10 signatures reached
To: Jo Johnson the Minister of State for Universities and Science.
Boaty McBoatface
The Natural Environment Research Council recently asked the public to vote on a name for its new £200m polar research vessel. The final votes were overwhelmingly in favour of Boaty McBoatface, with 78% of the 124,109 votes cast, four times more than the second-placed. The chief executive of the research council normally will have the final say but Jo Johnson, science minister, signalled he was preparing to override all involved. Please let the public decide.
Why is this important?
This is a rare occasion where the public has enthusiastically showed interest in a national science project. The name, although sniffed at by some, would undoubtedly help to engage a new generation of scientists and the general public in the important research undertaken by the boat. Let's get some fun, as well as democracy, back into science.
