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As the Green Party climbs to a record 18% in national polling, leader Zack Polanski has doubled down on a transformative economic agenda that would see every resident in the United Kingdom—including those on temporary visas—receive a guaranteed monthly income. The proposal, a cornerstone of the Green Party’s "wellbeing economy" shift, seeks to replace the current welfare system with a Universal Basic Income (UBI). Documents and recent policy statements from the party leadership indicate that this payment would not be restricted to British citizens or those with "settled status." Instead, it would extend to anyone legally residing in the country, including those on non-visitor visas.
The scale of the payment, which Polanski suggests should align with the minimum wage, could reach between £1,200 and £1,600 per month. Unlike traditional benefits, this cash injection would be unconditional, removing the "hostile environment" checks and means-testing that currently define the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
"A universal basic income policy is simple yet transformative: it would ensure every citizen receives an unconditional recurring payment," Polanski told a journalist. "While the exact amount is up for debate, it would broadly align with the minimum wage."
The financial implications of extending such a payment to the UK’s migrant population are significant. With roughly one million non-British nationals currently holding temporary, non-settled leave to remain, the annual cost of covering this group alone could exceed £19 billion
Critics have been quick to highlight the potential for the policy to act as a global "magnet" for migration. The Conservative shadow cabinet has been particularly vocal, with shadow ministers warning that the plan would "undermine public confidence" and "turbocharge illegal migration" by offering taxpayer-funded stipends to those who have just arrived.
"We should not be handing taxpayers' hard-earned money to migrants who have only just arrived in the UK and never made any contribution whatsoever," Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told a journalist. "The Green Party has gone completely insane; illegal migrants should be deported, not given handouts."
Despite the backlash, the Greens are riding a wave of momentum following a landmark by-election victory in Gorton and Denton. Polanski's strategy focuses on "growing people's mental health and community cohesion" rather than traditional GDP growth. His broader "Zack-economics" platform includes capping executive pay at ten times the lowest-paid employee and implementing strict national rent controls.
Read more: Green Surge or Identity Crisis? Why 225,000 Voters are Ignoring Shahrar’s Warnings
However, fiscal hawks and think tanks remain skeptical of the math. The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) has questioned how the treasury could sustain a welfare bill that some estimates suggest could double to over £600 billion under a full UBI rollout.
"This latest chapter in Zack-economics raises the same questions we've always had: how can we afford it, and who does this really benefit?" Joanna Marchong of the ASI told a journalist. "Adding another vast, unconditional entitlement risks pushing the system beyond breaking point."
With local elections approaching and the party enjoying its strongest-ever polling position, the debate over who qualifies for British taxpayer support is set to become the central flashpoint of the upcoming political season.
