Photo: Buchanan Institute team at a brainstorming event.
The Buchanan Institute, Scotland’s only student-led think tank, has prepared a report (“A Secure Foundation to Build Our Lives”) that makes a case for universal basic income in the UK.
The report will be launched at a University of Edinburgh event on January 26.
The Buchanan Institute’s recommendations for a UBI draw upon previous work by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), especially the report “Creative Citizens, Creative State” by Anthony Painter and Chris Thoung, and the Citizen’s Income Trust. In particular, it looks to the RSA’s proposal as one that meets three core requirements laid out in the report: “that the proposal is fiscally sound, practically achievable and is within reasonable budget constraints; that it ensures that the least-well-off, particularly low-earners with children, are well supported; and that it ensures low marginal deduction rates, making work pay for the majority of earners.” However, the Buchanan Institute proposes some adjustments to the RSA’s basic income scheme, specifically concerning the amount of the basic income allotted to adults aged 18 to 24 (who, under the RSA’s scheme, would receive transfers lower than those paid to adults over age 25) and to children.
After assessing previous models and research on basic income, the Buchanan Institute proposes a UBI of £7,420 per annum for adults over age 65 (i.e. current pensioners), £3,692 for adults aged 18 to 65, £2,925 for children aged 5 to 17, £3,839 for firstborn children under age 5 and £3,387 for additional children under age 5. The report estimates the cost of such a UBI, implemented across the UK, at between £14 and £19 billion per annum — an amount that the author claims is not out-of-line with previous revenue decisions (e.g. tax cuts) and “affordable and achievable with the necessary political will”.
In conclusion, the report recommends that the British government commission a pilot study in a “medium-sized” city or town (defined as having a population between 250,000 and 500,000), in which participants are provided with an unconditional basic income at levels matching those proposed by the Buchanan Institute. Additionally, it recommends the Work and Pensions Committee of the House of Commons, which recently held an oral evidence session on basic income, to investigate the Buchanan Institute’s proposed UBI.
The report is authored by Jonny Ross-Tatam, founder of the Buchanan Institute and a student of history at the University of Edinburgh.
Launch Event
The official launch of the report will take place at a public event at the University of Edinburgh on January 26, 2017.
The event will also feature talks from Glasgow Councillor Matt Kerr, who has been instrumental in spearheading the movement for a basic income pilot in the city, and RSA Scotland leader Jamie Cooke, who is also involved in the planning of regional pilots in Scotland. At present, basic income pilot studies are being considered in both Fife and Glasgow.
While emphasizing that the Buchanan Institute is “very supportive of pilot projects being commissioned anywhere in the UK,” Ross-Tatam expresses hope that the organization can begin to act on its recommendations within the Scottish context: “As part of our launch, we will call on those leading the basic income pilots in Fife and Glasgow to consider the payment levels we have proposed for these pilot projects. We hope that the Buchanan Institute and our work on basic income can contribute to any pilot projects that take place in Fife and Glasgow.”
For more details about this free event, as well as registration information, see its pages on Facebook and Eventbrite. (Note that, as is just and fair, wine and beer will be served at the beginning of the event.)
More Information
• Ross-Tatam has written a summary of the report for the RSA’s blog (December 21, 2016).
• “A Secure Foundation to Build Our Lives” develops ideas that Ross-Tatam earlier articulated in his TEDx talk “Why we shouldn’t have to work just to survive” (February 2015), in which he argues that a basic income should be supported as a way to allow people to pursue their passions:
N.B. Two days following the Buchanan Institute event, BIEN’s Scottish affiliate, Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland, will be holding an event in Kelty, Scotland, with further discussion of the pilots currently being planned in Scotland.
Article reviewed by Jonny Ross-Tatam and Danny Pearlberg.
Images used with permission of Jonny Ross-Tatam.
