Five key properties of UBI are:
Universal – paid to everyone in society
Unconditional – paid regardless of a person’s circumstances
Individual – paid to individuals, not households
Substantial – enough to live on
Permanent – non-withdrawable and secured by legislation
About 30 years ago I adapted a phrase of Kant in my public health master dissertation ‘Any attempt of a technical solution for the global health problems of today is likely to fail, if it avoids to address the underlying ethical challenge, whether all human beings are ‘ends’ or many are ‘means’ for the ‘ends’ of some. Since then I have reflected how human beings can treat each other as ends and not as means and give practical meaning to the universal declaration of human rights ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’.
Read MoreMy name is Leo, I’m a 20 year-old (almost) graduated student who lives in Cardiff, and I recently became involved in the new group UBI Lab Cardiff. I’m incredibly passionate about Universal Basic Income (UBI), not only because I’m adamant that it’s the best policy for the government to adopt because of its benefits for everybody in society, but also because I believe UBI is especially beneficial for young people, and more specifically, young workers.
Read MoreSimon Duffy being interviewed on RT UK News
If a DEEP recession is incoming, then how will the country cope with the inevitable job losses?
Read MoreJust as it has exposed the weakness of our bodies to a novel pandemic, the coronavirus has laid bare the precarious nature of our economic system. Financial crises have been and gone and are an inevitable by-product of a market economy, but this time is different. Never before has the core component of the economy – people being able to go about their daily business – been threatened in such a fundamental way.
Read MoreThis briefing gives an overview of UBI as an idea, as well as its impacts and some practical proposals for it. It should be useful for you and journalists - to ensure they have all of the information at their fingertips.
1) A UBI would be a regular and equal payment to everyone every week or month.
2) Universal payments and services guarantee support for everyone.
3) A UBI would effectively be a raise in incomes for millions of lower and middle income households, many of whom are one unexpected payment away from debt.
Read MoreOn 18h July 2019, we had the pleasure of attending a discussion on Universal Basic Income in our home town of Liverpool, UK. Amongst others on the panel was John McDonnell MP, shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and Professor Guy Standing, co-founder of the Basic Income Earth Network.
In a wide-ranging conversation between Professor Standing and our Patrick Hurley prior to the event, he spoke freely on his influences, his worries for the future, and the values that underpin his politics; he also told us what happened the time he got locked in a room with Boris Johnson…
Read MoreUBI supporters in their admirable aim to resolve the issues faced by the precariat are being seduced into trying to solve the many problems with existing or lack of social benefits. Currently in the UK, they seem to be preoccupied with arguments addressing the shortcomings of Universal Credit. This is a distraction.
There have been many pilots of all different kinds all with some positive and very few negative results but none have led to the implementation of UBI. Why?
Read MoreJonny Ross-Tatam being interviewed by James O’Brien on his Leading Britain's Conversation LBC - talk radio for the UK, letting you have your say on the big issues of the day and affecting London and the UK.
Read MoreAs the COVID-19 crisis continues, attention is now turning to the consequences for the economy and household finances once the lockdown ends. As the restrictions are lifted, the government’s income protection schemes will be wound down. Households who do not regain their old jobs will suffer large earnings losses. Meanwhile, the millions not covered by the government’s measures will have endured months of hardship. In addition, the economy will need a demand boost to avoid a prolonged recession and give businesses the confidence to reopen and begin hiring people again.
Read MoreDespite the Government’s welcome support measures, we still need an Emergency Universal Basic Income
We need a Universal Basic Income to ensure that everyone has financial security and nobody falls through the cracks of both the Government’s support packages and our welfare system.
Modelling from the Royal Society of Arts has shown that their Emergency UBI scheme would leave 74% of the self-employed better off, particularly those on lower incomes, when compared to the Government’s help for the self-employed.
Read MoreIn the late 1980s our union first published proposals for a citizen’s income – what we would now call universal basic income. This was long before the idea became fashionable.
Our proposal was simple – we would give an income of two thirds the average GDP per person to everyone, so long as they contributed meaningfully to society for a specified number of hours a week.
Read MoreThis is a proposal for an Emergency UBI of £500 per month for every working age adult and £200 per month for every child.
A Universal Basic Income is an unconditional and regular cash payment to everybody. Although there are slight differences, it works in a similar way to other payments like the basic state pension and child benefit.
While a permanent UBI would have provided vital security during this crisis, this is a proposal for an ‘Emergency UBI’
Read MoreDear Rishi Sunak MP,
The Covid-19 crisis has shown why we need to trial a Universal Basic Income
The recent Covid-19 outbreak has brought home just how vulnerable many of us are in a crisis like this. Many households across the country are already being pushed to the limit by the precarious circumstances so many workers find themselves in.
Read MoreMichael Pugh, Co-Founder and Director, reflects on his journey through Basic Income as the Basic Income Conversation launches.
Whatever you think of Basic Income, it’s an idea that sticks in your mind. I first heard the idea of giving everyone a regular cash payment, no strings attached, when I was student. It was bold and interesting but I was unsure. I decided to focus my energy on the Living Wage Campaign.
Read MoreIn January 2020, Hull City Council unanimously passed a motion calling for Hull to be the first place in the UK to pilot a UBI. This has sparked significant amounts of national press and has raised a number of ‘claims’ about Basic Income that need rebuking. We hope the government will listen to Hull City Council and the evidence behind the potential of a UBI to reduce poverty and tackle economic insecurity for many millions in this country.
However, the government has previously made some false claims regarding UBI and we want to highlight some of these, as many are highly misleading and based on flimsy evidence.
Read MoreSupport for a Basic Income is growing across the North, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor has suggested that Basic Income trials could be in the party’s election manifesto and many northern politicians want to trial it in their communities.
Support for a Universal Basic Income is growing across the North of England. A network of local groups – known as UBI Labs - have been established to explore Basic Income in their communities. They involve a collaboration between…
Read MoreThe Sheffield UBI Lab proposal for pilots includes three different models of a Universal Basic Income for testing. Let’s call these ‘The Tweak’, ‘The Top-Up’, and ‘The Transformation’.
I’ll get onto what these different models are in a moment. However, as has been covered in this blog previously, we need to have foundations underlying our approach to a UBI. This blog explores the reasoning underpinning our pilot proposals, from moral principles through to research priorities.
Read MoreOn 13 September, The Breaching Experiment releases the album E.O.W. and a new musical genre is born: sociological metal. It may sound a bit pompous – sociological themes have surely surfaced before – but it is to my knowledge the first metal album explicitly built on sociological theory. And the idea of Universal Basic Income (UBI) makes its appearance on it.
Read MoreI'll bet you've never contemplated having to stare at a form and fill in how many times you shit yourself over the course of an average week, month or year.
For me, as a person in receipt of Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payments due to epilepsy, I get a delightful form sent to me once a year asking me just that. It orders me to search my feelings and tell them how disabled I am.
