New figures from the Trussell Trust show that half a million emergency food parcels were distributed by their foodbanks in six months.

Bright Blue is calling on the government to develop an alternative approach to welfare reform that is not dominated by cost-cutting.

Commenting on Trussell Trust's foodbanks figures, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said:

"The Trussell Trust's foodbanks statistics are worrying. Reducing the budget deficit is an ongoing necessity, but the two Governments since 2010 have cut too deeply into working-aged benefits. As a result, poverty has increased and life chances diminished.

"Theresa May’s Government should develop an alternative approach to welfare reform that is not dominated by cost-cutting – for political, economic and moral reasons. There is now an opportunity for the Conservatives to build a popular and effective welfare system that adequately protects what Theresa May has called "ordinary working-class families" who are "just managing"."