‘Universal basic income could boost economy’
ACAMPAIGN for people in Rhondda Cynon Taf to receive a universal basic income (UBI) has been launched.
UBI Lab is setting up a branch in RCT having already established a Wales-wide and Cardiff branch to pilot and promote the idea.
Jonathan Williams founded the Cardiff branch alongside Liam Richards – and now Mr Richards and Shaun Thomas from the Green Party are taking the idea forward in RCT.
The idea is that everyone would receive an income to cover basic costs and it has been mooted as a response to the economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus.
There is no firm proposal yet for how much people might get and how many people would get it, but they are considering a number of proposals.
Mr Richards, a housing strategy officer at RCT Council, said Mr Williams had often discussed the idea with him, adding they are both politically engaged and from a trade union background.
Mr Richards said: “I thought I could definitely contribute to what Jonathan wanted to do in Cardiff by getting a motion passed.
“I live in RCT. I grew up in RCT. It made a lot of sense for me to cofound the RCT Lab.
“With Covid, it was a really big opportunity. We had to while the iron was hot.”
Mr Williams, who is behind the Wales-wide UBI Lab, said: “I have been interested in the idea for quite some time. Back in 2013 I had a conversation with a young mum. Her employer was trying to increase her hours from 16 to 20.
“She could have lost tax credits. The practical cost to her was huge.”
He said that he’d seen a smallscale pilot in London which had been successful and thought he could pilot something on the same scale in Cardiff. However, he felt it would be difficult to do it just in Cardiff because other areas would want to do it as well, so he set up a Lab for Wales.
Mr Williams said he became strike interested in the idea when he joined the Green Party in university and thought it might help people with massive student debts, help people say no to precarious jobs and allow people to retrain into green industries.
Mr Richards said they might need some alternative legislation, and at the moment the goal is to push the idea and the benefits of a universal basic income.
Mr Richards said: “It gives people the autonomy to go and retrain. It’s a mining local authority. That doesn’t exist anymore. People have to travel into Cardiff or get jobs which are not high pay.”
Mr Williams said: “It gives people that confidence to take that leap of faith. People can start their own business as well.
“It is encouraging entrepreneurialism, which will lay the foundation for that new economy.”
Mr Thomas said it also has potential environmental benefits in terms of reducing people’s commutes as Cardiff is one of the most polluted cities in the UK.
“We hope to reinvigorate the local economy so people don’t have to travel for work.
“There is a lot to be said for UBI being a safety net for people. We have to transfer to a green economy. It’s about doing that in a socially just way.”