From the classroom to the committee room: Dave Robertson MP on politics and physics

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Hello, and welcome to the Physics World Weekly

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podcast.

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This episode features a conversation with Dave Robertson,

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who is elected

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member of the UK parliament for Lichfield

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in 2024.

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Robertson spent eight years teaching physics after studying

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the subject at the University of Liverpool.

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He then worked for a teacher's union, which

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inspired him to become a candidate for the

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Labour Party.

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He chats with Physics World's Mateen Durrani

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about his transition

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from the classroom to the committee room, and

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how parliament

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is a truly bonkers

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and truly bizarre workplace.

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Robertson has already sponsored three

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physics related events at the Palace Of Westminster,

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and he talks about his membership of various

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cross party parliamentary groups,

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including those on nuclear energy

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and space.

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Robertson has not forgotten his roots in education

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and is adamant that The UK must address

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its nationwide

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shortage

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of physics teachers.

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He also urges physicists

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to speak out about how they can help

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address

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many of the world's problems,

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notably

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climate change.

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Here's that conversation.

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So I'm delighted to be joined today by,

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Dave Robertson,

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MP. Welcome to the Physics World podcast, Dave.

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Absolutely pleasure to be here. Thank you for

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thank you for the invite. Really really looking

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forward to this. It's been a it's been

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in the diary for a couple of weeks,

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and it's got a big red circle around

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it for most of that. Oh, wonderful.

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Now you've joined an elite band of people

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who I think are members of parliament, and

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they were also physics teachers. And according to

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our records, there's also been Carol Moynihan, who

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was in the Scottish National Party,

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and Leila Moran, who's currently a member of

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parliament for Liberal Democrats. So,

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but before we come to your work as

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an MP,

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I've got to ask a bit about your

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background.

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So, originally, you studied physics. So what what

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first inspired you into physics?

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Like so many people I think it was

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a it was a an inspiring physics teacher.

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The

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the gently really lit my fire in and

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around the subjects was a guy called Mark

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Calthway

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who I don't have any contact details for.

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But if you are listening, Mark, please get

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in touch. It'd be a pleasure to to

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catch up with you again.

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And I think it is that sometimes,

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like, you know, when when I was 15,

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16 years old, just just having that person

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who's really excited by the subjects and kind

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of brought a look come a little bit

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of something that that really resonated with me.

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And then it became something that I absolutely

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loved. And, I had the the the immense

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privilege actually of kinda getting myself into that

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position where, hopefully, I could be that person

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for other people.

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And, you then went on to study physics

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at Liverpool. Is that right?

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How was your time there? What did you

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particularly enjoy? Which subjects did you take? Before

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we get to Puddington House, absolutely loved it.

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Loved every second of being, being in Liverpool.

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It's a wonderful city, a wonderful university, an

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absolutely brilliant department.

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The if you if you ask me for

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one thing as it while I was at

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uni that that kinda jumped out,

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in my second year,

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when I was up there, they offer a

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course called communicating

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science,

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which

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I'm not gonna lie to you. It sounds

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like

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an easy high percentage.

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So I I picked it because it was

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a it was a half module and I've

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got a half module slot. And I was

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kinda looking at it and saying, well, let's

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give it a go. It it sounds like

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the type of thing where you're gonna, gonna

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be able to pad your percentage a little

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bit.

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I absolutely loved it.

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And the the it was a really small

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cohort that I went through there.

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And, actually, I think that's where I kind

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of started to see that a lot of

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what I do now, which is talking to

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people and trying to take those concepts and

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try and take sometimes incredibly

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com complicated ideas and current processes and things

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I bring them down to somebody who's a

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a layman and not necessarily an expert who'll

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be able to understand.

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And in terms of what I do now,

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absolutely crucial,

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and and really, really, really important.

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But in terms of kind of the hard

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science,

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I was nuclear physics. I absolutely loved it.

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Yeah. Just really enjoyed those very, very, very

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little things.

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Without it, it had to be a standard

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model, which was a a little too mind

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bending for me.

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It still is.

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And then after Liverpool, you went to the

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University of Birmingham to do your teacher training.

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How did how did that go?

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Yeah. So I had a year out in

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between,

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as a lot of people do. And then

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I'd kinda not really got any idea what

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I wanted to do

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kind of post that. And I thought back

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to that that time at Liverpool, not communicating

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as art science course. I thought, well, actually,

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let's give it a go. So I went

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off into my PGC at Birmingham.

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Really different experience as you'd expect. I it

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it the master's level qualification,

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the way that Birmingham deliver it, then offer

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a is a PG dip head, I suppose,

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PGCE.

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But it's also incredibly,

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school based.

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So for that year, I think I I

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think we only spent nine weeks actually at

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the university the rest of the time. You're

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you're out. You're in classrooms. You're you're learning

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the trade hands on in addition to kind

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of some of the, the

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the academic underpinnings that go alongside that. So,

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and that was a wonderful year. I've spent

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some time in a few schools. Two in

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particular where I did quite long placements, and

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absolutely loved all of that as well. And

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I ended up working at one of them

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for coming on 10.

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So what were you, what were you like

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as a physics teacher? Were you were you

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good at it? Did you enjoy it?

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Again, loved it.

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I've got quite a big personality

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naturally.

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And

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I've got quite I'm very fortunate. I've got

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quite control of my voice, so I can

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do

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accents and silly voices and things like that.

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And I think sometimes particularly as you engage

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younger people who are,

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maybe from different backgrounds and things like that.

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It's actually I find it that hooks the

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way to go in, is absolutely brilliant or

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being able to kinda play both sides of

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a conversation if you're trying to do.

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That was was really helpful. And then, yeah,

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I always tried to, I I always tried

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to make my lessons quite loud, quite, quite

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engaging, quite,

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full, because I think sometimes when you're talking

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about particular subject like ours, there's so much

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to it and it should be exciting and

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it should be, wow, buzz up the top.

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And, yeah, I wanted to try and bring

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that across kind of in the way that

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I taught as well as the, the subject

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matter, obviously. And what what sort of ages

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did you teach, Jay? Was it, people still

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from age 11 to 18? Was it the

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full range of secondary pupils? Yeah. It was

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11 to 19.

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You don't always get, a level or in

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fact, the school I was at, most physics

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teachers have. If there's a sixth form there,

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they're automatically,

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gonna be teaching the a level. That wasn't

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the case for us.

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We I was really fortunate. I thought a

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a very, very, very big school at the

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time. It was the biggest in the country.

