Veronica Oakeshott, Labour candidate for the new Bicester, Kidlington and Woodstock constituency has committed to working to end the need for food banks.

Bicester Foodbank reports that last year they gave out emergency food vouchers to support nearly 5000 people in crisis - including over 2000 children.

Ms Oakeshott said: "This is why we need change.

“Food poverty has soared since the Tory/Lib Dem coalition took over in 2010, when the architects of austerity - including our local Conservative candidate - made millions more Britons go hungry.”

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Leading food bank network The Trussell Trust report giving out 50 times more food parcels annually than they did in 2010 when the Tories and Lib Dems took power.

The Trust now hand out a food parcel every 18 seconds.

Oxford Mail:

Ms Oakeshott is a regular donor to the North Oxfordshire Community foodbank, which serves Kidlington and Woodstock.

She has also been a frequent volunteer in the Stonesfield Food Group, which serves quality food in a friendly atmosphere.

She added: “Every week I chat to people on the doorstep who tell me how they’re working multiple jobs but can only just keep food on the table.

"Forget ‘treats’ like birthday presents and holidays.

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"There are too many children living in poverty in our constituency.

"I’m committed to ensuring every child has a good start in life and every family can comfortably feed themselves.”

Labour claims it will make changes to end the need for food banks, for example by introducing a new deal for working people and delivering a genuine living wage, ending exploitative zero hours contracts and ending fire and rehire.

Other examples include economic stability, certainty and tough fiscal rules creating the climate for low inflation, and well-paid jobs with an industrial strategy to back key sectors like life science, tech, financial, clean power and creative industries.

Labour also claims it will introduce higher living standards in all parts of the country, as well as giving every child the best start to the day by introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school in England.

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Ms Oakeshott claims she will make this change happen. “If elected as your MP, I will work for changes that will stop people needing food banks to survive.”

New candidates hoping to win a seat in the Bicester and Woodstock constituency are the Conservatives' Rupert Harrison, Lib Dems' Calum Miller, Greens' Ian Middleton and Reform UK's Augustine Obodo.

The county is currently split into six parliamentary constituencies but this is soon to become seven with the addition of the new Bicester and Woodstock voting area.