Closed petition Replace the Benefit System with a Universal Basic Income for all

Closed on 30 March 2015

The Government should replace the current Benefit System with a Universal Basic Income paid to all.

Universal Basic Income would completely replace all current welfare payments (excluding benefits for the severely disabled). Universal Basic Income (UBI) is an economic system whereby every citizen within that society receives a unconditional set amount of money designed to cover the basic standard of living. UBI would therefore immediately ensure that regardless of circumstances nobody in 21st century Britain would be forced to live in abject poverty.

In the current welfare system there is a disincentive to work as employment income reduces benefit payment to the point where work is not worth while. With UBI working people would gain greater freedom to invest their time and/or money into a greater variety of vocational pursuits thus increasing divergence in the capitalist market and improving the economy, knowing that their basic needs will still be met.