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So,

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kind of years seven to 11, we got

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15 forms in each year group, kind of,

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fifteen, sixteen groups. So we we'd always have

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a physics group or occasionally two in year

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12,

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but we were really well stocked physics teachers.

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I remember at one point, we were having

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a a physics group meeting,

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and there were six of us sitting around

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the table thinking, this is more than most

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cities have.

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So didn't always get the a level. Really

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look forward to teaching the a level, but

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primarily 11 to 19, but with the way

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it is. And we wanted to try and

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keep people teaching in specialism and because there

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are fewer physicists than than anything else,

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generally, it was key stage four,

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always with a bit of key stage three

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kinda sprinkled in there. And

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more more often than not, some key stage

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five as well.

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What were the, things you most enjoyed teaching,

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and what did you think was the hardest

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thing to teach in physics?

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There was always something about specific heat capacity.

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We always knew when it came to specific

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heat capacity.

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Partially because,

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the school I was at,

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the, the the area for improvement was always

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around mathematics.

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And there were lots of kind of shortcuts,

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that kids learn by in order to get

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them across lines in math and that formula

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triangle, which if I have one wish, it

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would be to destroy that for the rest

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of the system.

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Yeah. So I think when you go to

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a four term equation,

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it was very difficult for kids to use

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that, and you actually actually had to go

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back to teaching the mathematical skill as well

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as the actual science that was involved with

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it.

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And secondly, I think there's there was an

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attempt

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particularly while I was teaching. And it's a

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right it's the right attempt. It was absolutely

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the right approach to take to try and

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drag

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the coursework element rather than it being, everybody's

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going to do this experiment. You're gonna write

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it up. And here is gonna be this

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section, this section, this section. You must write

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it for your method, and there are so

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many marks.

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They wanted to take it basic much, much,

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much more on skills. So we did, this

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particular assignment called science in the news.

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And that was wonderful, and it was effectively

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a literature review.

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And kids have to go out and get

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their own research and kinda compare how that

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went, and there was a a topic that

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you'd be talking about. And that was fascinating

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00:09:31,339 --> 00:09:33,019
and really wonderful, and you got to teach

274
00:09:33,019 --> 00:09:34,379
actually a lot of the skills that we

275
00:09:34,379 --> 00:09:36,959
wanna see kids developing when they're learning sciences.

276
00:09:37,980 --> 00:09:39,820
It was also quite challenging at times as

277
00:09:39,820 --> 00:09:40,320
well,

278
00:09:40,860 --> 00:09:42,524
just because of the nature of it. But

279
00:09:43,725 --> 00:09:45,404
And did the kids you taught, were they

280
00:09:45,404 --> 00:09:46,845
keen on physics, or did a lot of

281
00:09:46,845 --> 00:09:48,524
them think this wasn't relevant or couldn't see

282
00:09:48,524 --> 00:09:51,404
applications and thought it was just suddenly dull

283
00:09:51,404 --> 00:09:53,665
and boring to get through the school year?

284
00:09:53,725 --> 00:09:55,085
So there were two and a half thousand

285
00:09:55,085 --> 00:09:56,445
of them on-site. I'd say they were a

286
00:09:56,445 --> 00:09:56,945
range.

287
00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:00,160
And and there is, and I think with

288
00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:02,480
any subjects, there's gonna be there's gonna be

289
00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:03,539
some kids who just

290
00:10:03,919 --> 00:10:06,320
don't engage just that that not their subject.

291
00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,080
That's not the thing that drives them.

292
00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:10,179
I was really fortunate that,

293
00:10:10,639 --> 00:10:12,960
I got the absolute privilege to see kids

294
00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,195
get really, really, really engaged with the subject

295
00:10:15,414 --> 00:10:17,195
and go on to study at,

296
00:10:18,134 --> 00:10:20,475
I, study as a separate scientist at GCSE

297
00:10:20,695 --> 00:10:23,014
into a levels and then after university. And,

298
00:10:24,454 --> 00:10:26,214
just after the election, I,

299
00:10:27,019 --> 00:10:28,860
and and and it it'd been a a

300
00:10:28,860 --> 00:10:30,779
big emotional week for me having just won

301
00:10:30,779 --> 00:10:31,440
the election.

302
00:10:32,379 --> 00:10:33,899
One of the one of my ex pupils

303
00:10:33,899 --> 00:10:35,820
got in touch to say that, she just

304
00:10:35,820 --> 00:10:37,340
passed out that day and picked up her,

305
00:10:37,740 --> 00:10:38,240
doctorate.

306
00:10:38,779 --> 00:10:40,940
And she dropped a note into her thesis

307
00:10:40,940 --> 00:10:41,440
saying,

308
00:10:42,184 --> 00:10:44,044
thank you, mister Robertson, for being an inspiring

309
00:10:44,264 --> 00:10:45,164
physics teacher.

310
00:10:45,544 --> 00:10:45,784
And,

311
00:10:46,904 --> 00:10:49,144
yeah, that was, that that was a a

312
00:10:49,144 --> 00:10:51,065
fantastic cherry on the top of a, a

313
00:10:51,065 --> 00:10:52,524
lovely cake of that week.

314
00:10:53,705 --> 00:10:55,850
Fair enough. And then after teaching then, I

315
00:10:55,850 --> 00:10:58,490
understand you became more involved in the teaching

316
00:10:58,490 --> 00:11:00,410
union side of things. What why did you

317
00:11:00,410 --> 00:11:02,410
feel that was the right career move for

318
00:11:02,410 --> 00:11:02,990
you then?

319
00:11:04,809 --> 00:11:06,330
So yeah. I mean, in much the same

320
00:11:06,330 --> 00:11:07,855
way that I kinda I I looked at

321
00:11:07,855 --> 00:11:09,294
teaching and said, well, okay. Let's give it

322
00:11:09,294 --> 00:11:10,495
a go. Let's see where we're going here.

323
00:11:10,495 --> 00:11:12,495
It was kind of a similar move that

324
00:11:12,495 --> 00:11:13,955
that kinda pulled me across into

325
00:11:14,335 --> 00:11:15,075
trade unionism.

326
00:11:15,455 --> 00:11:17,235
I'd been our school's union rep.

327
00:11:18,014 --> 00:11:19,774
I took over from the previous head of

328
00:11:19,774 --> 00:11:20,190
physics,

329
00:11:20,750 --> 00:11:22,110
who took over from the previous head of

330
00:11:22,110 --> 00:11:22,610
chemistry.

331
00:11:23,149 --> 00:11:25,070
Apparently, that school has a thing about union

332
00:11:25,070 --> 00:11:26,450
reps being science teachers.

