Dear UBI Friends and Supporters,
We hope you have a good summer in Leeds or wherever you are. Please find below a request for pre-election action and several updates about UBI.
- The UK general election is scheduled for next Thursday, 4 July 2024. Our friends from UBI Lab Network have made it very easy to send a short pre-election email to your MP Candidates.
You click on ‘Send an Email to Candidates’ and the Action Network website ‘Support the call – Emailing GE candidates’ opens. You fill in your details in the ‘Support the call’ section on the right and you will receive an editable letter advocating for UBI which you can use to email your candidates.
To find the contact details of your candidates at ‘Who Can I Vote For?’, you type in your postcode at the bottom of the webpage or search the name of your constituency.
Many thanks for your support. Together we can advocate for UBI and start working towards making real change for everyone.
- Political Party support for Basic Income:
As mentioned in the previous update the Green Party has included Universal Basic Income in the Election Manifesto. You can download the different Manifesto versions here and find Basic Income on page 19 of the long manifesto version and page 23 of the short manifesto version. Scottish Greens pledge to introduce Universal Basic Income pilots in communities across Scotland.
Many candidates of the Yorkshire Party support Basic Income trials.
In Wales the Plaid Cymru party manifesto (https://www.partyof.wales/manifesto/ ) states ‘Plaid Cymru support the principle of a universal basic income and will support pilots’. In Wales, there has been a universal basic income pilot with care leavers, and we await the findings of that project’.
- UBI Lab Leeds was present at the online ‘Climate and Nature Hustings’ on Thursday 27th June. You can watch the recording of the event (1 hr 58 mins) on the Climate Action Leeds YouTube channel. The question from UBI Lab Leeds (Reinhard) was posed to the MP candidates (1 hr 27mins to 36 mins) ‘Do the candidates support BI pilots in Leeds as an approach to creating a caring society for people and planet and provide a vital safety floor during crises such as weather extremes due to climate change’. It was a pleasant surprise that all candidates from the Yorkshire Party, Liberal Democratic Party, Green Party, Social Democratic Party and Labour Party present at the hustings supported BI pilots in Leeds with some reservations, especially related to housing, services and financing. You can watch the live hustings at https://youtu.be/qfG01VR2oUA .
- You may want to read the article (27 May) on the Al Jazeera website of BI researcher Neil Howard from the University of Bath ‘Billionaire backlash shows the power of basic income, The success of basic income pilots in the US has been followed by efforts to kill such programmes. The rich are scared.’
- Trondheim in Norway is proposing a BI trial for young people under 30 who are out of work or further education. It is the first BI scheme in Norway. The project is in the planning phase and you can read the English article here.
- Germany
Next weekend (6 July) the Network Basic Income (Netzwerk Grundeinkommen) will celebrate its 20th anniversary in Leipzig. You can find out more here (German).
The Pilot project Basic Income (Pilotprojekt Grundeinkommen) has completed its 3-year implementation phase in May. 122 people received a BI of monthly 1200 Euro and more than 1000 people participated in the control group. Now the data analysis has started and the results are planned to be published in January 2025. You can find out more here (German)
- South Africa
The Social Policy Initiative (SPI) has published a press statement on Youth Day (16 June) which marks 48 years since the Soweto uprising against Apartheid: ‘We the Youth are saying yes to universal basic income, jobs, and skills development’.
SPI has also published a Youth Month Special: ‘Youth Voices and Social Security Trends’. Several articles explain why UBI would be a big step forward for the youth and an enabler of township economy, job creation, and a tool for the creation of demand.
- Canada: Victoria City Council in British Columbia has passed a motion endorsing UBI on 13 June 2024. The motion cited better health outcomes, food security, higher productivity, economic prosperity, education, housing, community involvement and social cohesion. You can watch the brief discussion (4 min) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqBgh0BpiMQ
- USA:
A proposed measure to create a universal basic income program which would put US $750 annually in the pocket of every resident of Oregon state, including children, has officially qualified to be put on the ballot in November 2024 elections. The initiative, Oregon Rebate, proposes to increase the minimum corporate tax rate for Oregon-based companies making more than $25 million per year in sales to 3 percent tax, whereas the current minimum sits under 1 percent. You can find out more in the online Newsweek article by Giulia Carbonaro ‘Universal Basic Income is Close to Being a Reality in One State’
Natalie Foster has written a book ‘The Guarantee: Inside the Fight for America’s Next Economy.’ The book explores what it would be like if all people in the USA were guaranteed housing, health care, a college education, dignified work, family care, an inheritance and a stable income. You can find out more here.
- Global Basic Income: Basic income could solve global poverty and stop environmental destruction, study finds – An analysis of 186 countries found that providing basic income, or regular, set payments to all adults in the world, could boost global GDP by about 130 per cent. You can read a summary here on the website of the University of British Columbia or analyse the open access academic paper ‘Utilizing basic income to create a sustainable, poverty-free tomorrow’.
- Online Open Forum: The BIEN working group on Clarification of Basic Income Definition, 24 July, 12.30-14hrs UK time. If you are interested in an online presentation and discussion about the definition of BI, you can find out more and register here.
- BIEN has been invited to submit a proposal to the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) for the 2025 Review of the global Peacebuilding Architecture. You can download the proposal here and decide whether your organisation wants to endorse the proposal.
- Equal Right (formerly ‘World Basic Income’) is a global justice organization advocating for climate and economic justice without borders. Equal Right has developed a Cap and Share Proposal to Fight Climate Change and deliver a global universal cash payment to every person. You can find out more and register for the online webinar on 25 July, 10-11hrs BST, here.
- BIEN Congress 2024 ‘Reclaiming the Future. Basic Income and Socio-Ecological Transformation’
- Every year the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) organises a congress about Basic Income topics. This year the congress will be in person and virtual from 29 to 31 August at the University of Bath in the UK. You can register for the Congress and download the programme booklet here.
In solidarity and with hope
best wishes
reinhard on behalf of UBI Lab Leeds