Few details of how British science will fare under the new coalition government were revealed today at a press briefing with the newly appointed Conservative science minister, David Willets. But one message was loud and clear: scientists should expect cuts and expect them soon.

Sticking strongly to the Conservative party line, Willets told journalists that the UK’s finances are vulnerable, and that too much has been spent on public services. Science will not be exempt from cuts.

“I understand the value of science but there is a cash constraint on what we can afford,” Willets says.

A clearer indication of how big a hit science will take will come on 24 May when Chancellor George Osborne will set out where he intends to find £6 billion in savings from this year’s planned spending.

Willets did make some of the right noises, though. He said he understood the crucial importance of blue skies research. And, in what may be a sign of things to come, Willets expressed support for ideas espoused by Paul Nurse, the new president of the Royal Society — Britain’s national academy of science, that Britain should take a more elitist approach to the funding of science.