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The idea of a basic income has been around a long time. Economists, philosophers and politicians have long debated how to abolish poverty. The 1945 Labour Government began this journey in earnest by establishing the welfare state; and it worked for many decades. It took the unemployed, those unable to work and those in low paid work out of poverty.

It worked reasonably well in a society where there was near full employment , strong trade unionism and a public commitment to the common good .

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The first Welsh Lab was founded in Cardiff on the 1st May 2020. Since then a national Lab and 3 further county and city Labs have been founded; making incredible progress in getting UBI on the table politically and into the public conscious across the country.

They will be doing the latest takeover of the Blog with perspectives from representative across the political spectrum in Wales and from each of the Labs and their CoFounders.

Here are some of the co-founders involved:

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Following 10 years of tory-driven austerity and the introduction of Universal Credit, our current welfare system fails to protect the most vulnerable women in our society. At present, according to the House of Commons Library 86% of austerity cuts have fallen on women. This is largely because men still disproportionately earn more than women, who therefore, are more likely to claim benefits that have experienced cuts, such as child tax credit. Now, more than ever, a drastic shift is needed so that our welfare system supports women in poverty

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When Universal Basic Income is realised in the UK, our movement may have to reconcile with the fact that the universality we champion is only universal to some of the animals on the farm. Recently, I mused of how a Universal Basic Income could be the get out of poverty card for everybody - until I stopped myself when I thought of women seeking asylum.

The pandemic has shown how people living within our borders with “no recourse to public funds” (NRPF) were missed out of the safety nets implemented by the government.

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I run the Brighton-based Mothers Uncovered, which I set up due to my own experiences of feeling panicky and isolated after becoming a mother. We provide creative peer support groups for mostly new, isolated mums. All our activities are run by past participants, who are paid to run sessions; sometimes they, and others, are faintly surprised that the work is not voluntary.

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Write something about motherhood and basic income, they said. Two topics that have occupied a significant amount of my mental energy for the last few years - and somehow, when I sat down to write this during the biggest global crisis of my life, I was choked by having so much and yet so little to say.

Because how can you possibly convey the reality of motherhood in lockdown? The thousand giddy triumphs and crashing failures that propel you through days both endless and far too short to ever achieve anything.

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Hi, my name is Beatrice, I’m a student from London I’m just about to begin my a-levels and I’m honoured to be speaking at this event this evening alongside such incredibly inspiring, better qualified and long term supporters of a basic income. I believe I first learnt about a UBI at the age of 11 when Nathalie Bennett, who was then the leader of the green party, mentioned it on a visit she paid to my school. I find it hard to believe that five years later I am speaking alongside the current leader of the green party and two other, such accomplished speakers.

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UBI Lab Womxn was the second non-geographical Lab in the Network.

They will be doing a week long takeover of the Blog this week.

Here are some of the co-founders and those involved:

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A Universal Basic Income would create opportunities for young people right across the UK who have become unemployed and who face financial hardship because of coronavirus. As of mid-August, over 700,000 people in the UK have lost their jobs due to the negative economic impact of the virus. The majority of those that have lost work have unfortunately been young people…

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The likelihood of Universal Basic Income (UBI) becoming a reality in the United States looks promising. The Climate breakdown is still happening. It’s not going to stop unless we do something about it. We can’t carry on as we are and just hope the problem goes away. It’s a monumental challenge for humanity to confront, and it’s going to require drastic change in every area of society.

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The likelihood of Universal Basic Income (UBI) becoming a reality in the United States looks promising. The Presidential Election happening on November 3rd will be essential for the continuing momentum for UBI in the United States. Establishing a respectable floor during the pandemic will be essential to restoring the U.S. economy. With Coronavirus running rampant millions have lost their jobs and income.

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UBI Lab Youth was the first non-geographical Lab in the Network.

They believe in a UBI could be a way to drastically improve the lives of people across the country and coming out of this crisis could be their generation's equivalent of the introduction of the NHS.

Meet five of the co-founders.

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Jonathan Williams being interviewed by Alexis Conran on his new weekend afternoon - Times Radio - show for the UK, on the newly launched station from the Times and Sunday Times newspapers.

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Patrick Brown, Jonathan Williams and Guy Standing being interviewed by Phil Williams on his new evening show - Times Radio - show for the UK, on the newly launch station from the Times and Sunday Times newspapers.

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Authors: Caroline Richardson (lead author) & Dr Simon Duffy

This short paper describes radical reform of the welfare system:

• Everyone gets a secure basic income

• People who faces extra costs gets additional bolt-on allowances

This idea is called Basic Income Plus or UBI+

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This CLP notes with interest the results of the Basic Income trial in Finland. In the basic income experiment, 2,000 unemployed persons were paid a monthly tax-exempt basic income of 560 euros regardless of any other income they may have had or whether they were actively looking for work. The basic income recipients were selected through random sampling among those who in November 2016 received an unemployment benefit from Kela (Social Insurance Institution of Finland).

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