Tell Marcus Rashford to back a Basic Income
Image Credit: From Marcus Rashford's Twitter
In June, England forward and newly-crowned national treasure Marcus Rashford single-handedly forced a U-turn from the government on free school meals during the summer holidays.
While the school meal vouchers are, to use Rashford's words, a much-needed sticking plaster, the policy does not address the root causes of poverty: inequality and insecurity.
Rashford, who experienced food poverty as a child, recognises that the vouchers are only a temporary solution to a deeper problem. Last night he tweeted:
UBI campaigners know that a guaranteed income would eliminate absolute poverty in this country. It would allow us to sweep away the complex apparatus of vouchers, benefits and rebates designed to mitigate the excesses of inequality without tackling its causes.
We know that until we address the chronic insecurity that millions of people in the UK experience every day, nothing will change for the better.
Marcus Rashford wants to hear from you.
UBI Lab are urging you to email him and ask him to back a basic income.
You can use our resources to write your email:
· UBI briefing from the UBI Lab Network
· Misleading claims and unfounded concerns about UBI
Rashford knows first-hand how it feels to not know where your next meal is coming from. He could be the most powerful advocate yet for the movement to end poverty and insecurity forever.
More about the author
Sam Gregory - @SamMGreg
UBI Lab Sheffield Chair and Network Media Strategist
Journalist and music editor at Now Then Magazine, occasional scribbler elsewhere (he/him).