333
00:11:27,149 --> 00:11:27,649
And

334
00:11:28,110 --> 00:11:28,610
and,

335
00:11:29,470 --> 00:11:31,070
I think I got to a point where

336
00:11:31,070 --> 00:11:32,429
my time at that call would come to

337
00:11:32,429 --> 00:11:33,070
an end.

338
00:11:33,629 --> 00:11:36,164
They were making a raft of, voluntary redundancies.

339
00:11:37,125 --> 00:11:38,565
I kind of knew that I was looking

340
00:11:38,565 --> 00:11:39,924
for a new challenge, so I took a

341
00:11:39,924 --> 00:11:42,644
voluntary redundancy there. I did supply for about

342
00:11:42,644 --> 00:11:44,404
a year, and then, I was chatting to

343
00:11:44,404 --> 00:11:45,924
somebody who I was working with doing some

344
00:11:45,924 --> 00:11:47,365
more trade union work, and they were saying

345
00:11:47,365 --> 00:11:49,204
that this job was was there. And it

346
00:11:49,204 --> 00:11:51,269
was one of those where if I didn't

347
00:11:51,269 --> 00:11:52,789
apply for it, I've I would have regretted

348
00:11:52,789 --> 00:11:55,110
it in twenty years. And they hired me,

349
00:11:55,110 --> 00:11:56,889
and the rest is history, so to speak.

350
00:11:57,829 --> 00:12:00,230
Fair enough. And then so, yeah, as you

351
00:12:00,230 --> 00:12:01,589
said, in 2024,

352
00:12:01,589 --> 00:12:04,009
you were finally elected as member of parliament.

353
00:12:04,070 --> 00:12:05,634
I mean, that's not a sort of thing

354
00:12:05,634 --> 00:12:07,235
that is a career move, is it? I

355
00:12:07,235 --> 00:12:07,735
mean,

356
00:12:08,115 --> 00:12:09,394
you know, it must have been a bit

357
00:12:09,394 --> 00:12:11,315
of a bit of a risk deciding to

358
00:12:11,315 --> 00:12:12,835
sort of put yourself up for election. And

359
00:12:12,835 --> 00:12:14,215
how did that all work out?

360
00:12:14,595 --> 00:12:16,535
So not my first time standing for parliament.

361
00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:18,799
I also stood in the same seat in

362
00:12:18,799 --> 00:12:19,620
2019.

363
00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:22,259
I don't talk about that result.

364
00:12:23,279 --> 00:12:24,580
Lost by a lot.

365
00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:27,620
But no. I I did,

366
00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:29,940
again, kind of the the

367
00:12:30,335 --> 00:12:32,174
day I'd kind of left left teaching and

368
00:12:32,174 --> 00:12:34,754
kinda moved into the, tertiary sector,

369
00:12:35,455 --> 00:12:37,295
that came with a a real work life

370
00:12:37,295 --> 00:12:38,195
balance change.

371
00:12:38,575 --> 00:12:40,174
So I've got a lot more free time.

372
00:12:40,415 --> 00:12:41,774
And at that point, it was that kind

373
00:12:41,774 --> 00:12:42,975
of again, how am I giving back to

374
00:12:42,975 --> 00:12:43,715
my community?

375
00:12:45,339 --> 00:12:48,079
So from there, I joined, the Labor Party,

376
00:12:49,179 --> 00:12:51,820
and got increasingly more involved with what the

377
00:12:51,820 --> 00:12:53,039
party was doing locally,

378
00:12:53,820 --> 00:12:55,339
kinda got to a position where I was

379
00:12:55,339 --> 00:12:56,565
working with people and

380
00:12:57,205 --> 00:12:58,904
kinda driving some change there.

381
00:12:59,684 --> 00:13:00,985
And I stood for,

382
00:13:01,445 --> 00:13:03,705
election to our council in 2019.

383
00:13:04,404 --> 00:13:05,764
I was very lucky to be elected onto

384
00:13:05,764 --> 00:13:07,225
two councils in 2019.

385
00:13:07,684 --> 00:13:09,065
Stood for parliament that December.

386
00:13:09,799 --> 00:13:11,740
And then I was reelected onto the councils

387
00:13:11,879 --> 00:13:12,940
in '23.

388
00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:14,220
And then

389
00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:16,440
2024 rolled around and,

390
00:13:17,799 --> 00:13:19,980
that that one went better than 2019.

391
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,159
So you're you're MP for Lichfield. For people

392
00:13:23,159 --> 00:13:25,495
who don't know Lichfield, how would you describe

393
00:13:25,495 --> 00:13:26,314
that constituency?

394
00:13:27,095 --> 00:13:29,115
So it's the best constituency in the country.

395
00:13:31,495 --> 00:13:33,574
And, yes, so we are a kind of

396
00:13:33,574 --> 00:13:35,654
semi rural city. We're all semi rural city,

397
00:13:36,134 --> 00:13:36,634
in

398
00:13:37,095 --> 00:13:38,700
the kind of Northern Midlands.

399
00:13:39,179 --> 00:13:41,019
It's going south into Staffordshire, 20 miles north

400
00:13:41,019 --> 00:13:41,600
to Birmingham.

401
00:13:42,379 --> 00:13:44,860
I've really fortunate that I've got, the city

402
00:13:44,860 --> 00:13:47,419
of Lichfield itself, which is thirty, thirty five

403
00:13:47,419 --> 00:13:49,500
thousand people living in it, four miles up

404
00:13:49,500 --> 00:13:51,100
the road. I've got a the town of

405
00:13:51,100 --> 00:13:53,259
Burnwood, which again, thirty, thirty five thousand people

406
00:13:53,259 --> 00:13:54,375
living in it, and then,

407
00:13:54,855 --> 00:13:55,595
a wonderful,

408
00:13:56,934 --> 00:13:59,174
rural area, Catonian Villages. We do, again, a

409
00:13:59,174 --> 00:14:01,575
very similar sized population in it. So I

410
00:14:01,575 --> 00:14:02,394
get to see,

411
00:14:02,934 --> 00:14:05,014
you know, city, town, and village all in

412
00:14:05,014 --> 00:14:07,414
one constituency in it. It's a lot of

413
00:14:07,414 --> 00:14:07,914
fun.

414
00:14:08,294 --> 00:14:09,829
Yeah. So I gotta ask you, Dave. I

415
00:14:09,829 --> 00:14:11,269
mean, what what is it like being in

416
00:14:11,269 --> 00:14:13,110
parliament? I mean, I can imagine nothing sort

417
00:14:13,110 --> 00:14:14,470
of prepares you for it. It's not a

418
00:14:14,470 --> 00:14:16,549
sort of nine to five job. It's must

419
00:14:16,549 --> 00:14:18,309
be all consuming. I mean, what what what

420
00:14:18,309 --> 00:14:19,370
do you do all day?

