Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Enough trouble to send a bunch of physicists to Westminster this week to chat to MPs to see if they can help. The problem is that we’re facing a 30% funding cut over the next few years to astrophysics, particle physics and nuclear physics in the UK. Now the message from on high is that there is no funding cuts, that it’s “flat cash”. But the way the funding body is set up means that the research money to do the science, so the data crunching and the analysis, also comes from the same pot of money that’s used to pay for big experiments like CERN and the Vera Rubin telescope. So with energy costs going up, and the cost of silicon for chips going up because of the AI boom, and because of big swings in exchange rates, there’s then less money for the actual science. And what it’s going to mean is that there’s less jobs in physics research for early career researchers like me, those between PhD and professorship that do the bulk of the scientific research. So if you care about this and want to see your taxes continuing to fund astrophysics research, please write to your local MP to ask them to help press the government to stop these cuts. I’ll let Prof Brian Cox explain why funding cundamental physics research is inportant @profbriancoxofficial #funding #research #physics #westminster #ukpolitics
RAS letter template to send to your MP: ras.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2026-02/Fellows%20letter%20to%20MPs%20re%20astronomy%20cuts.docx
RAS press release with more information: ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/parliamentary-briefing-stfc-funding-crisis
Video filmed on a Sony ⍺7 IV
Video edited by Martino Gasparrini: martino.freelance@gmail.com
Video produced by Marina Hui & Dr Becky Smethurst
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📚 My book, "A Brief History of Black Holes", out NOW in hardback, paperback, e-book and audiobook (which I narrated myself!): lnk.to/DrBecky
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👕 My merch, including JWST designs, are available here (with worldwide shipping!): dr-becky.teemill.com
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🎧 Royal Astronomical Society Podcast that I co-host: podfollow.com/supermassive
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🔔 Don't forget to subscribe and click the little bell icon to be notified when I post a new video!
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👩🏽💻 I'm Dr. Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford. I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don't know. If you've ever wondered about something in space and couldn't find an answer online - you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars.
drbecky.uk.com
Enough trouble to send a bunch of physicists to Westminster this week to chat to MPs to see if they can help. The problem is that we’re facing a 30% funding cut over the next few years to astrophysics, particle physics and nuclear physics in the UK. Now the message from on high is that there is no funding cuts, that it’s “flat cash”. But the way the funding body is set up means that the research money to do the science, so the data crunching and the analysis, also comes from the same pot of money that’s used to pay for big experiments like CERN and the Vera Rubin telescope. So with energy costs going up, and the cost of silicon for chips going up because of the AI boom, and because of big swings in exchange rates, there’s then less money for the actual science. And what it’s going to mean is that there’s less jobs in physics research for early career researchers like me, those between PhD and professorship that do the bulk of the scientific research. So if you care about this and want to see your taxes continuing to fund astrophysics research, please write to your local MP to ask them to help press the government to stop these cuts. I’ll let Prof Brian Cox explain why funding cundamental physics research is inportant @profbriancoxofficial #funding #research #physics #westminster #ukpolitics
RAS letter template to send to your MP: ras.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2026-02/Fellows%20letter%20to%20MPs%20re%20astronomy%20cuts.docx
RAS press release with more information: ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/parliamentary-briefing-stfc-funding-crisis
Video filmed on a Sony ⍺7 IV
Video edited by Martino Gasparrini: martino.freelance@gmail.com
Video produced by Marina Hui & Dr Becky Smethurst
---
📚 My book, "A Brief History of Black Holes", out NOW in hardback, paperback, e-book and audiobook (which I narrated myself!): lnk.to/DrBecky
---
👕 My merch, including JWST designs, are available here (with worldwide shipping!): dr-becky.teemill.com
---
🎧 Royal Astronomical Society Podcast that I co-host: podfollow.com/supermassive
---
🔔 Don't forget to subscribe and click the little bell icon to be notified when I post a new video!
---
👩🏽💻 I'm Dr. Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford. I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don't know. If you've ever wondered about something in space and couldn't find an answer online - you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars.
drbecky.uk.com
