139,736

of 200,000 signatures

Petition text

To Rishi Sunak and the UK government,

Introduce a basic income to help our country recover from the social and economic shock of the COVID crisis. An unconditional, basic monthly payment will make sure no one is left struggling to survive as millions of us try and get back to a normal life after lockdown ends.


It's coming up to a year in lockdown for tens of millions of us - and it's cost many of us our jobs, businesses and livelihoods. Redundancies are at a record high, and unemployment is projected to reach 2.6 million people by the middle of 2021. [1] Current forecasts show that, by spring, a third of the UK population will be living on an income with which they can’t afford the basics for a decent standard of living. [2]

The harms of this crisis - to our families, our communities, our economy and our society - will take time to mend. But there is a solution that will help revive our struggling economy and get our lives back on track.

A recovery basic income - an unconditional, basic monthly payment for every adult in the country (similar to child benefit) will help kickstart the economy and make sure every one of us can afford the basics. Economists are calculating that each of us could get a payment of at least £60 per week with a net extra cost of £0 to the Treasury. [3] For families that are struggling to get by, an extra £60 per week is a lifeline. And it'll give our economy a boost by helping all of us to start spending again.

Here's what members in the Organise network said about the difference a basic income would make:

"A basic income would make a huge difference to my stability and health. The recent pandemic has been a huge hit to physical and mental health. I was working as a Nursing Assistant in Infectious Diseases and I caught covid, then the stress brought on a relapse of depression and I had to leave my job. A basic income would allow me to focus on getting and staying well, take a lot of stress of my shoulders, and eventually give me the stability to focus on retraining and gaining new qualifications."

"As a small business owner (mobile retailer; market stall selling groceries and confectionery) a basic income would be a huge support to me. It could well mean the difference between my business surviving or not. It could also allow me to take some risks and try to expand my business. I also believe a basic income would be a boon to society as a whole. It would give more disposable income to my customers and would help entrepreneurs to create new businesses to restart our economy."

If you agree a basic income will help us move forward out of the COVID crisis, please sign the petition and ask Rishi Sunak to introduce a recovery basic income now:

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Introduce a basic income to get the country back on its feet after COVID

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Introduce a basic income to get the country back on its feet after COVID

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