Brexit

Knowledge and understanding don’t stop at borders. Nations will always achieve more together than separately, whatever the legal agreements that exist between them. 

We advocated for a Brexit settlement that included UK access to EU research funding, reciprocal immigration arrangements for researchers, and continued cooperation on life sciences regulation.

2021

April

• We write to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee about issues relating to UK research funding and how the UK’s participation in Horizon Europe will be paid for in 2021/22.

March

• Wellcome’s Director, Jeremy Farrar, responds to the publication of the Government’s Integrated Review, welcoming the commitment to global partnerships and to the UK’s role in global science, but highlighting "a growing gulf between rhetoric and reality in the government’s support for science."

2020

December

• We welcome the announcement of a trade deal between the UK and EU. The deal confirms the UK will participate in Horizon Europe.

November 

• Our Policy & Advocacy Manager, Catherine Guinard, gives evidence to the House of Lords EU Committee on the impact of the future UK-EU relationship on research and education.

October

• Wellcome’s Director, Jeremy Farrar, co-signs letters to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson [PDF 77KB] and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen [PDF 78KB] calling for compromise in the Brexit negotiations.

July

• We sign a statement with more than 100 organisations and researchers from across the UK and the EU to set out how negotiators could secure a strong outcome for research: Reaching an agreement on UK participation in Horizon Europe[PDF 107KB] [PDF 107KB].

February

• We analyse the composition of the Wellcome Sanger Institutes technical staff [PDF 542KB] to see how future immigration reform could affect the workforce.

January

• We publish a report on our work with economic think-tank Breugel to simulate a UK-EU deal for research and our recommendations for negotiators: A post-Brexit agreement for research and innovation.

2019

November

• We publish a briefing on why the UK should associate to Horizon Europe [PDF 240KB], the EU's €100 billion research and innovation programme.

May

• We respond to Sir Adrian Smith’s consultation: Future frameworks for international collaboration on research. [PDF 197KB]

February

• We explore options for the regulation of clinical trials in the UK after Brexit. 

January

• We respond to the Science and Technology Committee's consultation: Brexit, science and innovation: preparations for 'no-deal' inquiry [PDF 694KB].

2018

December

• Our Head of UK and EU Policy, Beth Thompson, gives evidence to the House of Lords EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee on the impact of Brexit on funding for research. Read the written submission [PDF 479KB].

November

• We publish an updated Brexit and Beyond briefing [PDF 530KB], outlining our recommendations on UK-EU science and innovation post-Brexit.

October

• We explore the impact of funding from the EU Framework Programmes in a series of case studies [PDF 35KB].
• Our Director, Jeremy Farrar, writes an opinion piece for the Observer warning of the damage to medical research from no-deal Brexit.

June

• We respond to the Science and Technology Committee's consultation: An immigration system that works for science and innovation [PDF 568KB]

May 

• With 11 other organisations, we sign a joint statement [PDF 532KB] and publish a paper [PDF 482KB] on ways to improve collaboration between the European Commission and private foundations.
• We explore how to include science in the framework for a future UK-EU relationship [PDF 764KB]. 
• Our Head of UK and EU Policy, Beth Thompson, gives evidence to the Brexit Select Committee on a future UK-EU relationship.
• We set out our position on what the next EU Framework Programme should look like [PDF 385KB], in order to improve European research.

February 

• We publish Building a strong future for European science: Brexit and beyond, setting out our view on how a new UK-EU research partnership should work and drawing on what we learned from 200 organisations and individuals through the Future Partnership Project.

January 

• Alongside the Royal Society, we bring together 30 European research leaders [PDF 780KB] at Chicheley Hall. We present our Future Partnership Project consultation and evidence synthesis, and produce a joint vision for a practical and ambitious future UK-EU partnership. 
• With the Intergovernmental Network for Government Science Advice, we host a roundtable event [PDF 297KB] to explore the future of UK-EU scientific and technical advice, and evidence-informed policy making. 

2017

December 

• Alongside Science Europe, we host a private dinner in Brussels [PDF 289KB] to identify priorities for a future UK-EU partnership. The Royal Society hosts a parallel dinner in London the following day. 
• In a joint statement, we back calls for the government to ensure post-Brexit immigration rules will allow the UK to continue to recruit highly trained technical staff.

November 

• We launch the Future Partnership Project consultation [PDF 231KB] with the Royal Society, to seek views from across Europe on what a future UK-EU partnership for research and innovation should look like. 

October 

• We invite individuals working in research organisations in the UK, Canada, Israel, Ireland, Norway and Switzerland to discuss the future of international collaboration [PDF 406KB], including Framework Programme 9. 

September 

• The UK government outlines their position on a future research and innovations partnership with the EU. Our Director, Jeremy Farrar, responds in a comment piece in The Times. 

August 

• The UK government releases a range of position papers on customs arrangements, legal arrangements and data protection following Brexit. Natalie Banner highlights the importance of continuing to share data in Research Professional. 

June 

• As the formal negotiations on the UK’s exit from the European Union begin in Brussels, Jeremy Farrar outlines what science needs to thrive post-Brexit.

May 

• A report commissioned by eight leading UK medical organisations highlights how partnerships between UK and EU medical researchers have increased the value of research, benefiting patients across Europe.

April 

• In a letter to the leaders of UK political parties, we outline three areas that the government must consider to sustain scientific excellence in the UK.  

March 

• Article 50 is triggered, starting the formal process of the UK leaving the EU.
• We publish an update from Jeremy Farrar on our position and work to make sure science flourishes in a post-Brexit world.  

January 

• Jeremy Farrar sets out the critical issues that need to be resolved for the UK to attract the world’s finest scientists in a joint comment article in The Times with the Director of Cancer Research UK, Harpal Kumar.
• We give evidence to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee inquiry: Brexit: regulation and standards (oral evidence).

2016

• We give evidence to two House of Commons Science and Technology Committee inquiries: Leaving the EU: implications and opportunities for science and research (written and oral evidence), and EU regulation of the life sciences (written and oral evidence).
• We give evidence to the House of Lords inquiry: The relationship between EU membership and the effectiveness of science, research and innovation in the UK (written and oral evidence). 

Catch up with news about our UK and EU policy work.