421
00:14:20,149 --> 00:14:20,789
Yeah. So,

422
00:14:21,429 --> 00:14:22,709
quite a lot of people will ask me

423
00:14:22,709 --> 00:14:24,445
is, oh, was it what you're expecting?

424
00:14:25,225 --> 00:14:26,345
And when you look at the kind of

425
00:14:26,345 --> 00:14:28,024
electoral history of the of the seat that

426
00:14:28,024 --> 00:14:29,245
that I represent now,

427
00:14:30,985 --> 00:14:33,225
it was a big change for, for the

428
00:14:33,225 --> 00:14:34,424
for the party to win that.

429
00:14:34,985 --> 00:14:37,304
So I haven't spent much time thinking about

430
00:14:37,304 --> 00:14:38,284
what day

431
00:14:39,490 --> 00:14:41,429
election day plus one would look like.

432
00:14:42,450 --> 00:14:44,450
What does happen is when you when you,

433
00:14:45,730 --> 00:14:47,009
when you win the election, they give you

434
00:14:47,009 --> 00:14:49,169
this envelope. Now I was expecting an envelope,

435
00:14:49,169 --> 00:14:50,370
but I was expecting it to be a

436
00:14:50,370 --> 00:14:51,730
big a four one. You know, the ones

437
00:14:51,730 --> 00:14:53,654
that fold in the middle. I mean, it's

438
00:14:53,654 --> 00:14:55,414
like I was expecting, like, a proper thick

439
00:14:55,414 --> 00:14:57,414
one. And it was what they gave me

440
00:14:57,414 --> 00:14:59,654
was clearly one sheet of a four paper

441
00:14:59,654 --> 00:15:01,434
folded in half inside an envelope.

442
00:15:02,375 --> 00:15:03,815
And it was, like, half four in the

443
00:15:03,815 --> 00:15:05,815
morning. I'd had no sleep. I've been on

444
00:15:05,815 --> 00:15:08,695
my feet since 7AM or something stupid. And

445
00:15:08,695 --> 00:15:09,870
I was just like, I'm not I'm not

446
00:15:09,870 --> 00:15:11,730
opening this now. I'm gonna take it home.

447
00:15:11,790 --> 00:15:13,070
I'm gonna open in the morning when I

448
00:15:13,070 --> 00:15:14,750
have a few hours sleep. Open it up

449
00:15:14,750 --> 00:15:17,230
and it was basically, congratulations. Phone this phone

450
00:15:17,230 --> 00:15:18,210
number. I

451
00:15:18,910 --> 00:15:20,509
had to call the phone number and and

452
00:15:20,509 --> 00:15:21,170
they were,

453
00:15:21,865 --> 00:15:23,445
oh, when are you coming down to parliament?

454
00:15:23,985 --> 00:15:25,825
I thought you were telling me that. And

455
00:15:25,825 --> 00:15:27,585
we went through this thing and eventually kinda

456
00:15:27,585 --> 00:15:29,024
got myself booked down. We went down on

457
00:15:29,024 --> 00:15:31,024
a Sunday after the election. And I really

458
00:15:31,024 --> 00:15:33,184
remember walking into Westminster Hall for the first

459
00:15:33,184 --> 00:15:35,184
time with the person who was showing me

460
00:15:35,184 --> 00:15:37,610
around saying, and the the way that she

461
00:15:37,610 --> 00:15:39,070
asked the question was with

462
00:15:39,450 --> 00:15:41,690
my voice. When was the last time you

463
00:15:41,690 --> 00:15:42,350
were in parliament?

464
00:15:43,529 --> 00:15:44,970
Literally, just as I put my hand on

465
00:15:44,970 --> 00:15:46,090
the door, I was like, I've never been

466
00:15:46,090 --> 00:15:46,910
in this building.

467
00:15:47,769 --> 00:15:49,605
Really? And it was literally the fit the

468
00:15:49,605 --> 00:15:51,285
first time I'd I'd ever been on the

469
00:15:51,285 --> 00:15:53,365
estate at all was was as a member,

470
00:15:53,365 --> 00:15:54,184
and it is

471
00:15:54,725 --> 00:15:57,205
nothing like I expected. I think if if

472
00:15:57,205 --> 00:15:59,045
I had expected stuff, it wouldn't have been

473
00:15:59,045 --> 00:16:00,665
like that because it is a

474
00:16:01,529 --> 00:16:03,549
truly bonkers and truly bizarre,

475
00:16:04,490 --> 00:16:04,990
workplace.

476
00:16:06,649 --> 00:16:10,250
Because it is so unique and so different

477
00:16:10,250 --> 00:16:11,389
to everything and,

478
00:16:11,929 --> 00:16:14,190
that comes with its own frustrations at times,

479
00:16:14,409 --> 00:16:15,629
but it also

480
00:16:16,355 --> 00:16:18,754
is an absolute privilege to be able to,

481
00:16:19,074 --> 00:16:20,375
to be involved with and,

482
00:16:20,995 --> 00:16:22,454
yeah, law law may continue.

483
00:16:23,235 --> 00:16:24,995
So what do you have your own office

484
00:16:24,995 --> 00:16:26,514
there? I mean, does there do you how

485
00:16:26,514 --> 00:16:27,875
how many days a week would you say

486
00:16:27,875 --> 00:16:29,714
you're you're in parliament and how many sort

487
00:16:29,714 --> 00:16:30,694
of out and about?

488
00:16:31,279 --> 00:16:32,720
So that very much depends on when we're

489
00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:33,220
sitting.

490
00:16:34,159 --> 00:16:34,659
So

491
00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:37,199
when parliament's in recess, obviously, we're up in

492
00:16:37,199 --> 00:16:39,360
constituency and they were all trying to actually

493
00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:40,959
speak to people who elect us. And that's

494
00:16:40,959 --> 00:16:43,299
quite, quite an important part of the job.

495
00:16:44,345 --> 00:16:46,825
Generally, when the house is sitting, we'll be

496
00:16:46,825 --> 00:16:48,445
there Mondays through Thursdays.

497
00:16:49,865 --> 00:16:51,625
So it tends to be during the week

498
00:16:51,625 --> 00:16:53,865
that I try to do four days in

499
00:16:53,865 --> 00:16:55,785
constituency a week and four days in parliament

500
00:16:55,785 --> 00:16:56,365
a week,

501
00:16:56,825 --> 00:16:58,769
which doesn't quite add up. But I can

502
00:16:58,769 --> 00:17:00,370
I can split my Mondays so I can

503
00:17:00,370 --> 00:17:01,830
just about make it work sometimes?

