by Kate McFarland | Oct 27, 2016 | News
On November 23, BIEN co-founder and honorary co-president Professor Guy Standing (SOAS, University of London) will deliver the 14th annual Kilbrandon Lecture in Strathclyde, Scotland.
In his lecture, titled “Addressing the needs of children and young people in Scotland: The potential of a Basic Income”, Guy will discuss the impact of economic insecurity and inequality on child poverty in Scotland and argue that a universal basic income is an necessary element in an economic system that avoids these ills.
The lecture will be chaired by Jennifer Davidson, Director of the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland. It will be followed by a drinks reception.
Initiated in 1999, the annual Kilbrandon Lecture honors the legacy of the judge Lord Kilbrandon, who chaired the committee whose report led to the formation of Scotland’s children’s hearings system in 1968. The lecture series receives support from the Scottish Government and University of Strathclyde.
Attendees must register online by November 11: ewds.strath.ac.uk/expo/KilbrandonLecture2016.aspx
On November 24, Guy will deliver a lecture on his new book, The Corruption of Capitalism, at the University of Strathclyde.
Photo CC BY 2.0 Catrin Austin
by Kate McFarland | Aug 17, 2016 | News
Scotland’s Extra Second Poetry, a monthly meet-up group based in Glasgow, is about to launch a six-month series of events on basic income. The inaugural event will take place on Friday, August 19 at the social enterprise café For Fika Sake.
Over the course of five hours, the event will feature a variety of speakers from the Scottish National Party (SNP), Green Party, and trade unions, as well as academics and activists. It will additionally feature some artistic performances, including the spoken word of Bibi June Schwithal and music of Caitlin Buchanan.
Biographies of all speakers are available on the Facebook event page.
The event will be live-streamed, and there will be time for open discussion between the speakers and audience–both those who are physically present and those listening online. Attendance is free.
Basic income has enjoyed recent popularity in left-wing Scottish politics, with both the SNP and Scottish Greens endorsing universal basic income in the past two years. Last spring, BIEN cofounder Guy Standing delivered the Angus Millar Lecture on the topic of basic income in relation to Scotland.
More information about the event:
Maxine Blane, “Events campaign exploring universal basic income launches“, CommonSpace; August 16, 2016.
Facebook event: “Exploring a Universal Basic Income – Glasgow“, hosted by Extra Second Poetry.
Livestream: “Exploring a Universal Basic Income“, Independence Live.
Background about the Scottish political context:
Jonny West, “SCOTLAND: Scottish National Party Conference calls for universal income“, Basic Income News; March 29, 2016.
Toru Yamamori, “SCOTLAND: Greens Manifesto 2015 refers to BIG“, Basic Income News; April 13, 2015.
Photo: CC BY-NC 2.0 Giuseppe Milo
by Kate McFarland | Aug 6, 2016 | News
As previously reported on Basic Income News, economist and BIEN co-founder Guy Standing (SOAS University of London) delivered the prestigious Angus Millar Lecture for RSA Scotland last May.
A video of Standing’s Angus Millar Lecture has been made available online, with some pretty cool music at the beginning.
Democracy TV, “Professor Guy Standing – Basic Income – in relation to Scotland,” YouTube; published on May 18, 2016.
Image Credit: Stan Jourdan, BIEN Congress 2012
by Kate McFarland | May 12, 2016 | News
Tuesday, May 17, 2016, Professor Guy Standing will deliver the RSA Scotland’s prestigious Angus Millar Lecture.
In the lecture, “Professor Standing will explore the concept of Basic Income, particularly in relation to Scotland, which has gone from being a fringe political concept to one being discussed and piloted around the world.”
Guy Standing is a Professor of Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and co-founder and honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network.
The RSA, a British think tank, has been active in promoting the idea of a basic income, and developed a detailed model for a basic income last December.
See the event details here for more information, or to register for the free public event.
Too late to a book a trip to Scotland? Great news: Standing’s lecture will also be streamed live on YouTube!
Image Credit: Stan Jourdan, BIEN Congress 2012 (flickr)
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by Jonny West | Mar 29, 2016 | News
The Scottish National Party (SNP), Scotland’s largest party and the UK’s third largest party, agreed to a motion supporting the introduction of a basic income in Scotland at its spring conference, held on 12-13 March 2016.
The motion, which was submitted for agreement by the Cumbernauld SNP branch, explicitly opposes the UK government’s approach to social security and proposes an alternative formed around the introduction of a basic income. The motion states that the “conference believes that a basic or universal income can potentially provide a foundation to eradicate poverty, make work pay and ensure all our citizens can live in dignity.” Ronnie Cowan MP (SNP) argued that a basic income could “be the flagship policy for a socially just independent country.”
The SNP is not the first group to support the introduction of a basic income this year.
In February 2016, Reform Scotland, an Edinburgh-based free market think tank, published The Basic Income Guarantee. In the report, Reform Scotland argue that the introduction of a basic income guarantee is the best way to resolve fundamental problems with the current social security system in the UK. On the other side of the economic discourse, Common Weal, a Glasgow-based social democratic think tank, is also advocating for the introduction of a basic income as part of the social security system for a newly independent Scotland.
Indeed, interest in a Scottish basic income stretches back even farther, to before the Scottish referendum on independence. In preparation for the possibility of a vote in favour of an independent Scotland, the Scottish government established the Expert Working Group on Welfare to explore possible social security systems. In June 2014, the group stated that, “the case for a Citizen’s Basic Income was prevalent throughout the responses to our Call for Evidence.” Nevertheless, the group went on to conclude that, “we would not recommend the introduction of a [basic income] at this time. However it is an option that could be revisited in the future.”
With a consensus now forming around the basic income idea in Scotland, perhaps the time to revisit this option has come.
Moreover, the SNP’s support for a basic income does not stop at the borders of an independent Scotland: the SNP is also emerging as a key force behind campaigns for a UK basic income. In January 2016, Caroline Lucas MP (Green Party) tabled an Early Day Motion before the UK parliament on the topic of a basic income.
Of the 32 MPs that supported her parliamentary motion, 23 were from the SNP. In light of this development, it could be that the SNP, though championing a progressive vision for an independent Scotland, ultimately succeeds in creating a progressive, unified United Kingdom.
