British Journal of Politics & International Relations
Why do parties (not) support Universal Basic Income? The case of the UK Liberal Democrats
2025-07-09
The period since 2008 has seen high-profile debates over radical policy ideas such as universal basic income. As Jurgen De Wispelaere has noted, basic income has attracted interest from a wide range of political actors, but parties have struggled to sustain a firm commitment to the idea, especially as they have moved closer to power. This article tests and refines De Wispelaere’s analysis of ‘cheap political support’ for basic income through a case study of the UK Liberal Democrats, who have twice endorsed the idea (in 1990 and 2020) but subsequently dropped it. Detailed analysis of the party’s decision-making under Paddy Ashdown and Sir Ed Davey highlights the importance of party leaders, changing strategic goals, and substantive ‘policy reasoning’ by working groups. The article shows that the Liberal Democrats’ retreats from basic income were driven not only by electoral calculations, but also by critical scrutiny of specific policy proposals.