504
00:17:03,330 --> 00:17:05,410
And, I suppose, you know, the question I

505
00:17:05,410 --> 00:17:06,769
wanted to ask you, Dave, as as an

506
00:17:06,769 --> 00:17:09,109
MP, what what would you say your priorities

507
00:17:09,250 --> 00:17:10,690
are? I mean, we met when we were

508
00:17:10,690 --> 00:17:12,904
at the Institute of Physics Business Awards that

509
00:17:12,904 --> 00:17:14,424
you helped to sponsor, where we had some

510
00:17:14,424 --> 00:17:15,085
really great

511
00:17:15,625 --> 00:17:18,424
high-tech companies that you, provided the sponsorship for

512
00:17:18,424 --> 00:17:19,944
the event on the on the terrace there.

513
00:17:19,944 --> 00:17:21,545
That was wonderful. Is that is science and

514
00:17:21,545 --> 00:17:23,384
technology a passion for you that you want

515
00:17:23,384 --> 00:17:24,765
to sort of get involved in?

516
00:17:25,464 --> 00:17:25,865
Yes. So,

517
00:17:26,819 --> 00:17:28,980
all the things I've I've said literally since

518
00:17:28,980 --> 00:17:31,380
day one, of the campaign actually before before

519
00:17:31,380 --> 00:17:32,839
even the election is,

520
00:17:33,940 --> 00:17:35,859
I'm really fortunate that I get to represent

521
00:17:35,859 --> 00:17:37,159
the area I grew up.

522
00:17:37,619 --> 00:17:39,619
So my number one focus is very much

523
00:17:39,619 --> 00:17:41,255
what's going on in my constituency, what's going

524
00:17:41,255 --> 00:17:41,994
on in my constituency.

525
00:17:45,095 --> 00:17:46,795
I think that will always be the case.

526
00:17:47,575 --> 00:17:49,494
But within that, you know, I'm I'm very

527
00:17:49,494 --> 00:17:51,015
fortunate that I've got the background that I

528
00:17:51,015 --> 00:17:52,432
have and I've got the training that I

529
00:17:52,432 --> 00:17:53,930
have. I'm one of actually a very small

530
00:17:53,930 --> 00:17:54,750
number of,

531
00:17:55,609 --> 00:17:56,109
parliamentarians

532
00:17:56,490 --> 00:17:58,910
who've got a science background, a physics background.

533
00:17:59,450 --> 00:18:01,369
And I think particularly if we're looking at

534
00:18:01,369 --> 00:18:02,890
some of the real advances that are going

535
00:18:02,890 --> 00:18:05,609
on, that, that event that the IOP sponsored

536
00:18:05,609 --> 00:18:07,695
was absolutely wonderful in seeing some of the

537
00:18:07,695 --> 00:18:08,994
real cutting edge science,

538
00:18:09,615 --> 00:18:11,055
that was that that was there and just

539
00:18:11,055 --> 00:18:12,095
on showing some of the,

540
00:18:15,214 --> 00:18:16,815
just some of the companies that were there

541
00:18:16,815 --> 00:18:17,315
were

542
00:18:18,015 --> 00:18:18,515
astonishing.

543
00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:21,480
And actually being able to kind of use

544
00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:22,779
that real,

545
00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:25,740
use that fortune that

546
00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:27,720
that that background that I've got and be

547
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:29,000
able to bring that to the fore and

548
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:31,500
make sure the parliamentarians have got access to

549
00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:33,640
organizations like the Institute of Physics. So I

550
00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:35,304
know I sponsored the,

551
00:18:35,744 --> 00:18:37,924
the International Year of Quantum event as well.

552
00:18:38,065 --> 00:18:38,784
So we had a,

553
00:18:40,065 --> 00:18:40,565
a,

554
00:18:40,865 --> 00:18:43,264
an exhibition up there so that actually every

555
00:18:43,264 --> 00:18:45,684
member of parliament and that commons landlords

556
00:18:45,984 --> 00:18:47,504
would have been able to walk past and

557
00:18:47,504 --> 00:18:49,184
see that it was the International Year of

558
00:18:49,184 --> 00:18:50,940
Quantum. And what that means and some of

559
00:18:50,940 --> 00:18:52,799
the advances that are coming along with constant,

560
00:18:53,179 --> 00:18:55,900
science and constant sensors and seeing actually the

561
00:18:55,900 --> 00:18:57,440
the kind of the the next,

562
00:18:58,460 --> 00:19:00,940
industrial revolution is probably gonna be AI. The

563
00:19:00,940 --> 00:19:02,700
one after that is probably gonna be quantum,

564
00:19:02,700 --> 00:19:04,000
but it's already starting.

565
00:19:04,444 --> 00:19:05,964
And we're so fortunate in The UK that

566
00:19:05,964 --> 00:19:07,484
we are on the very cutting edge of

567
00:19:07,484 --> 00:19:07,984
that,

568
00:19:08,444 --> 00:19:10,444
and being able to bring that to parliament

569
00:19:10,444 --> 00:19:11,565
and being able to bring that to where

570
00:19:11,565 --> 00:19:13,884
the decision makers were and hopefully begin those

571
00:19:13,884 --> 00:19:16,845
conversations so that where we see The UK

572
00:19:16,845 --> 00:19:18,765
is in a real leadership position in the

573
00:19:18,765 --> 00:19:19,585
world of quantum.

574
00:19:19,930 --> 00:19:21,289
And to be able to drive that forward

575
00:19:21,289 --> 00:19:23,450
to is something that I really enjoy. And,

576
00:19:23,769 --> 00:19:24,509
yeah, I'll

577
00:19:24,890 --> 00:19:27,009
be, hopefully keeping the, keeping the hammer down

578
00:19:27,009 --> 00:19:28,250
on that for the next three years and

579
00:19:28,250 --> 00:19:28,750
beyond.

580
00:19:29,049 --> 00:19:30,730
I mean, as a former physics teacher, do

581
00:19:30,730 --> 00:19:32,804
you think I mean, is that high on

582
00:19:32,804 --> 00:19:34,184
the radar of

583
00:19:34,644 --> 00:19:36,804
MPs? The idea the importance of getting more

584
00:19:36,804 --> 00:19:39,444
physics teachers is, you know, something very important

585
00:19:39,444 --> 00:19:40,964
for the future of the subject. Is that

586
00:19:40,964 --> 00:19:42,825
something that many parliamentarians

587
00:19:43,284 --> 00:19:44,884
think about? And how can we get that

588
00:19:44,884 --> 00:19:46,505
issue on the radar for them?

