Political bad science

Science dominates the modern world, writes science blogger Frank Swain in the Guardian, but few of us know where European election candidates stand on science issues. Swain submitted a questionnaire to the UK’s main parties. “The results are disturbing,” he says. While Conservatives and New Labour ignore this vital subject in their manifestos, key members of Eurosceptics Ukip insist that the concept of manmade climate change is “a conspiracy”. The Greens propose a ban on research involving embryonic stem cells and the importation of genetically modified organisms. For a party with a progressive reputation, it is “uninterested in seeing if research produces evidence of benefits contrary to their beliefs”. This, he argues, could have “disastrous consequences”.