Swiss REJECT idea of Universal Basic Income...as Labour begin BIG PUSH for the plan in UK
THE Labour Party is steaming ahead with plans for a minimum salary for workers no matter how much they work, despite Switzerland overwhelmingly voting against a similar proposal.
John McDonnell says Labour will consider the plans
More than 75 per cent of Swiss voters rejected a proposal to introduce a guaranteed basic income of more than £1,700 for everyone living in the wealthy country.
Supporters had said introducing a monthly income of 2,500 Swiss francs (£1,784) per adult - no matter how much they work - would promote human dignity and public service.
But the plans have been overwhelmingly refused after critics said the plans would cripple the economy.
Labour’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the concept of an unconditional payment to all could prepare Britain for robotisation of the workforce.
Switzerland voted overwhelmingly against the UBI proposals
Many fear low-skilled workers could be replaced by automated machines, causing drastic job losses and exacerbating inequality.
The proposal for a universal basic income (UBI) suggested it would be paid to everyone, whether or not they were in work.
However opponents, including the Government, said it would cost too much and weaken the economy.
Provisional final results of the vote in Switzerland showed 76.9 percent of voters opposed the bold social experiment launched by Basel cafe owner Daniel Haeni and allies in a vote under the Swiss system of direct democracy.
Although Haeni was forced to acknowledge the public defeat, he has claimed a moral victory.
But Labour now want to look at plans to bring the UBI to the UK
More than 75 % voted against the proposals
It is an idea Labour will be closely looking at over the next few years.
He said: "As a businessman I am a realist and had reckoned with 15 percent support, now it looks like more than 20 percent or maybe even 25 percent.
“I find that fabulous and sensational.
“When I see the media interest, from abroad as well, then I say we are setting a trend."
Now Labour MPs have dug their claws into the idea, after it was also mooted by the Green party in its general election manifesto last year.
A report into a UBI from leftwing campaign group Compass claims a basic wage would offer a “powerful way” to tackle the apparently inevitable “fourth industrial age”.
Centrist backbencher Jonathan Reynolds also supports plans for a UBI in the UK
The report also suggests a UBI can take on the current welfare system by replacing a range of different means-tested benefits with a simpler, universal payment for every adult.
Mr McDonnell said the research “makes an interesting case for a universal and unconditional payment to all, which could prepare our country for any revolution in jobs and technology to come.”
He added: “It is an idea Labour will be closely looking at over the next few years.”
Centrist Labour backbencher Jonathan Reynolds, who resigned from Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet in January, also suggested the idea is not just under consideration on the left of the party.
He said: “As our economy and the jobs in it have changed, the welfare state has struggled to keep up.
“If we want a system that makes work pay and does something to tackle the appalling levels of poverty in the UK, then we need to think radically.
“This is a welcome report into what could be the cornerstone of a modern welfare state.”