YORK Green Party is calling for an emergency Universal Basic Income to be given to all adults in the UK as people struggle to put food on the table during the coronavirus crisis.

It claimed existing Government measures had created schemes that were too complex and difficult, and allowed many people to fall through the gaps.

It said more than 170 MPs including Green MP Caroline Lucas had written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak to call for an emergency UBI, and a petition calling for a temporary UBI achieved over 200,000 signatures in two days.

Green deputy council leader Andy D’Agorne said that as a result of government action to curb the spread of Covid-19, there were many people caught between the need to self-isolate and putting food on the table, despite the range of support available. "An emergency Universal Basic Income would allow people self-isolate, eat and pay their bills," he said.

Cllr Rosie Baker claimed York was one of the most unequal cities in the country and UBI would help to ensure the ‘Right to food’ so that that nobody was rendered unable to feed themselves and their families.

"It would be a huge boost for mental health and morale in the city so that no one is neglected in these difficult times," she said.