UK state should pay for housing, food, transport and internet, says report

'Universal basic services' costing about 42bn could be funded through higher taxes, say Jonathan Portes and academics

Free housing, food, transport and access to the internet should be given to British citizens in a massive expansion of the welfare state, according to a report warning the rapid advance of technology will lead to job losses.

Former senior government official Jonathan Portes and Professor Henrietta Moore, director of University College London's Institute for Global Prosperity make the call for a raft of new "universal basic services" using the same principles as the NHS. They estimate it would cost about 42bn, which could be funded by changes to the tax system.

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