Basic Income UK

**Does income security kill ambition?**

A recent Fox News opinion piece argues that Universal Basic Income would be "a disaster" because it would weaken incentives, create dependency and undermine the work ethic that built America.

The evidence points in a different direction.

The article assumes that because previous technological revolutions created new jobs, AI will automatically do the same. But history is not a law of nature. AI is automating cognitive work across multiple sectors simultaneously. The question isn't whether new jobs will emerge, but whether they will appear quickly enough, in the right places, and at wages people can actually live on.

It also argues that UBI assumes people cannot adapt.

In reality, UBI assumes that adaptation costs money.

Retraining, moving for work, starting a business, caring for family or taking a risk all require a degree of economic security.

And what does the evidence say?

Finland's basic income experiment found improved wellbeing and trust, with employment outcomes slightly better than the control group.

Germany's three-year basic income study found participants did not reduce their working hours. Instead, they reported greater autonomy, life satisfaction and mental wellbeing.

Stockton, California's guaranteed income experiment found recipients were more likely to move into full-time employment than those who did not receive the payments.

In other words, security did not destroy ambition. It often helped people pursue it.

The article also asks the familiar question: "Who pays for it?"

A better question might be: **Who pays for poverty?**

Poor health.
Homelessness.
Crime.
Lost productivity.
A complex and expensive welfare bureaucracy.

Those costs do not disappear simply because they are spread across different government departments.

Perhaps the most revealing part of the argument is cultural rather than economic. It presents a false choice:

**UBI = dependency.**
**Economic insecurity = ambition.**

But the evidence from pilots and trials suggests something else.

People with a secure income floor do not simply stop contributing. They study, retrain, volunteer, care for others, start businesses and find better work.

Economic insecurity is not an innovation strategy.

A society that gives people the freedom to adapt may prove more resilient than one that relies on fear of poverty to drive participation.

Security doesn't kill ambition.

It enables it.

Here's why universal basic income would be a disaster for America’s future As AI transforms the economy, some tech leaders push universal basic income. This piece argues Americans need opportunity, not government checks.

With Basic Income Network Scotland – I just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉

Who “deserves” a basic income?

This piece from Simon Duffy & Daniel Mermelstein gets to the heart of it: once we stop thinking in stereotypes and start thinking about real people, the old “deserving vs undeserving” framing starts to fall apart.

Carers. Disabled people. Workers between jobs. Artists. Parents. Students. People displaced by technology. Most of us are closer to insecurity than we think.

UBI isn’t about rewarding idleness. It’s about recognising that everyone deserves a basic level of economic security and dignity.

Worth a read 👇

Citizen Network Research: Who Should Have a Basic Income?

https://citizen-network.org/library/who-should-have-a-basic-income.html

Citizen Network: Who Should have a Basic Income? The results of the first survey to establish who should receive a basic income are in.

Work shouldn’t be a survival trap.

Jörg Drescher shows how wage negotiations are distorted by economic pressure. Employees often accept low pay not out of choice, but out of necessity—rent, bills, childcare. Consent exists formally, but real freedom is constrained.

A Universal Basic Income changes that. Workers can negotiate confidently, employers can hire without desperation driving decisions. Agreements reflect value and contribution, not survival tactics.

Work is more than earning money. It begins with basic needs, but humans also create, care, teach, and shape culture. Modern systems tie survival to income, punishing those who can’t work or whose wages aren’t enough. Poverty is structural, not personal failure.

UBI separates survival from economic utility. It’s a floor that lets people choose how, where, and whether to work, turning labor into self-realization, not coercion. It’s not charity—it’s a social dividend, recognizing everyone’s role in society.

Security enables freedom. Choice is impossible under desperation. UBI isn’t a reward for diligence—it’s justice.

Wages, Work, and Universal Basic Income: Two conceptual articles by Jorg Drescher | BIEN — Basic Income Earth Network Wages, Work, and Universal Basic Income: Two conceptual articles by Jorg Drescher by Peter Knight | May 13, 2026 | Featured, News | 0 comments Jorge Drescher of Kyiv, Ukraine has written two thought-provoking articles posing conceptual issues related to wages, work, and basic income. The first artic...

Spain’s Minimum Basic Income (Ingreso Mínimo Vital - IMV) now protects 2.6 million people, including 1 million children. Average household payments are €540/month.

As Minister Elma Saiz says, it’s “not just a safety net, but a social investment – protecting children today means guaranteeing opportunities tomorrow.”

Two-thirds of recipient families have children, and 68% of beneficiaries are women, showing how the IMV supports families, reduces poverty, and provides stability for those carrying primary caregiving responsibilities.

A clear example of how guaranteed income builds security, opportunity, and a fairer future.

