Fundamental scientific research in the United Kingdom

It is sometimes said that the United Kingdom is rather good at fundamental research and rather bad at applying and exploiting the results of it in industry. Such statements engender thoughts of drastically altering the balance between academic and industrial research and even of eroding the position that the United Kingdom has achieved; but this will not happen without a big struggle on the part of those who have had to argue the case for the necessary financial support for fundamental research.