News / Politics
Council to request universal basic income trial
Councillors are set to request a trial for Bristol’s creative sector to receive universal basic income.
In a full council meeting on Tuesday, Green party councillors sought cross-party support for their motion to trial the benefit system.
Ani Townsend, the Green councillor for Central, proposed the pilot as “a practical mechanism to meet the challenges of our time.”
Members of the Bristol Green group were asking for support of the trial – photo: Abdul Malik
Lobbying support for the scheme, which would see money distributed freely to artists and those working in Bristol’s creative industries as well as potentially to groups like care leavers, they said: “There are times that I couldn’t pay my rent, there were many times when the safety net wasn’t there when I needed it.
“The truth is simple, too many of our residents face that same reality.”
Townsend stated that Bristol’s cultural sector generates 88 pounds for every one pound invested in it, claiming that the universal basic income scheme would be an “income generator for Bristol.”
The proposed trial, which would be funded by the central government, was met with conflicting views from fellow councillors.
Speaking on behalf of the Labour group, councillor for Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston Tom Blenkinsop dismissed the idea as “not much more than an academic talking shop”.
Labour councillor Tom Blenkinsop said the proposal is in “poor taste” given culture cuts – photo: Bristol Labour Group
He continued: “I fully agree with councillor Townsend that [culture] is a fantastic investment, which is why I find that it’s in slightly poor taste that this is being proposed when you’re cutting the cultural investment programme.”
Both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives echoed this sentiment, with Lib Dem councillor for Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze Caroline Gooch saying that: “The proposal for a UBI trial in the motion is not in fact universal.
“Rather it singles out one sector, the creative sector, to benefit from this.
“Poverty can affect anyone, it doesn’t discriminate by sector, so neither should the trial.”
On supporting care leavers, Gooch deemed it a “good idea and worthy cause”, but said that “if we are serious about helping them we should take actionable and practical steps to do so.”
Despite not gaining the cross-party support that the Green group hoped for, the universal basic income motion was passed, with 32 voting in favour of the proposal.
Main photo: Bristol City Council
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