Friday 1 May 2020

Campaign reply - Universal Basic Income proposal


Thank you to those who have contacted me as part of a campaign around a Universal Basic Campaign.

This is not one I support and as such I did not sign the letter mentioned.

Each country have taken a different approach to providing financial support through the COVID-19 crisis. The UK’s coronavirus aid package is the second most generous in Europe, and one of the most generous when compared globally.

As for UBI more generally, while on the face of it the idea that every individual should receive a regular income from the government may seem like a fair and positive solution, this would present a whole range of different challenges.

Schemes of this nature are extremely costly and would benefit wealthy individuals who do not need this payment, which would be diverting funds from the most vulnerable.

The only research on it which is ‘promising’ are misleading because they are actively choosing extremely poor families in desperate need of money, and who under the welfare schemes we already have in this country would be eligible for financial support.

This article from the national Guardian newspaper from last year might also be of interest in explaining the issues behind UBI.


Thanks again to those who took the time write to me about this issue.