589
00:19:49,109 --> 00:19:52,069
So again, there's 650 of us. So there's

590
00:19:52,069 --> 00:19:53,750
certainly there's a group of us who are

591
00:19:53,750 --> 00:19:56,389
very concerned about making sure that we have

592
00:19:56,389 --> 00:19:58,069
the right teachers in the right place. There's

593
00:19:58,069 --> 00:20:00,389
a, there's an education team, the shadow education

594
00:20:00,389 --> 00:20:02,629
team, and education spokespeople for the other parties

595
00:20:02,629 --> 00:20:04,525
who are really interested in making sure that

596
00:20:04,525 --> 00:20:06,605
we can deliver the best possible future for

597
00:20:06,605 --> 00:20:07,825
for kids in The UK.

598
00:20:08,924 --> 00:20:11,085
Whether every single one of the 650

599
00:20:11,085 --> 00:20:12,765
of us has thoughts about the importance of

600
00:20:12,765 --> 00:20:14,465
getting more physic features in the classroom,

601
00:20:14,924 --> 00:20:16,545
probably not, if I'm honest,

602
00:20:17,069 --> 00:20:18,669
because there's it's such a big job and

603
00:20:18,669 --> 00:20:20,669
there's so much that that comes at us

604
00:20:20,669 --> 00:20:22,990
from our ways. But one of the things

605
00:20:22,990 --> 00:20:24,690
that is actually the kind of responsibility

606
00:20:24,990 --> 00:20:26,029
of myself and,

607
00:20:26,429 --> 00:20:28,269
the other MPs who've got this background and

608
00:20:28,269 --> 00:20:30,744
who've got that knowledge about the importance of

609
00:20:30,744 --> 00:20:32,505
getting the right people in the right classrooms

610
00:20:32,505 --> 00:20:34,904
to be that spark, to be that thing

611
00:20:34,904 --> 00:20:37,325
that that brings somebody forwards and might

612
00:20:37,944 --> 00:20:39,704
unearth the next Brian Cox or the next

613
00:20:39,704 --> 00:20:41,545
Paul Dirac or the next Nigel Newton or

614
00:20:41,545 --> 00:20:42,924
who whoever it is.

615
00:20:43,690 --> 00:20:45,610
Actually making sure that that's there's something that's

616
00:20:45,610 --> 00:20:47,210
really important to me. I know there's a

617
00:20:47,210 --> 00:20:48,029
wealth of,

618
00:20:48,570 --> 00:20:50,650
MPs out there who value that from a

619
00:20:50,650 --> 00:20:52,730
kind of subject specific point of view, but

620
00:20:52,730 --> 00:20:54,009
there's also a huge number of us. You

621
00:20:54,009 --> 00:20:55,690
know, my background's in teaching as much as

622
00:20:55,690 --> 00:20:57,575
it is in physics, and there's a huge

623
00:20:57,575 --> 00:20:58,875
amount of us who are worried

624
00:20:59,255 --> 00:21:01,994
about teacher recruitment and teacher retention particularly

625
00:21:02,455 --> 00:21:04,695
anyway. And there's a big kind of overlap

626
00:21:04,695 --> 00:21:05,674
sometimes between

627
00:21:06,615 --> 00:21:08,775
kind of different thought processes, but here or

628
00:21:08,775 --> 00:21:10,075
there or both or neither.

629
00:21:10,779 --> 00:21:12,059
I was gonna say you mentioned some of

630
00:21:12,059 --> 00:21:13,980
the other scientists in parliament. Do do you

631
00:21:13,980 --> 00:21:15,500
all gang together? Do you know many of

632
00:21:15,500 --> 00:21:17,920
them? Are you some old buddies across party?

633
00:21:18,859 --> 00:21:20,059
So I think it's a big yes or

634
00:21:20,059 --> 00:21:20,299
no.

635
00:21:22,299 --> 00:21:22,799
And

636
00:21:23,394 --> 00:21:24,134
there are

637
00:21:25,474 --> 00:21:27,554
there again, there's there's often a lot going

638
00:21:27,554 --> 00:21:29,795
on, and it's quite interesting actually that sometimes

639
00:21:29,795 --> 00:21:31,075
you do see the same people at the

640
00:21:31,075 --> 00:21:32,275
same events and you start to get to

641
00:21:32,275 --> 00:21:34,115
know them. There's some people,

642
00:21:34,595 --> 00:21:37,315
Martin Wigley from the, Liberal Democrats on OS.

643
00:21:37,315 --> 00:21:39,095
There are lots of events on the,

644
00:21:39,849 --> 00:21:40,970
an officer on one of the,

645
00:21:41,849 --> 00:21:44,029
other APPG with him where he chairs it.

646
00:21:45,210 --> 00:21:47,690
Sam Carling springs to mind. I had the

647
00:21:47,690 --> 00:21:50,250
pleasure of meeting, Lord Sharma, Alok Sharma at

648
00:21:50,250 --> 00:21:52,409
the, IOP event, who, again, saw a real

649
00:21:52,409 --> 00:21:54,169
background in physics. He's really interested in that.

650
00:21:54,169 --> 00:21:55,765
We're interested in Joe Sun from.

651
00:21:56,384 --> 00:21:58,065
So there's a group of us. Whether I've

652
00:21:58,065 --> 00:22:00,725
got an exhausted list exhaustive list, no.

653
00:22:01,745 --> 00:22:03,505
But there's also this kind of there there

654
00:22:03,505 --> 00:22:05,265
are the old party parliamentary groups where a

655
00:22:05,265 --> 00:22:06,545
lot of us are involved in the same

656
00:22:06,545 --> 00:22:07,500
thing with the

657
00:22:07,900 --> 00:22:10,799
science innovate innovate science innovation and technology,

658
00:22:11,339 --> 00:22:13,339
select committee, which I did have a go

659
00:22:13,339 --> 00:22:14,539
at trying to get on a couple of

660
00:22:14,539 --> 00:22:15,980
weeks couple of months back. Didn't quite get

661
00:22:15,980 --> 00:22:17,200
over the line on that one.

