Changing our principles: a reply to ‘Fault or need? The UK’s approach to disability benefits since the Second World War’ by Gareth Millward

Some of the most urgent voices issuing concerns about Basic Income (BI) have come from disabled people and the organisations representing them (DPOs – disabled people’s organisations). Many charge that BI will not provide a sufficient income for disabled people with significant and complex needs. They worry that an insufficient income will further marginalise disabled people and undermine their ability to have a fulfilling, meaningful life. Even if a Basic Income Plus (BI+) were introduced, providing additional funding for those who require it, there are fears that the testing regimes established to determine an individual’s level of support would not be based on need, but rather on a standardised medical model of impairment which is effectively geared towards cutting costs. The fact that BI has attracted libertarian admirers has undoubtedly sparked concerns that the policy could be used to whittle away at the welfare state even further, putting services that disabled people (and others) rely on in jeopardy.