Hull seeks trial of universal basic income

After a cross-party group of councillors formally backed the notion, Hull is seeking to become the first UK city to test a weekly universal basic income for its residents.

The proposal, which has been trialled with varying success in Finland, the US and Kenya, would mean every adult in Hull would be paid a basic sum – potentially between £50 and £100 a week – regardless of income, and do away with the need for welfare.

Under the arrangement, people receiving disability payments would instead get the equivalent sum in universal basic income (UBI) and there would be higher payments for pensioners and lower sums for children.

Matt Jukes, the chief executive of Hull city council, has written to Chancellor Sajid Javid to request permission to pilot UBI after recently winning the backing of councillors.

The government has previously claimed that the proposal would not work for those who need more support such as disabled people and those with caring responsibilities. The Labour Party made the policy part of election manifesto last year, proposing to trail UBI in Liverpool and Sheffield.

Sam Gregory, who chairs a UBI lab in Sheffield in support of the scheme, said Hull’s backing was an important moment for basic income in the UK. He said: “Three major northern cities – Liverpool, Sheffield and Hull – have now asked to host pilots of this radical new idea, because the Westminster way of doing things has failed these communities for far too long. Even the Conservative councillors in Hull voted for this motion, saying that they were open-minded about a pilot in the city. We don’t know if UBI is the answer, but there’s a growing consensus between different political parties that we need to test it out.”