662
00:22:17,500 --> 00:22:19,180
But, yeah, there's group there's groups of us

663
00:22:19,180 --> 00:22:19,839
there, and,

664
00:22:20,539 --> 00:22:22,700
I think sometimes rather than having that kind

665
00:22:22,700 --> 00:22:24,115
of there's a big group of us and

666
00:22:24,115 --> 00:22:26,275
we all sit in this corner, the idea

667
00:22:26,275 --> 00:22:28,674
that we've all got a kind of knowledge

668
00:22:28,674 --> 00:22:30,515
of the other the other MPs who are

669
00:22:30,515 --> 00:22:33,654
interested in science, physics, and chemistry, and whatever

670
00:22:33,954 --> 00:22:35,714
in quantum or whatever part of it there

671
00:22:35,714 --> 00:22:38,269
is. Actually, it's all kind of having those

672
00:22:38,269 --> 00:22:40,509
tentacles that spread out between ourselves and into

673
00:22:40,509 --> 00:22:42,990
other groups and parties and other sections of

674
00:22:42,990 --> 00:22:44,289
parliament is really helpful.

675
00:22:44,990 --> 00:22:46,589
And I've looked online. It says you're a

676
00:22:46,589 --> 00:22:49,250
member of various parliamentary groups, including fusion,

677
00:22:50,029 --> 00:22:52,049
space, and football. Is that right?

678
00:22:53,225 --> 00:22:54,765
It's quite a long list, actually.

679
00:22:55,465 --> 00:22:57,565
A list of groups to limit. Yeah.

680
00:22:59,065 --> 00:23:00,505
Yeah. I mean, there's some of those groups,

681
00:23:00,505 --> 00:23:02,105
the the all party groups that I'm in,

682
00:23:02,105 --> 00:23:04,924
I mean, because this is specific constituency focus.

683
00:23:05,509 --> 00:23:07,190
I do allow myself a couple where it's

684
00:23:07,269 --> 00:23:08,789
where I've got a bit of an interest.

685
00:23:09,589 --> 00:23:11,990
And sometimes there's a significant overlap between those

686
00:23:11,990 --> 00:23:13,990
two. But again, actually, the groups on,

687
00:23:14,950 --> 00:23:17,125
fusion, there's one on quantum and photonics that

688
00:23:17,125 --> 00:23:18,105
I'm involved with.

689
00:23:18,484 --> 00:23:19,845
I'm actually looking to try and set another

690
00:23:19,845 --> 00:23:21,684
couple off in the new year, specifically in

691
00:23:21,684 --> 00:23:22,984
the in the realm of quantum,

692
00:23:24,085 --> 00:23:26,005
because I think there's there's a lot that

693
00:23:26,005 --> 00:23:27,605
can be done there. And sometimes it is

694
00:23:27,605 --> 00:23:28,585
that way to

695
00:23:28,964 --> 00:23:30,240
kind of build that

696
00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:32,900
critical map of MPs or parliamentarians

697
00:23:33,279 --> 00:23:35,759
including the lords who are really interested in

698
00:23:35,759 --> 00:23:37,679
a subject who wanna drive an agenda forward.

699
00:23:37,679 --> 00:23:39,519
They wanna be able to create a report

700
00:23:39,519 --> 00:23:41,039
that can be picked up in industry or

701
00:23:41,039 --> 00:23:42,259
in parliament or elsewhere.

702
00:23:42,765 --> 00:23:43,965
Sorry. I've gotta ask you about the football.

703
00:23:43,965 --> 00:23:46,625
Are you a player or supporter or just

704
00:23:46,924 --> 00:23:47,664
somebody watches?

705
00:23:48,365 --> 00:23:48,865
So,

706
00:23:49,404 --> 00:23:51,565
the nickname fifty p Foot Robertson would have

707
00:23:51,565 --> 00:23:53,105
been very appropriate for me.

708
00:23:53,724 --> 00:23:55,505
There is a limit on what my enthusiasm

709
00:23:55,724 --> 00:23:57,025
would ever get me with football.

710
00:23:57,700 --> 00:23:59,380
So yeah. Not not not a player, not

711
00:23:59,380 --> 00:24:00,920
for many, many, many years. But,

712
00:24:01,299 --> 00:24:03,059
yeah. Once upon a time, I think all

713
00:24:03,059 --> 00:24:04,680
the kids in my fella sales are connoisseur.

714
00:24:05,059 --> 00:24:06,500
And I think these days, I'll just go

715
00:24:06,500 --> 00:24:07,559
as far as supporter.

716
00:24:08,340 --> 00:24:10,994
Alright. And, I mean, in terms of next

717
00:24:10,994 --> 00:24:13,394
steps, I mean, you know, political career can,

718
00:24:13,394 --> 00:24:14,994
you know, last forever. It can not last

719
00:24:14,994 --> 00:24:17,315
not very long. I mean, it's pretty precarious.

720
00:24:17,315 --> 00:24:18,835
I mean, where where do you see go

721
00:24:19,075 --> 00:24:21,315
yourself going next? Can you predict it? Do

722
00:24:21,315 --> 00:24:22,134
you have ambitions?

723
00:24:23,019 --> 00:24:24,539
So I think anybody who wants to make

724
00:24:24,539 --> 00:24:26,619
massive predictions about what's gonna happen in their

725
00:24:26,619 --> 00:24:27,599
political career,

726
00:24:28,220 --> 00:24:29,980
either knows a lot more than me or

727
00:24:29,980 --> 00:24:30,299
they're,

728
00:24:30,859 --> 00:24:31,740
not quite switched. I was

729
00:24:33,179 --> 00:24:35,819
and I think for me, I am incredibly

730
00:24:35,819 --> 00:24:37,819
fortunate that I've got the opportunity that I've

731
00:24:37,819 --> 00:24:39,535
got at the moment. I'm on a very

732
00:24:39,535 --> 00:24:41,715
small journey. I'm on a 08/2012.

733
00:24:42,974 --> 00:24:45,315
So my focus will remain in my constituency.

734
00:24:46,575 --> 00:24:48,835
If I'm honest, I don't have the aspirations

735
00:24:48,974 --> 00:24:50,355
to be working in a ministry.

