Is universal basic income 10 years away from being introduced in the UK?
Scottish independence podcast launches | The Reset Room offers tips on how to deal with anxiety
The Northern Agenda: is the momentum building for Universal Basic Income?
Universal basic income could be 10 years away, according to a guest on the latest episode of The Northern Agenda podcast.
Dr Dave Beck, a lecturer in social policy at the University of Salford, joined Westminster editor Dan O’Donohue on the podcast that looks at the stories outside of the Westminster bubble.
The academic argues that "the momentum is building” for universal basic income (UBI).
The idea of UBI is that it is a basic income provided by the government, paid to all adults, irrespective of their income.
Dr Beck told Dan:
"I do think that we are going to see more research being done on UBI over the next 10 years.
"If you take the NHS, which was founded after the Second World War - I think we're at about 1935, around 10 years away from something really substantial changing. But the momentum is building."
Tory MP Nick Fletcher also appeared on The Northern Agenda this week.
The Conservative MP for Don Valley spoke to Dan about the fight to save Doncaster Sheffield Airport from closure.
The Red Wall MP - who became the first Conservative to ever be elected for the seat in 2019 - also tells the podcast why he is backing a Minister for the North, and his thoughts on the contest to become the next prime minister.
The Reset Room: expert tips on how to “feel and deal” with anxiety
Hi everyone! Kelly here. I present and produce The Reset Room, and this week, our focus is all about anxiety – and how we can reduce its negative impact on our lives.
On this episode I’m joined by psychotherapist and founder of Mind-Springs.org Alistair Appleton, to discuss a particular area of his expertise: anxiety.
Listeners may know Alistair from our television screens, having worked on programmes such as BBC’s Escape to the Country.
He shares with me how his own personal experience of anxiety - combined with his training - has led him to develop very effective methods for addressing these stressful feelings.
Alistair even gets me to do some exercises with him which help to combat the negative feelings associated with anxiety.
He told the podcast:
“Anxiety has been around for as long as we have been able to think.
“It is the natural states of fear and panic: fear in response to danger, when someone is attacking you; and panic in response to abandonment.
“They are part of our natural biochemistry, but because we are clever humans we can imagine abandonment and we can imagine danger when neither are present. So, as soon as we were able to think, we were able to make ourselves anxious.
“Social media has had an amplifying effect on anxiety. That part of the brain that responds to being rejected, being cast out or ostracised - in some sense that’s the motor of social media. We are constantly trying not to be disliked.”
In trying to deal with anxiety, Alistair advises that “what’s important is to be able to come into your body and tolerate feeling panic or fear”.
He adds:
“We have to come to trust ourselves to use particular methods and tricks to allow the body’s natural tendency to metabolise these feelings.
“Unless you have some confidence that you can bear these unpleasant feelings and you know what to do with them, you’ll get caught up in a continuous circle of avoidance. Once you do this you can start to tackle the root causes.”
The Reset Room is available to download on all podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify
You can follow The Reset Room Podcast on Twitter @Reset_Room, on Facebook @TheResetRoom and on Instagram @resetroompodcast.
Do you have a question you’d like The Reset Room experts to answer on a future episode? Send it to me on kelly.crichton@nationalworld.com
How to be an independent country: Scotland’s choices
We have a new podcast to recommend to you this week: ‘How to be an independent country: Scotland’s choices’.
This new podcast will tackle the big questions facing Scotland at a second independence referendum from a different perspective.
Instead of hearing from the same old voices, join Conor Matchett as he explores how other countries across the world experienced independence, the challenges they faced, and the lessons to be learned for Scotland.
In the first episode, Conor looks at the question of borders for an independent Scotland.
You can listen on all podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.
- Daniel J. McLaughlin and Kelly Crichton