Scotland’s life sciences sector with its so-called triple helix partnership of academia, the NHS and health industries is regarded as a key growth cluster for the nation’s economy. Several Scottish universities are now global leaders in areas of clinical research. Millions are being spent on creating the infrastructure to attract international trials benefiting patients and creating income for the NHS. Against this backdrop, the manifestos of most of the parties ahead of this week’s Holyrood election say little about life sciences and clinical research.

Last November, a refreshed life sciences strategy was published by the government alongside universities, colleges and the health technology and medicines industries.

The ambition set out in that strategy is to build on a sector that has already outstripped previous targets set for it, so that it can grow to be worth£25 billion to the Scottish economy by 2035.

Reform UK in their manifesto builds on the cluster approach, saying Scotland has business sectors ‘where we are genuinely world class owing to our geography, science and people’. They list ten ‘natural clusters of excellence’, including life sciences alongside financial services, advanced manufacturing, energy, food and drink, tourism and hospitality, creative industries, agriculture, fisheries and marine.

Reform says it will focus on education, skills and training to bring young people into these sectors and create a skilled and well paid workforce.

The SNP also commits to innovation and investment in ‘key emerging industries’ and says it will ‘empower strategic regional economic partnerships to boost productivity and innovation’ by bringing research, universities and businesses together.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats will invest in skills, infrastructure, research and innovation – boosting the workforce by inviting US scientists who have had their cancer research cancelled by President Trump to finish their work in Scotland.

Scottish Labour also commits to growing key sectors, by connecting enterprise agencies with universities, colleges and large businesses ‘to expand the reach and market potential of new research’.

Labour also says it will streamline the ‘maze’ of enterprise and investment organisations, getting enterprise agencies to prioritise innovation, international growth, and economic development, and refocusing the Scottish National Investment Bank to specialise on ‘de-risking Scottish scale-ups, crowding in private investment and attracting commercial investment that creates benefits across Scotland’.

Clinical research

Labour’s manifesto has the most extensive set of commitments on clinical research and the adoption of innovation by the NHS.

Labour says NHS consultants will be guaranteed dedicated time to be involved in research and developing innovation, a move it says will help retain experienced NHS staff. It also commits to modernising medical data systems to allow anonymised health data to be used safely for research and to inform the development of new treatments.

Scottish Labour and the SNP both promise to grow the number of clinical trials conducted in Scotland

Research focuses

Two of the political parties, the Scottish Greens and Scottish Conservatives, focus on specific areas of research rather than wider life sciences.

The Scottish Greens will fund research into women’s health inequalities, including ‘inequalities in maternal health outcomes for minority ethnic pregnant people’.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats and SNP also commit to prioritising research in women’s health – the Liberal Democrats focusing on endometriosis, the menopause, polycystic ovary syndrome, hyperemesis, ectopic and molar pregnancies; the SNP saying they will fund new research into menstrual health.

The Scottish Conservatives will publish an updated cancer strategy that will ensure the latest medical technology is used to improve cancer survival rates.

The Scottish Greens will ‘increase institutional research and innovation funding’ to support cancer research to identify new treatments; while the Scottish Liberal Democrats will ‘prioritise the science’ in cancer, creating a world-leading cancer research environment and increasing the use of genetic screening for cancer.

The Scottish Conservatives say they will also build on Scotland’s world-leading neurological research community, supporting research into adult and childhood dementias so Scotland can help find cures.

Read about some of the manifestos published by Scottish organisations ahead of the Scottish election: Dementia care in Scotland failing families; BMA: 2026 can be “watershed moment” for NHS; Parties must explain how they’ll save the NHS; Call for care home nurses to be given pay parity; More younger Scots dying from stroke; Call to address climate impact of medicines.

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