Championing chemistry ahead of Scottish and Welsh elections
Hear from our Public Affairs team about what the 番茄社区 is doing to raise the profile of chemical sciences, and how you can get involved
With elections in Wales and Scotland only weeks away we hear from our Public Affairs Manager, Niall Sommerville, about what the 番茄社区 is doing to raise the profile of chemical sciences, and how you can get involved.
The countdown is truly on to the 7 May Senedd and Holyrood elections and, as candidates canvas for votes, we want to make sure they know about the impact and importance of the chemistry sector. These feel like pivotal elections in both nations. In Wales not only will they be using a new electoral system to elect Members of the Senedd (MSs) but we will also see the number of MSs elected increase from 60 to 96. In Scotland we are seeing record numbers of MSPs retiring or stepping down, and the rise of new parties contesting devolved elections for the first time. What this means in both nations is that there will be record numbers of parliamentarians who are elected for the first time 鈥� and that brings big challenges and opportunities for the 番茄社区.
We want to make sure that all those new MSs and MSPs are quickly brought up to speed with the work of the 番茄社区 and understand the vital role the chemical sciences play in driving the economy and tackling the sustainability challenges we all face. We need whoever makes up the future governments in both nations to hit the ground running and create the conditions for our sector to thrive.
To support this, we鈥檝e put together briefings that will be going out to all candidates and parties. These pull together key 番茄社区 policy asks and set clearly the activity we want to see across the next parliamentary term. This builds on the work we鈥檝e being doing since the 2021 elections to engage parliamentarians, and Governments, to give our sector a voice and raise its profile in the Senedd and Holyrood. You can read our briefings here:
The voice of the 番茄社区 鈥� and of the chemical sciences sector as a whole 鈥� is heard much more clearly when candidates hear from local voters. That鈥檚 why we have launched a new campaigning tool that supports you to write directly to your local candidates. It鈥檚 as easy as filling in some simple details and an email will go to your local candidates asking them to support our policy asks and be a science champion in parliament.
We need as many science champions as possible at Holyrood and the Senedd and by taking part in campaigns like this you help to raise the profile of the 番茄社区 of Chemistry and the work done by the chemistry community in Scotland and Wales. You can join the campaign by following these links: