How a recent injection of STEM expertise among MPs could shape Britain’s science sector.

Only one UK prime minister has held a science degree – chemistry graduate Margaret Thatcher. And while there have been historians and classicists aplenty among the UK’s former leaders, there’s not a single engineer. Only one mention of engineering was made in all the parties’ manifestos ahead of July’s election – by Labour in reference to green energy.

And yet thorny policy challenges – net zero, regulating AI, boosting productivity, building new energy infrastructure, maintaining an international research profile and tackling the UK’s skills gap – have a strong science, technology and engineering (STEM) element. Industry figures believe these can, in part, be tackled by leveraging the UK’s prowess in these fields

Today, there are plenty of friendly faces with STEM expertise in the new government, says Camilla d’Angelo, head of policy at the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), which works to...