Universal basic income is no panacea for us – and Labour shouldn’t back it | Sonia Sodha

What used to be a pet project of libertarians is gaining wider support. But a poverty backstop is no alternative to the economic and social reform we need

There aren't many ideas that unite trade unionists, the libertarian right, the green movement, and the Silicon Valley tech scene . But that's the rainbow alliance backing a universal basic income, a centuries-old idea posited as the solution to a range of 21st-century problems. Is its surprising coalition of bedfellows a sign of an idea whose time has at last resoundingly come - or a symptom of a catch-all, superficial fix in search of a problem?

Universal basic income, sometimes called a citizens' income, is the idea that the state should pay every adult citizen a regular, modest income. It is a no-strings payment, so unlike benefits currently available to people of working age, it is not means tested. You get it regardless of whether you have a job, are looking for work, or whether you are even willing to work.