In recent years, universal basic income (UBI) has moved from the fringes of academic debate to being mooted in mainstream forums as a serious policy proposal. This brief addresses the idea’s remarkable rise, exploring why it has occurred; takes an objective look at the core issues relating to UBI’s desirability, surveying the existing theoretical and empirical literature on UBI’s likely effects; assesses its feasibility as a realistic proposal in the UK; and considers various options regarding policy design and implementation strategies. Our approach is to review existing literature and secondary data in combination with our own microsimulation work at the IPR.