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There’s no denying we are living in challenging times right now. The cost of living crisis isn’t subsiding, financial insecurity is on the rise, the climate crisis is worsening. We’re also living in an era where technology is reshaping quite literally everything, including the world of work with AI and automation ramping up.

Universal Basic Income (UBI) is being proposed as a way of safeguarding against these disruptions, bolstering income security and reducing poverty.

In this week’s article, we’ll walk you through:

• What universal basic income is
• Where, why and how is it being trialled
• The pros and cons of the introduction of universal basic income.

What is universal basic income?

The idea of Universal Basic Income stretches as far back as 1516 in Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, and it’s essentially a guaranteed income for everyone in society. As of late, following the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of automation and AI, it’s becoming a serious conversation.

It’s been tried in many places all over the world. In the US, for example, there are long-running UBI schemes, including in Alaska. It’s also seen in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Casino Dividend in North Carolina. Elsewhere, Finland has trialled UBI schemes, as have Spain, the Netherlands, Kenya, India and more. Currently, in Wales, there is a basic income pilot for 18-year-olds leaving the care system. Over 500 participants are receiving £1,600 a month for two years after turning 18.

As noted, the pandemic really revitalised conversation around UBI, and back in 2020, over 170 MPs and peers actually called for a basic income. As we know, this didn’t go forward, and instead, the government introduced furlough.

At the time, the now Prime Minister and then Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, told the Commons: “We’re not in favour of a universal basic income, although we have strengthened the safety net for the most vulnerable in our society with over £7bn invested in improving our welfare system.”

Speaking about the increasing need to pivot toward UBI, Will Stronge, the director of research at the thinktank Autonomy, said: “Our society is going to require some form of basic income in the coming years, given the tumult of climate change, tech disruption and industrial transition that lies ahead. This is why building the evidence base and public engagement now is so important, so the ground is well prepared for national implementation.”

What’s going on with the trials?

The UK is currently running a micro pilot scheme to test this out. Led by Autonomy, the scheme will run in central Jarrow, in north-east England, and East Finchley, in north London. A total of 30 people will be randomly selected from a group of volunteers, with 20% of places allocated to people with disabilities. They will receive £1,600 every month for two years. This will cost £1.15m across the two-year period.

Alongside this group, there will also be a control group, which will not receive the basic income amount, and their experiences will be monitored alongside the other group.

The likes of Green MP Caroline Lucas welcomed the plans and said: “It’s so exciting to see these plans for England’s first ever basic income pilot scheme,” she said. “We are in such uncertain times – worsening job insecurity, spiralling cost of living and a welfare state creaking at the seams.

“We need big, bold ideas to provide security and dignity for all – tackling poverty, improving wellbeing and transforming society. The government can’t ignore this idea any longer,” she added.

The Green Party has long advocated for its introduction. Back in 2019, for example, it became the first political party to promise a fully costed Universal Basic Income for every resident by 2025.

Meanwhile, Cleo Goodman, a co-founder of the initiative Basic Income Conversation, commented: “We’re hopeful that this plan will result in the first ever basic income pilots in England. No one should ever be facing poverty, having to choose between heating and eating, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Basic income has the potential to simplify the welfare system and tackle poverty in Britain.”

According to estimates, if this kind of UBI programme was implemented on a national level, it would reportedly cost just under £1 trillion.

Weighing up the pros and cons

There’s no escaping the working landscape looks very different on the horizon, and indeed, Stronge notes: “With the decades ahead set to be full of economic shocks due to climate change and new forms of automation, basic income is going to be a crucial part of securing livelihoods in the future.”

Further, he added that “all the evidence” demonstrates that it would “directly alleviate poverty” and “boost millions of people’s wellbeing.” He says that, ultimately, the potential benefits are “just too large to ignore.”

But, it’s not without its critics, and, as we’ve outlined above, it would be expensive, as well as requiring a huge overhaul of both our tax and social security systems. But, with such big disruptions to work and living in store, large-scale changes seem almost inevitable.

There are also critics who argue that UBI would de-incentivise people from working and result in inequity. That being said, regarding the former point, a Finnish study on UBI found that there was actually a greater incentive to work, and also meant that people had more time to pursue business ideas.

With the trial running for two years, it will be some time until we have data to analyse, but it’s an idea that’s increasingly entering the mainstream.