More than 100 artists, writers, and scientists have urged the UK government to save Jodrell Bank Observatory following significant funding cuts. Signatories, including the band New Order, astronaut Chris Hadfield, and Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, have written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
The letter criticises the decision by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to withdraw £2.8m in annual funding for the e-Merlin network, the national radio astronomy facility at Jodrell Bank, when its current agreement concludes in March 2028. The signatories describe the cuts as “foolish and shortsighted.”
Scientists have stated that the decision is a blow to UK astronomy, with observations at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire potentially ending unless alternative funding is secured. The move reportedly threatens 28 jobs at the observatory and could impact nearly 3,000 researchers who use the facility. Further cuts across dozens of facilities, instruments, and projects are expected to result in approximately 800 job losses.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which funds Jodrell Bank, needs to make substantial savings due to cost overruns, rising electricity and staff costs, and high foreign exchange rates for international collaborations. A spokesperson for the STFC previously stated that the body had “undertaken a rigorous prioritisation process to focus investment on the areas that will deliver the greatest long-term scientific capability, impact and value for the UK.”
The letter highlights Jodrell Bank's role as a Unesco world heritage site and its contributions to global safety, including tracking space debris, solar flares, satellites, and asteroids. It also notes that the observatory hosts the new headquarters of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), a global project mapping the first billion years of the universe.