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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Sophie Huskisson

Deputy PM Oliver Dowden rejects call to engage with £1,600 universal basic income trial

Oliver Dowden ​​Rishi Sunak Ronnie Cowan England Environment

The Deputy Prime Minister has rejected a demand for ministers to engage with universal basic income trials that are set to give a group of people £1,600 a month.

SNP MP Ronnie Cowan called on ministers to "wake up to the reality" that workplaces will need to be "drastically overhauled" because of "the progress of the gig economy and the acceleration of artificial intelligence".

In a passionate PMQs exchange, the MP for Inverclyde pleaded with Deputy PM Oliver Dowden to engage with the universal income pilots "so we can constructively assess the pros and cons".

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