Everyone is feeling the pinch amid the cost of living crisis, with most struggling to make ends meet at the end of the month. But a selection of very lucky people across England could be handed £1,600 a month with no strings attached.
Think tank Autonomy is seeking financial backing for a two-year pilot programme which would see 30 people paid £1,600 a month for doing nothing at all. Jarrow, in Tyne and Wear, and East Finchley, in north London, have been selected for the scheme where participants will be monitored by researchers.
There are, of course, supporters and critics of the universal basic income pilot. Green MP Caroline Lucas said: "So exciting to see plans for England’s first ever basic income pilot.
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"We need big, bold ideas to provide security and dignity for all – to tackle poverty, help job security, improve wellbeing and transform society. Government can no longer ignore it."
Will Stronge, director of research at Autonomy, said universal basic income "could be transformative for welfare in this country".
He said: “All the evidence shows that it would directly alleviate poverty and boost millions of people’s wellbeing: the potential benefits are just too large to ignore.
“With the decades ahead set to be full of economic shocks due to climate change and new forms of automation, basic income is going to be a crucial part of securing livelihoods in the future.”
But Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith, chairman of the Blue Collar Conservatism group which champions working people, branded it an "absolutely dreadful idea".
He said: "They’ll be surprised to hear there’s a system already in place regarding income, which is widely referred to as ‘employment’
"Who pays? An absolutely dreadful idea and I think the people behind this initiative will struggle to raise the funds necessary."
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