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A comment on Universal basic income to be tested in Wales. Parent comment

Re:Universal basic income to be tested in Wales by toyg on Saturday May 15, 2021 @08:40AM (#27164679)
It might help to look at the Welsh political landscape. Labour is in power but is permanently at risk of being replaced by the national-populist Plaid Cymru (like it happened in Scotland, where the Scottish National Party literally wiped the board). PC (like the SNP) supports UBI, so Lab has to coopt the policy. This also helps them attract LibDem voters (another pro-UBI party), whose votes are otherwise wasted (LDs can’t win in Wales). And it solidifies the covid-created Wales-Scotland axis against the UK government, currently dominated by unabashed “England-first” Conservatives (philosophically opposed to UBI, since it threatens to reduce employers’ power).

So the Welsh government has an interest in making the policy work for real, to keep them in power in the long term. The issue for them will be affordability.

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Re:Universal basic income to be tested in Wales by dll on Saturday May 15, 2021 @10:03AM (#27165335)
There's some interesting post election anaylsis that picks up on this (in Wales at least). There's a view [0][1] that while results are bad for Plaid, they're getting a lot of what they want, and shifting the window on the most important issue (independence). In addition to UBI, it's interesting that Welsh Labour have started the push for "home rule" [2], something that is likely to win them a lot more votes from traditional Plaid Cymru supporters.

[0] - https://nation.cymru/opinion/this-was-a-bad-election-for-pla...

[1] - https://www.thenational.wales/news/19303406.plaid-cymru-noth...

[3] - https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/mark-drakeford-d...

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Re:Universal basic income to be tested in Wales by toyg on Sunday May 16, 2021 @04:00AM (#27172020)
Yep, Welsh Labour clearly learnt the lessons of Holyrood and are determined to avoid a Scottish scenario playing out in Wales. They are also helped by the fact that Labour is unlikely to get any sort of realistic shot at a Westminster majority anytime soon, so the periphery is quite free to set their own agenda. English Labour can quietly support a breakup of the Union that will then try to tie around the necks of Tories and SNP, they have little to lose now.
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