The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP

Chancellor of the Exchequer

HM Treasury

We are urgently calling on the government to prepare for a Recovery Universal Basic Income (UBI) in response to the coronavirus crisis.

As the scale and duration of the crisis becomes clear, it is essential that we take steps now to ensure that when we eventually emerge from lockdown, we do so with a fairer and more resilient society and economy.

We are likely to face a damaging recession, as well as ongoing economic insecurity, that will affect all of us. There will be more economic shocks from financial, climate and pandemic crises over the coming years. Income protection is too inflexible a tool on an ongoing basis and our current social security system is too cumbersome. Universal Credit is struggling to cope with the demands being placed upon it and many people are still falling through the cracks. The Job Retention Schemes are welcome but will be unsustainable in the long term.

As we likely exit lockdown in a non-uniform way at an uneven speed, the system simply won’t be able to keep up with people’s individual changes of circumstances. This is why we need to put in place plans for a Recovery Universal Basic Income - a regular cash payment to every individual.

The payments should be sufficient to provide economic security for people but we are not proposing the exact rate or how long it should last, these are decisions for the government. For now, we need to put in place the mechanism to be able to distribute cash to everyone. This should include an urgent and significant increase in Child Benefit. This will provide an income floor nobody falls below and a springboard to recovery.

84% of the public now support the introduction of a UBI and our cross-party group shows support from seven parties across all four nations.

We urgently call on the government to put in place the mechanisms for a Recovery UBI so it can be rolled out as quickly as possible. This will help transition our society and our economy into a sustained recovery, and will become the foundation for a future social security system that provides genuine security.

Co-signed by 110 MPs and Peers: