By Chris Jarvis
New polling has found that a plurality of the British public support the introduction of a Universal Basic Income (UBI). A UBI is a scheme through which every person in the country would receive a payment from the state which is designed to help meet some or all of their basic needs and costs.
Advocates for a UBI argue that it could play a major role in alleviating poverty and addressing income inequality in the country by ensuring that nobody falls below a minimum standard of living.
The new poll found that 46 per cent of people in Britain support the introduction of a UBI, compared to 33 per cent who oppose it. The remaining 20 per cent said they didn’t know whether they support or oppose a UBI.
The poll also found that 50 per cent of people think a UBI would improve quality of life and 52 per cent think it would reduce poverty.
YouGov – who carried out the poll – also found that half (50 per cent) of those who support a UBI think it should cover all a person’s basic living costs, irrespective of other forms of income. Meanwhile, 45 per cent of UBI supporters think it should only cover some basic living costs, with people being expected to supplement the UBI with other forms of income.
Despite the levels of support for a UBI, the YouGov poll also found that more than half (56 per cent) of the public don’t think such a scheme would be affordable for the government.
Support for a UBI is highest among Labour voters – 61 per cent of whom said they support the measure. 54 per cent of Lib Dem voters said they back it, as did 31 per cent of Reform voters, and 21 per cent of Tory voters.
