It could end poverty ... or bankrupt UK!

A UNIVERSAL basic income is not means-tested – so everyone gets a set amount regardless of their work status or salary.

However, criminals could get less, while the disabled may be given more. Supporters claim the idea would cut poverty and end the stigma attached to means-tested benefits.

But opponents say it would be too costly – placing too big a tax burden on those in work. The Green Party campaigned for a minimum payment of £7 a week before the last election, but dropped the idea because of the ruinous cost, which was put at £ 80billion a year.

In Canada, officials in Ontario are trialling payments of £765 a month to ,500 adults. A basic income of about £500 a month is being handed out to jobless adults in Finland.