This is the blog I started a fortnight ago but accidentally deleted. I could write an entire treatise without covering a fraction of what I have to say. These are my initial thoughts, I’ld welcome comments if I can learn from them.

Universal Credit was supposed to consolidate several benefits into one but it has demonstrated failed! It still leaves too many hoops for claimants to jump through and for those who are actually in work it’s a subsidy to their employer who should be paying them a living wage!

A guaranteed basic income would have many benefits:

• Young people could attend university without worrying about accruing a debt they’re unable to pay
• Those with creative skills would be able to develope their talents without the distraction of doing mundane work to earn a living.
• Anyone in an abusive relationship would be able to flee that relationship
• Anyone seeking work would be supported, for as long as it takes, to find a job that suits them instead of trying to fit square pegs into round holes!
• All pensioners, regardless of any other income, could be assured of a comfortable retirement

In the long run the government would be saving money when you consider how much it costs to administer the current system. The junior civil servants currently administering payments of legacy benefits (I once was one of them) are low paid and can’t afford to quit their jobs for conscientious reasons. You need to be well seated before you rock the boat.

Who thinks it’s fair that I’ll get Winter Fuel Payment but my sister won’t because her husband’s pension raises their combined income to just above the threshold for Pension Credit? I don’t! I think Barbara had just started receiving her State Pension when the law changed – if she’d been a year younger she’ld have had to wait another five years for her pension! A Universal Basic Income would iron out all these discrepancies.

It doesn’t need to be a disincentive to work, people can still boost their income with work in the gig economy but they’re not at the mercy of unscrupulous employers. Anyone suffering harassment at work (as I was when working for DSS in Australia) would be able to quit their job without being penalised for doing so.

Basic Universal Income is not a panacea for all our ills, nationalisation of essential public services is also necessary. The devil, as always, is in the detail. Everyone should be entitled to the bare necessities to live with dignity – decent housing, food on the table etc. – but not everyone’s needs are the same. It needs to take into account the number of people in a household and the sum adjusted accordingly. People with disabilities that prevent them from undertaking work to boost their income will probably have additional needs. They will need to undergo an assessment of their needs that is genuinely aimed at improving their quality of life instead of shrugging them off as “economically inactive.”

UBI would relieve pressure on the NHS, by reducing stress related illnesses, and on the criminal justice system by reducing petty crime such as shoplifting.

We wouldn’t have the current controversy over means testing the Winter Fuel Payment if everyone had the means to keep their homes warm. A pensioner who spoke in favour of dropping the payment at Labour Conference is planning on giving hers to a foodbank because she doesn’t need it and I intend to do something similar, that’s our choice, many people don’t have that choice! I’m still considering how the money I receive can be optimised for maximum benefit, rather than making me feel good. I want it to be more than a gesture and I’m already donating regularly to a local foodbank – I’m sure the number of pensioners who continue to receive it but could get by without it are a tiny fraction of those who will suffer real hardship if it’s taken away!

I’m mentioning this as a contemporary illustration of something that wouldn’t happen in a a well ordered society in which everyone is treated with dignity and provided with not only the basic necessities of life but a little bit over. Jeremy Corbyn was ridiculed for proposing free broadband in every household, it’s not such a daft idea when you acknowledge how many government services need internet access.

A Universal Basic Income won’t solve all our problems, there’s a lot to discuss. Let’s get that discussion started!