McDonald seen as likely science minister amid reshuffle confusion

Labour MP Chris McDonald looks likely to become the UK’s next science minister, although his new department is declining to confirm the appointment.

Earlier this week McDonald, the MP for Stockton North, was named a minister of state in the newly formed Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade following a reshuffle by new prime minister Andy Burnham.

He will serve with colleagues Kate Dearden and Anas Sarwar, who have also been appointed ministers in the department, which will be led by secretary of state Jonathan Reynolds.

Dearden has been named minister for work and Sarwar will be trade minister but McDonald, who was undersecretary of state for industry under previous prime minister Keir Starmer, has not confirmed his position.

An official Labour Party account on LinkedIn, Labour Business Relations, has named McDonald as the new minister of state for science.

But the department has repeatedly declined to confirm the appointment, telling Times Higher Education that the ministerial roles are still to be confirmed. The MP’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Adding further confusion to the situation, No 10 has also given McDonald a ministerial role in the Department for Health and Social Care, according to the latest announcement. 

If he is to be science minister, this would represent a further dilution of the position that was, until the reshuffle, a secretary of state-level role who attended cabinet.

The next science minister will sit within the business department after it subsumed the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). Previous ministers with responsibility for science, Liz Kendall and Patrick Vallance, have both left government.

Of all the new ministers, McDonald would be the most natural fit for the science portfolio, given his background in research.

Prior to becoming an MP in 2024, he served as chief executive of the Materials Processing Institute and is also a fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Reacting to the likely appointment, Beth Thompson, executive director for policy and partnerships at Wellcome, said that “harnessing the full power of science is critical to achieving the aims of this – and any – government” and the new department “must build on DSIT’s legacy”. 

“There are benefits to merging the departments, but science cannot be relegated to only serving the needs of business,” Thompson added. “DBIST must use the full strength of the UK’s science sector so it serves all corners of society.”

She said that having a science minister straddle both the business and health departments “provides exactly this opportunity, ensuring cutting-edge science can drive the NHS to deliver the best outcomes for patients.

“While recognising difficult decisions to be made, it’s clear that a focus on short-term growth must not compromise long-term investment in curiosity-driven research if we are to cement the UK’s reputation as the global partner of choice for R&D.”

Tamara Finkelstein, chief executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said that, as a chemical engineer with years of industry experience, McDonald would be an “excellent ambassador for the vital contribution of science, engineering and technology to the economy and the exciting potential of research and innovation to support growth and deliver high value jobs across the UK”. 

“Chris was the first Fellow of our Academy to be elected as a constituency MP, serving the people of Stockton North. We wish him well in his new ministerial role and look forward to working with him and the rest of the DBIST team to engineer better lives and to support the development of science, engineering and technology around the country.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com