A universal basic income pilot at local authority scale

The theoretical arguments for and against UBI are well rehearsed. What we lack is robust UK-specific evidence. Finland ran a two-year trial involving 2,000 participants. The results showed improved wellbeing, higher trust in institutions, and no reduction in employment. Similar pilots in Canada and Kenya have produced comparable findings.

But Finland is not Britain. The interaction of UBI with our tax system, housing market, and welfare infrastructure would produce different effects. We need to find out what those effects are before committing nationally.

Fund a properly designed, three-year UBI pilot in two or three local authority areas, with randomised control groups and independent academic evaluation. The cost would be significant but bounded. The knowledge gained would be invaluable. We cannot keep debating UBI in the abstract. At some point, you have to test the hypothesis. That is how evidence works.