UK Slashes Astronomy Funding, Putting Jodrell Bank's Lovell Telescope and e-MERLIN at Risk of Closure
STFC's 2.7% PPAN budget cut fully withdraws e-MERLIN funding, threatening Jodrell Bank's Lovell Telescope with closure.
Overview
The UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has withdrawn all funding for e-MERLIN, the network of radio telescopes operated from Jodrell Bank Observatory, putting the historic Lovell Telescope at risk of closure, according to The Register. The cut is part of a wider budget settlement STFC announced on 27 July 2026 for its Particle Physics, Astronomy and Nuclear Physics (PPAN) portfolio, according to UKRI.
What We Know
STFC, part of UK Research and Innovation, said the PPAN science budget is decreasing by 2.7% over four years, and that its core budget will otherwise stay flat between 2026 and 2030 following what it described as a record settlement for UKRI in the 2025 Spending Review, according to UKRI. The research council said its costs are forecast to rise over that period because of higher energy costs, unfavourable foreign exchange movements, higher staffing costs, and an expanded portfolio of activities, according to UKRI.
Within that 2.7% headline figure, STFC is withdrawing all funding for e-MERLIN — the Enhanced Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network, a group of seven UK radio telescopes including the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell that together make up one of the world’s most powerful stargazing systems, according to the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). Funding for e-MERLIN runs out in 2028 unless alternative sources are found, according to The Register. The Lovell Telescope, a 250-foot-diameter steerable dish that is Grade I-listed and will turn 70 next year, is included in the e-MERLIN cuts, according to The Register.
Other facilities are also affected. The UK is withdrawing from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) in Hawaii, the UK’s Square Kilometre Array Regional Centre faces a 20% cut, activities at the Vera Rubin Telescope in Chile are being cut, and the BISON solar observing network faces a 40% cut, according to RAS. Within the 2.7% headline figure, 10% cuts to the experiments and instruments used by professional astronomers were expected, according to RAS.
RAS said it had previously feared PPAN could face disastrous cuts of around 30%, and had cautiously welcomed the eventual 2.7% headline figure after extensive lobbying and campaigning by scientists and the Society — before the facility-level detail on e-MERLIN and Jodrell Bank emerged, according to RAS.
RAS President Professor Jim Wild said: “This is devastating news for UK astronomy. At a time when technological innovation is crucial to our country’s prospects, discarding unique, globally significant observatories threatens both our scientific future and the inspiration of future generations of astronomers,” according to RAS. Wild added that the Society is “actively working to evaluate the full extent of these cuts to understand their true impact on our community” and that its “immediate priority is to assess whether the announced 10 per cent reductions are what is actually being implemented on the ground,” according to RAS.
Professor Michele Dougherty, Executive Chair of STFC, said: “After listening to our community we have protected core discovery research within PPAN, through a more focused portfolio that safeguards postdoctoral researchers, protects PhD opportunities and maintains the UK’s international leadership,” according to UKRI. She added: “However, the situation does require some tough, but necessary, decisions which we have outlined today,” and that “these are never easy choices, but we have made what we feel are the right decisions to bring STFC to a sustainable financial position by 2029/30,” according to UKRI.
A Jodrell Bank Observatory spokesperson said: “While these cuts to e-Merlin’s funding are significant, Jodrell Bank remains a major scientific, cultural and economic centre nationally and for the local area. We will be working with colleagues from The University of Manchester and other partners to secure the future of the Lovell Telescope and e-MERLIN,” according to The Register. Professor Brian Cox of the University of Manchester was more pointed, calling the situation “the result of many bad legacy decisions taken by UKRI hastily and without proper consultation, overseen by a government department that no longer exists,” according to The Register. Tim Roca, the MP for Macclesfield, noted that funding remains in place until 2028 and said he would push for protecting the observatory, according to The Register.
What We Don’t Know
STFC’s own announcement did not name individual facilities affected by the prioritisation exercise, framing the changes only in terms of the overall PPAN budget figure, according to UKRI. It remains unclear whether Jodrell Bank, the University of Manchester, or other partners will be able to secure alternative funding for e-MERLIN and the Lovell Telescope before the 2028 deadline, and whether the 10% instrument and experiment cuts flagged by RAS will match what is ultimately implemented.
Analysis
The gap between STFC’s headline 2.7% PPAN cut and the scale of the facility-specific fallout — a full funding withdrawal for a seven-telescope network anchored by a Grade I-listed, nearly 70-year-old instrument — illustrates why RAS had cautioned that its earlier, more muted reaction to the budget settlement did not capture the full picture. The episode also underscores a recurring tension in UK science funding: a research council can present a modest-sounding aggregate reduction while individual programs absorb far steeper, in some cases total, cuts.