal opinion is as scientists we are better remaining as part of the EU, but thats based on my own personal experience and opinion.
        We learn a lot by participating in research which uses the EU population as a whole rather than small regions like the UK so I believe our research would be better based and have more access to better resources if we remained in Europe.

      • Photo: Jenni Rodd

        Jenni Rodd answered on 20 Jun 2016:


        The main thing that I’ve learned as a scientist is that we can achieve much more in life when we work together in teams. I think of the EU as a giant team and I think we can achieve much more as a country if we stay involved in this giant team than if we try and work on our own. In science, if my team isn’t working well then I try and work out how to make the team better, I don’t try and do everything by myself.
        But I agree with the others that this is a very difficulty question because there are so few facts. And scientists really like to base their decisions on facts 🙂

      • Photo: Melissa Ladyman

        Melissa Ladyman answered on 20 Jun 2016:


        I agree with the others here. As scientists we like facts, and the fact of the matter when it comes to the referendum is that no one knows what will happen if we leave. We have some idea what it will be like if we stay because we’re already a part of the EU.

        I am just worried that the negative perceptions will not quickly disappear, and that the fractures that have been growing in our country will get bigger and bigger. We need to work as one global team to figure out the great scientific questions, and figure out how to live together on one planet. Now is a time to make the world smaller by joining together, not all turn our backs on one another.

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