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Britain is the fifth largest economy in the world with an estimated annual GDP of £2.6billion.

Yet despite our collective wealth, the UK is the sixth most unequal country in the developed world in terms of income distribution, according to the Equality Trust.

There are estimated to be around 3.9 million children living in poverty across the country.

Some hard-up families are living off as little as £13-a-day per person, according to child poverty charity Barnados.

But Alex Williams, academic and author, believes there is a radical answer to make poverty history once and for all.

(Image: GETTY)

The idea is simple – offer a Universal Basic Income (UBI) to every citizen regardless of their means or circumstances.

Under UBI, all Brits would receive monthly pay checks in accordance with the real Living Wage at £8.45-an-hour with a daily rate at around £70.

Income earned above the payment would be taxed with a single flat rate or progressively.

Depending on how it is implemented, some welfare benefits – including child and tax credits – would be replaced with the universal payment.

In a world of low-paid mind-numbing jobs and increasing automation – from driverless Tubes to touchscreens in McDonald’s – Alex believes UBI could be the solution.

(Image: EQUALITY TRUST)

Alex, co-author of Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work, told Daily Star Online UBI could be introduced within 10 years “if the political will was in place”.

Speaking exclusively, he said: “For UBI the timeline for full implementation depends a lot on the politics and economics, which are hard to predict in advance.

“But it could probably be achieved within one five year parliamentary term if the political will was in place.”

He said the drive towards automation of the economy will lead to increased unemployment.

But Alex reckons this is not necessarily a bad thing, adding that automation should be encouraged, not resisted.

With the safety net of UBI in place, Brits would be free from the shackles of mundane jobs while companies could maximise profits – and therefore tax receipts – through increased productivity.

He said: “As to large scale automation, the estimates suggest that the new wave of automation technologies will take up to a third of all jobs within the next twenty years.

“To push beyond that would require more advanced technologies, which have yet to be invented.”

(Image: EQUALITY TRUST)

His comments come after a proposed trial to roll out Universal Basic Income in Fife, Scotland won huge backing from anti-poverty campaigners.

Scottish councillors and members of the Scottish Basic Income Network are in discussions over how to introduce the scheme.

UBI campaigner William Sullivan told Daily Star Online the failures of the current social security system means change is inevitable.

He said the pilot will take up to two years to design, another two years to run and a year of evaluation and reporting.

He admitted implementation might be as far away as 2025, but argued that political upheaval and the failing welfare system may bring it forward.

He said: “Fife Council are 100% committed to running a pilot on UBI with the support of the Carnegie Trust.

“The recognition that automation and the inability for very many to have a decent living shows that change is happening.”

Advocates argue the government could make substantial savings in admin costs by rolling out UBI.

A pilot scheme is running in Holland, while Finland are to launch a version next year.

In June, shadow chancellor John Mcdonnell announced that the Labour party would look into the scheme.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives snubbed the idea, arguing it to be ineffective and too expensive.

Damian Hinds, Department for Work and Pensions Employment minister, said: “Even the most modest of universal basic income systems would necessitate higher taxes.

“At the same time it would cause a significant decrease in the motivation to work amongst citizens with unforeseen consequences for the national economy.”

(Image: EQUALITY TRUST)

But Alex claims it is only a matter of time before the idea is seriously tabled as a supplement – not a replacement – to current welfare payments.

“The reason why it has not been on the agenda in a serious way in the UK is that the threat of automation was not as serious.

“In addition, the global economy has suffered a decade of extremely flat growth which has served to suppress wages and this also leads to calls to reform the way people make a living.

“A lot depends on the exact political situation. But it also depends on the economic one.

“The more rapidly we see job losses due to automation, the bigger the public call for UBI, and the faster its arrival.”

It comes after campaigners revealed six million “just about managing” working families are set to lose thousands of pounds a year thanks to brutal Tory welfare cuts.