736
00:24:51,295 --> 00:24:52,494
I think the job that I've got is

737
00:24:52,494 --> 00:24:53,934
just about the most wonderful one in the

738
00:24:53,934 --> 00:24:56,299
world. And I wanna keep keep doing that

739
00:24:56,299 --> 00:24:57,600
because there's there's

740
00:24:58,299 --> 00:24:59,660
wonderful things that I'm able to do for

741
00:24:59,660 --> 00:25:00,400
my community

742
00:25:00,700 --> 00:25:02,059
and to be able to go out there

743
00:25:02,059 --> 00:25:03,180
and fight for that every day and to

744
00:25:03,180 --> 00:25:04,160
be able to do,

745
00:25:04,460 --> 00:25:05,759
again, some of the

746
00:25:06,424 --> 00:25:08,025
bit of quantum stuff over here, a bit

747
00:25:08,025 --> 00:25:09,464
of physics stuff over here, a bit of

748
00:25:09,464 --> 00:25:11,085
football over there, a bit of,

749
00:25:11,625 --> 00:25:13,784
support in whatever the community is over there,

750
00:25:13,784 --> 00:25:15,224
being able to spread myself around for the

751
00:25:15,224 --> 00:25:17,065
benefit of the community, something I'm really enjoying

752
00:25:17,065 --> 00:25:18,125
at the minute. So,

753
00:25:18,825 --> 00:25:20,825
yeah, pretty pretty comfortable with life on the

754
00:25:20,825 --> 00:25:22,889
backbenchers. I suppose there's always that, you can

755
00:25:22,889 --> 00:25:24,490
always go back into teaching if it doesn't

756
00:25:24,490 --> 00:25:26,250
if it doesn't work out. Not that I

757
00:25:26,250 --> 00:25:27,069
wish it doesn't.

758
00:25:27,529 --> 00:25:29,450
I mean, yeah, very very much my focus

759
00:25:29,450 --> 00:25:32,269
is on on delivery for my community. But,

760
00:25:32,569 --> 00:25:33,849
yeah, rumor has it we could do with

761
00:25:33,849 --> 00:25:35,025
a few more physics teachers.

762
00:25:36,144 --> 00:25:36,644
Alright.

763
00:25:36,945 --> 00:25:39,345
And before we finish, Dave, any final message

764
00:25:39,345 --> 00:25:41,585
or thought for the physics community? Would you

765
00:25:41,585 --> 00:25:43,924
encourage other people to follow in your footsteps?

766
00:25:45,105 --> 00:25:46,484
Absolutely. I think,

767
00:25:47,184 --> 00:25:49,125
if if we're talking about the physics community,

768
00:25:49,345 --> 00:25:51,970
there's so much that actually our community and

769
00:25:51,970 --> 00:25:53,329
our subject has got to offer to the

770
00:25:53,329 --> 00:25:53,829
country

771
00:25:54,289 --> 00:25:56,609
and to the world. And there's there's real

772
00:25:56,609 --> 00:25:57,990
innovation. There's real creativity.

773
00:25:58,609 --> 00:26:00,289
There's real knowledge actually about sort of the

774
00:26:00,289 --> 00:26:02,369
kind of fundamental stuff that affects us all.

775
00:26:02,369 --> 00:26:04,369
We've not mentioned climate change yet today. I

776
00:26:04,369 --> 00:26:06,384
feel I would be stupid to not mention

777
00:26:06,384 --> 00:26:07,765
that. It is the biggest,

778
00:26:08,144 --> 00:26:09,045
issue facing,

779
00:26:09,505 --> 00:26:11,345
the world at the moment. And actually, a

780
00:26:11,345 --> 00:26:13,205
lot of the solutions are gonna come from

781
00:26:13,345 --> 00:26:14,005
the physical

782
00:26:14,305 --> 00:26:14,964
come from

783
00:26:15,345 --> 00:26:17,285
the the physics world, first to speak.

784
00:26:17,585 --> 00:26:18,945
I think that me might get a plug

785
00:26:18,945 --> 00:26:19,605
for you

786
00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:20,779
brief publication.

787
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:23,080
And so, yeah, I think the more that

788
00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:25,240
we can do to get more physicists engaged

789
00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:26,619
with more decision makers,

790
00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:29,000
can only can only be good for not

791
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:30,519
only the future of the economy, for the

792
00:26:30,519 --> 00:26:32,460
future of innovation, create creativity,

793
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:34,575
but ultimately for the future of the planet.

794
00:26:35,375 --> 00:26:37,134
That's very positive. I forgot to ask you

795
00:26:37,134 --> 00:26:38,514
support. You've got to tell me

796
00:26:38,815 --> 00:26:40,654
that. So once upon a time, I would

797
00:26:40,654 --> 00:26:41,554
have said Liverpool,

798
00:26:41,855 --> 00:26:42,755
football club.

799
00:26:43,375 --> 00:26:45,454
But I've got to say actually, since we

800
00:26:45,454 --> 00:26:47,294
really get involved with local politics, I'm down

801
00:26:47,294 --> 00:26:49,454
at my, local semi pro teams as often

802
00:26:49,454 --> 00:26:51,119
as I can. So it's down in Littlefield,

803
00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:54,180
the city are both wonderful setups, and it's

804
00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:55,440
just really nice to be able to go

805
00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:57,599
down there where it's, it it turn up

806
00:26:57,599 --> 00:26:58,799
on the day and after you get ticket

807
00:26:58,799 --> 00:27:00,240
seven months in advance, you can have a

808
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:01,519
pint and watch the game, and it's,

809
00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:04,080
it's a lot of fun. So, yeah, by

810
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:06,785
all means, also, physics community, get out there

811
00:27:06,785 --> 00:27:08,625
and talk to decision makers, but get out

812
00:27:08,625 --> 00:27:10,805
and support your local selling proteins as well.

813
00:27:11,265 --> 00:27:13,105
Alright. Thanks so much, David. It's been great

814
00:27:13,105 --> 00:27:14,464
to have you on the on the podcast.

815
00:27:14,464 --> 00:27:16,305
Thank you. That's brilliant. Thank you very much

816
00:27:16,305 --> 00:27:17,045
for your time.

817
00:27:24,569 --> 00:27:28,269
That was the physicist and MP Dave Robertson

818
00:27:28,730 --> 00:27:31,869
in conversation with Physics World's Mateen Jurani.

819
00:27:32,490 --> 00:27:33,950
Thanks to both of them.

820
00:27:34,474 --> 00:27:36,955
I'm afraid that's all the time we have

821
00:27:36,955 --> 00:27:37,855
for this episode.

822
00:27:38,234 --> 00:27:41,195
I'm Hamish Johnston, and our producer is Fred

823
00:27:41,195 --> 00:27:41,695
Iles.

824
00:27:42,234 --> 00:27:44,714
The theme music for this podcast is called

825
00:27:44,714 --> 00:27:46,015
one three seven,

826
00:27:46,315 --> 00:27:48,335
and it was composed and performed

827
00:27:48,714 --> 00:27:49,615
by the physicist

828
00:27:50,429 --> 00:27:51,329
Philip Moriarty.

829
00:27:52,190 --> 00:27:54,049
We'll be back again next week.