ABSTRACT
A universal basic income is a long-standing idea in social policy. This idea proposes that all citizens receive a regular income payment from government that is independent of individual contributions or any means-test. Among its merits, supporters of a universal basic income argue that it provides a radical anti-poverty policy. Critics on the right claim that it is excessively expensive and indiscriminate, whereas critics on the left claim that it is a damaging distraction from more urgent anti-poverty policies, such as free child care. There is a current wave of media interest in a universal basic income. This interest has been sparked by high-profile trials of basic income in places such as Finland as well as the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter uses British newspaper coverage of a Labour report recommending a U.K. pilot of basic income as a case study to illustrate the challenges campaigners face in advocating for this policy for the purpose of poverty reduction. One lesson for anti-poverty campaigners is that they ought to develop emotionally compelling narratives that exemplify the benefits of a universal basic income for reducing poverty in comparison with means-testing. They also need to be able to refute the criticism that use of basic income for reducing poverty is too expensive.
