Plans are being made for the first trial of Universal Basic Income payments in England, it has been revealed.
UK think tank Autonomy is seeking financial backing for a two-year pilot programme that would pay individuals a set monthly salary of £1,600 – a figure roughly in line with the living wage – regardless of their means.
The no-obligation payments will be paid to around thirty participants in north-east England and north London, with anyone living in the areas able to put themselves forward.
Following the success of the furlough scheme in the UK during the coronavirus pandemic calls for the adoption of Universal Basic Income schemes have picked up serious momentum.
Scottish Liberal Democrat politician Christine Jardine previously commented that the pandemic “has meant that we’ve seen the suggestion of a universal basic income in a completely different light”.
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Autonomy said it hopes its proposed pilot will “make the case for a national basic income and more comprehensive trials to fully understand the potential of a basic income in the UK”.
“No one should ever be facing poverty, having to choose between heating and eating, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world,” said Cleo Goodman, co-founder of Basic Income Conversation, a programme run by the work-focused think tank.
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Will Stronge, director of research at Autonomy, said: “All the evidence shows that [a UBI] would directly alleviate poverty and boost millions of people’s wellbeing: the potential benefits are just too large to ignore.”
Participants can either elect to apply or they will be drawn at random, with people able to remain anonymous throughout.
The organisers have also planned for the trial to use a representative group, made up of 20% of people with disabilities.
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Two years of community consultation has taken place in the area where the trial will be held in the lead up to its launch.
Universal Basic Income is not a new concept and trials have already been run successfully in other parts of the world.
Closest to home, a trial currently taking place in Wales means that 500 care leavers are now being given £1,600 a month as part of a £20m experiment.
Elsewhere, Iran saw a huge reduction of poverty and inequality in 2010, without people leaving the labour market, after giving citizens transfers of 29% of the median income each month. The country found that people used the extra money to invest in their businesses which led to the growth of small enterprises.
However, some critics of the concept in the UK say it could be extremely costly, divert funding away from public services, and might not help to alleviate poverty.
Featured image – Hhippopx.
UK News
Luke Littler is challenging amateurs to beat him at darts as part of a live Netflix event
Danny Jones
In an unprecedented new sports event in the world of streaming, North West sports star Luke Little is offering people the chance to try and win a game of darts against him live on Netflix.
Best of all, he and the entertainment platform have put up a huge grand prize for anyone who can beat the Warrington wonder.
So, for any of you who fancy yourselves as Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor reincarnated when stepping up to the oche down at the local, or if you’re simply bold enough to throw your name in the hat, you’ll want to pay attention for this one…
Announcing the special one-off sporting event on Netflix later this year, Luke Littler has issued the call-out to see if anyone can best him in a game of 501 in front of millions watching at home.
Quite literally the opportunity of a lifetime for fans of the arrows, this exclusive livestream is like nothing that the media giants have done before.
Having dipped their toes into the likes of live boxing fights over the past few years, they’ve definitely got a few live events under their belt, but this exciting and crucially interactive series of matches feels like something genuinely new for Netflix.
Most notably of all, using the name of the popular darts game played not only live on telly at competitions throughout the year but also at countless pubs across the country to set the prize fee, a prospective winner could potentially win £501k this autumn.
Imagine: half a million pounds for one (admittedly very tough) game of darts.
The only major caveat aside from, you know, him being an absolute phenom and already a serial winner is he also happens to be in the form of his life – his words and virtually everyone else’s.
"This is the best version of myself… I'm playing SO WELL!"
Luke Littler listens to some of the records he's broken in his ridiculous World Matchplay campaign 🤯 pic.twitter.com/EVQSrHxSHf
Having smashed Gerwyn Price to defend his World Matchplay Darts title on Sunday evening, cruising to an 18-9 victory with so many 100+ visits and finishes that he broke the tournament’s record average, which has stood since 2010, anyone who does come up against him is currently praying for a miracle.
Price himself told Sky Sports that the youngster’s performance looked ‘effortless’, quipping, “I hope there’s nobody else like him coming through!”
Still only 19, the local lad is the toughest of tasks for even the best on the pro circuit, but if you still somehow fancy your chances, heats will be taking place in Manchester and London, where the top 20 players will get their shot at the man himself on Friday, 30 October.
You can find out all the important information and sign up right HERE.
For now, why not see just how good Littler is playing at the minute and watch back his highlights from a record-breaking final this weekend?
Not that he’s ever truly cooled off, but he really is on fire at the minute.
When does the UK’s fourth heatwave of the year hit Greater Manchester?
Danny Jones
Brace yourselves: ANOTHER heatwave is set to hit the UK – the fourth in 2026 so far – and, understandably, Greater Manchester residents are already preparing for the latest blast of hot weather and wondering when it gets here.
Yes, in case you missed the news, more high temperatures are set to spread across Great Britain and Ireland this month and heading into August.
The increase will gradually build throughout this week, with Wednesday tipped to be the hottest day according to various meteorological sources.
Fortunately for us here in the North West, parts of the Midlands and the usual suspects down south are set to hit the highest numbers, but the thermometers are still on course to reach around the mid-20s over the coming days.
Temperatures are set to rise this week across some areas, bringing a return to hotter conditions 🥵
The heat looks to be fairly short-lived, however, with temperatures expected to fall again towards the end of the week 🌡️ pic.twitter.com/IKsunEdwhU
Estimates of 26°C have been predicted for this coming Tuesday, with the levels floating in and around 24/25 on the following Wednesday.
The heat is then due to drop off slowly, with top scores of no higher than 21°C on the cards for Thursday and Friday. Although the weekend forecast is less certain at present, one thing that has been announced is reduced rainfall.
Aside from a few more trickles today (Mon, 27 July), the showers or lack thereof cease rather soon, with some of the driest parts of the country already having various effects; for instance, parched parts of Wales have even revealed lost archaeological sites last Friday (24/7/2026).
It would be remiss if we didn’t mention the obvious moorland fires across our region, which were sadly exacerbated by hot weather earlier this month.
Following on from the hottest June on record, the Dovestone and Tinwhistle areas of Oldham and parts of Derbyshire saw hundreds of hectares turn into a deeply dangerous blaze for several days.
As per the latest statistics, it’s said that the equivalent of 1,250 football pitches were scorched following the alarming wildfire, which also raised concerns for wildlife and surrounding air quality.
Georgina Pellant -
5th June 2023 
