SEATED behind a simple wooden table in a side room of the Royal Institution in London, the science spokesmen for the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties are radiating confidence. This is surprising. Robert Key and Evan Harris are about to try to convince British voters why their particular party is the best for British science. They are being sent in to bat on a sticky wicket.
For Lord Sainsbury, the diffident Labour science minister sitting between them, has ramped up science spending for universities over the past eight years. He has put billions into grants, refurbishing run-down laboratories and doubling…
