About The Campaign:

Pure maths is a part of the continuum of the mathematical sciences. It usually involves the study of abstract concepts like number, logic, geometry and algebra. Mathematicians in this area often describe their work as an investigation into truth or beauty.

For centuries, discoveries in pure maths have led to applications and achievements in every area of science and technology. But progress is not always easy to predict and can take many years. To give some historic examples:

  • Complex numbers (1831) enabled General Electric to simplify and rapidly scale the US electricity grid in the 1890s.

  • Boolean algebra (1847) provided the logical underpinnings of the first digital computers in World War 2.

  • Radon Transforms (1917) were crucial to the patent that enabled x-rays to see cancers and won a Nobel Prize in 1979.

Maths will continue to deliver in the century ahead. It will optimise the renewable electricity grid and new carbon markets. It will build quantum computers and the ‘Internet of Things’. It will be the foundation for the artificial intelligence that creates a new generation of personalised medicines.

We do not always know what, when or how pure maths will pay off. However, we do know that we need ‘blue skies’ mathematicians, pursuing their instincts today to help solve the challenges of tomorrow.

Despite its value to society, maths does not always receive the funding and support it warrants. Today, some UK universities are cutting back their maths provision. And new funding for artificial intelligence is at risk of overlooking the fundamental importance of maths to the discipline.

We launched Protect Pure Maths to engage with the academic community and Government to campaign against further cuts and to ensure that the mathematical sciences are understood, valued, and properly funded.

Our Objectives:

Protect Pure Maths has four objectives. To achieve them, we work collaboratively within the mathematical sciences, across academia and industry, and in the UK’s parliaments.

  • We are advocating for additional funding for maths research and teaching. In particular, we are asking the Government to both deliver and report on the £300m funding for mathematical sciences research announced in January 2020. Beyond this, we want to see the sustained funding needed to ensure that the UK remains a ‘maths superpower’.

  • We are working with elected MPs and Lords to raise the profile of mathematics in the UK’s parliaments. This includes also calling for both the Commons and the Lords Science and Technology Committees to be renamed as STEM Committees, to reflect the importance of mathematics.

    • Watch Stephen Metcalfe MP asking the former Education Secretary what steps are being taken to encourage the study of mathematics.

    • Hear then Education Secretary Gavin Williamson respond that we have seen a revolution in maths over the last decade

    • Watch Wera Hobhouse MP call on Parliament's Science and Technology Committee to change its name to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Committee

    • Hear Jacob Rees-Mogg’s response and how maths will be at the forefront of how the UK competes in future generations.

  • We are bringing together companies that want to see a greater emphasis on maths in some of the policies that affect businesses, especially those in the tech and AI space. We are amplifying their calls for more investment in the maths labour force and in R&D.

  • We are rallying support among researchers and universities to guard against further cuts to pure maths. We are building cross-sector support for maths and increasing its visibility in the media and the UK’s parliaments.

    • Christian Wakeford MP writes in ConservativeHome about the need to fund and support all branches of mathematics at the Higher Education level

    • Baroness Blackwood and Professor Jon Keating call for more of the funding Pi for maths in Times Red Box