Government could be '10 years away' from rolling out universal basic income

Just over 200 years ago in the centre of Manchester, thousands of working men and women gathered in what is now St Peter's Square to make radical demands for parliamentary reform.

The meeting came on the back of war, spiralling prices and an economic slump and the events of that day sparked a debate that would ultimately lead to universal suffrage. Next week, a short walk from that site at the Friends Meeting House, policymakers and politicians will meet to make a series of fresh radical demands, again against a backdrop of war and a cost of living crisis.

The Basic Income North movement is calling on Westminster to be bold in the face of surging housing, food and energy prices, asking MPs to back a universal income (UBI). It would be similar to child benefit or the state pension, but it would be paid to all adults, regardless of their income.

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The idea has been suggested as a way of giving people more economic security and opportunities and has been trialled in countries including Finland and the Netherlands.

University of Salford lecturer Dr Dave Beck, who has helped to organise the conference, told the Northern Agenda podcast that the Government's current levelling up agenda is going "absolutely nowhere" and UBI would provide the North with a better path to becoming "financially sustainable".

Explaining the concept, he said: "UBI has got three core tenants, so it's universal, everybody's entitled to it. There's also no conditions attached to it, which is what we see with the universal credit system.

"What's also really important about UBI is that it's non withdrawable. With the universal credit system people's income can