Adopting the Institute for Global Prosperity’s vision for Universal Basic Services as policy represents a major step forward in renewing the social contract in the UK. It shows a clear commitment to enhancing the living standards of millions in an increasingly insecure economic climate.

Our ideas around UBS were developed in response to the changing realities of the modern economy. The livelihoods and life chances of millions of people are coming under increasing threat from rising costs for housing, food and other essentials. At the same time, too many are faced with insecure work, low pay and the prospect that their jobs and whole industries could disappear due to automation and technological change. Simply carrying on as we have before will not alter these trends.

UBS provides an affordable way for us to meet these challenges, providing an enhanced safety net that can simultaneously provide the foundations for full participation in our economy and stem the rampant inequality that’s eating away at our society. To operate effectively, we have outlined how it must go hand-in-hand with democratic accountability at local level. UBS must be an expression of our shared social needs, with communities themselves in control.

We already accept that certain services like health and education should be provided free at the point of use to the whole population, because we understand that all of society benefits as a result. The concept of UBS is a logical extension of this principle.

At its heart our proposal for Universal Basic Services is about creating the conditions for ‘a good life’ that will allow communities and individuals to adapt to the climate emergency, and it is an important milestone that we have now have at least one major political party in the UK that understands and embraces the changes we will need to make in the coming years.

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