Food bank report is a chance to end the toxic political stand-off

It has been quite difficult for anyone following the growth food banks over the past few years to avoid growing dispirited. The debate in Parliament runs along the lines of the Tories pretending food banks and food bank demand don’t exist and Labour claiming that food banks and rising food bank demands are all the Tories’ fault. This makes for the unedifying spectacle of both parties throwing mud at one another about people going hungry in this country without appearing to make any progress on addressing the many different factors driving families to food banks.

This morning’s report, Feeding Britain, from the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Hunger in the United Kingdom, is an opportunity for the parties to move on and get something done rather than bickering unproductively. It was chaired by Frank Field, a very thoughtful Labourite who is often well-respected by the Conservatives for his attitude to welfare reform and poverty.