The Minimum Basic Income protects 2.6 million people, more than one million of whom are children The Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, points out that the Minimum Basic Income "is not only a safety net, it is also a social investment, since protecting children today means guaranteeing opportunities tomorrow." It now reaches 846,454 households, in which 1,052,837....

🌱 Rural Basic Income Sparks New Startups in Farming & Fishing Villages

A new report shows that areas participating in the Basic Income for Farming and Fishing Villages Pilot Project are seeing a surge in entrepreneurship. Youth-led businesses, community projects, and daily-life services—like hair salons, cafés, fitness centers, and food courts—are revitalizing local economies.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, 85% of distributed basic income was spent locally within two months, creating a virtuous cycle of growth and self-reliance. Support programs are helping young entrepreneurs bring creative ideas to life, further boosting regional economies.

This is proof that basic income doesn’t just support people—it strengthens communities.

New Startups Increase in Basic Income Pilot Regions for Farming and Fishing Villages... Number of Affiliated Stores Up 13.1% - The Asia Business Daily It has been found that new business startups have increased in areas participating in the 'Basic Income for Farming and Fishing Villages Pilot Project

I've joined over 300 artists, arts organisations, academics, think tanks and campaigners who have signed this open letter.

Add your name.

Tell Scotland's political parties and cultural institutions to deliver a basic income for artists ⬇️

Basic Income Network Scotland

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In November 2025, the Marshall Islands became the first country in the world to launch a permanent, nationwide universal basic income, distributing around $200 a quarter to every resident citizen through a combination of bank transfers, cheques, and a blockchain-based digital wallet.

The funding source is worth understanding: the Marshall Islands UBI is paid from the investment returns of a trust fund originally established as compensation for US nuclear testing on the islands in the 1940s and 50s.

That context is a crucial part of the story.

Resources extracted from a community, generating wealth held in trust for decades, are now being returned directly to the people who bore the cost.

It is probably the most significant development in basic income globally right now, but it is far from the only one.

What is running worldwide

- Wales launched a basic income trial for young people leaving the care system in 2022, providing £1,600 a month for up to two years from the age of 18, with results expected in 2027.
- Ireland has taken its Basic Income for the Arts scheme - a guaranteed monthly payment to working artists - from a pilot into a permanent programme this year.
- In South Korea's Gyeonggi Province, a targeted income programme has been running for farmers and fishermen across 24 cities and counties. - GiveDirectly's landmark 12-year UBI study in Kenya, which began in 2017 and enrolled around 23,000 participants across 195 villages, is still generating research findings and will run to its full conclusion, even as GiveDirectly itself has shifted its programming focus toward lump sum transfers following early results suggesting they outperform monthly payments for long-term asset building.

The picture is uneven - no wealthy country has yet committed to a universal, unconditional programme at national scale - but the direction of travel is clear, and the evidence base is growing year on year.

What the pilots are teaching us

The most consistent finding across the evidence is that direct, unconditional cash gives people agency in ways that conditional programmes and in-kind support do not - people invest in their children's education, in small enterprises, in the kinds of buffers that reduce vulnerability to climate shocks.

The Marshall Islands case adds something important: basic income can be designed not just as a welfare mechanism but as a dividend, a return on shared wealth, which changes how it is understood politically and socially.

That framing matters for how basic income connects to climate justice.

If communities are being asked to conserve forests, manage ecosystems, and absorb the costs of a crisis they did little to cause, a dividend paid from the proceeds of the carbon economy is not charity - it is a debt being settled.

What do you think the current generation of pilots most needs to test?

Byline - Dr Patrick Brown: UBI & Climate Justice Strategist | Executive Director, Equal Right | Churchill Fellow | Former MLA | PhD | Open to Consultancy & Collaboration

New from the UBI Piloters’ Network 👇

As AI accelerates, even tech leaders are calling for Universal Basic Income — but this new pledge asks them to back words with action.

Meanwhile, governments worldwide are already turning to cash support as crises deepen, exposing the limits of current systems.

UBI isn’t abstract anymore — it’s part of how we respond to real economic shocks.

Read more:

UBI Piloters' Network Newsletter 27, May, 2026

This is a welcome step forward.

The Scottish Green Party are proposing a basic income for care leavers — giving young people leaving care regular, unconditional financial support as they transition into adulthood.

We already have evidence from Wales, where a similar pilot (£1,600/month for two years) has helped care leavers with stability, wellbeing, and opportunity.

Care leavers are one of the clearest cases for income security:
no family safety net, higher risk of poverty, and major life transitions all at once.

A basic income here isn’t just support — it’s prevention.

It shows what’s possible when we provide people with security first, not last.

And it strengthens the case for going further:
👉 everyone deserves an income they can rely on.

Greens to introduce basic income for care leavers Greens to introduce basic income for care leavers - Time to create a fairer and kinder system.