Science Party
Encyclopedia
The Science Party is a UK political party that was launched on April 20, 2010 by Michael Brooks
, a science author, consultant to the New Scientist
magazine and regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, and Sumit Paul-Choudhury, an editor of New Scientist.
A key goal in the Science Party manifesto is ensuring "that science, mathematics and engineering have sufficient funding, skills and political priority".
The Science Party challenged MP David Tredinnick
in his constituency of Bosworth
in the East Midlands
, winning 197 votes, 0.4% of the votes cast.
Michael Brooks points out that Tredinnick claimed £700 in his MP expenses for astrology
software, which he repaid following media publicity. Tredinnick also led 70 MPs in a motion to ignore a House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee report recommending the NHS to cease funding homeopathic treatments.
In criticising Tredinnick, Brooks also points to the cash-for-questions affair
, where Tredinnick accepted a £1,000 payment from an under cover reporter for what was described as a consultancy service but which essentially involved raising a question before parliament, an act that has been described as accepting a bribe for interference in parliamentary proceedings. This scandal led to Tredinnick and one other MP being suspended from Parliament. Brooks also criticises Tredinnick for his MP's expense claim of £125 for attending a course on "intimate relationships".
Tredinnick defended his views on using astrology for medicine by saying "Systems of healthcare in India and China have linked medicine and astronomy for centuries. Are we really just dismissing their views?".
Brooks describes Tredinnick as "a champion of pseudo-science and a hindrance to rational governance".
Michael Brooks (science writer)
Michael Brooks is an English science author. He is noted for articles and books which attempt to explain obscure scientific research and findings to the general population.-Career:...
, a science author, consultant to the New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
magazine and regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, and Sumit Paul-Choudhury, an editor of New Scientist.
A key goal in the Science Party manifesto is ensuring "that science, mathematics and engineering have sufficient funding, skills and political priority".
The Science Party challenged MP David Tredinnick
David Tredinnick (politician)
David Arthur Stephen Tredinnick is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom.He is a former officer in the Grenadier Guards and is Member of Parliament for Bosworth first elected in 1987....
in his constituency of Bosworth
Bosworth (UK Parliament constituency)
Bosworth is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
in the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
, winning 197 votes, 0.4% of the votes cast.
Michael Brooks points out that Tredinnick claimed £700 in his MP expenses for astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
software, which he repaid following media publicity. Tredinnick also led 70 MPs in a motion to ignore a House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee report recommending the NHS to cease funding homeopathic treatments.
In criticising Tredinnick, Brooks also points to the cash-for-questions affair
Cash-for-questions affair
The "Cash-for-questions affair" was one of the biggest political scandals of the 1990s in the United Kingdom.It began in October 1994 when The Guardian newspaper alleged that London's most successful parliamentary lobbyist, Ian Greer of Ian Greer Associates, had bribed two Conservative Members of...
, where Tredinnick accepted a £1,000 payment from an under cover reporter for what was described as a consultancy service but which essentially involved raising a question before parliament, an act that has been described as accepting a bribe for interference in parliamentary proceedings. This scandal led to Tredinnick and one other MP being suspended from Parliament. Brooks also criticises Tredinnick for his MP's expense claim of £125 for attending a course on "intimate relationships".
Tredinnick defended his views on using astrology for medicine by saying "Systems of healthcare in India and China have linked medicine and astronomy for centuries. Are we really just dismissing their views?".
Brooks describes Tredinnick as "a champion of pseudo-science and a hindrance to rational governance".