THAT almost 17 per cent of Britons – if not more considering how the economy has suffered since 2015 – are on incomes below the poverty line is disgraceful.

At the same time, a record 60 per cent of people in poverty are from working families.

It’s quite clear that in a Tory economy, working simply doesn’t pay (enough to live).

It is truly astonishing that the world’s fifth biggest economy has the 13th worst rate of poverty of 28 EU countries.

The figures underline the simple truth that the British Government doesn’t care about the most vulnerable in our society.

Theresa May and her predecessor’s promise to build a Britain “that works for the many and not a privileged few” is, yet again, exposed as the cynical and empty rhetoric it is.

The British people deserve far better than the Tories’ vision of a trickle-up economy that continually lines the pockets of the already wealthy.

The government’s actions clearly fail to live up to the promises.

Sadly, in the post-truth political culture, the ever-growing gulf between the two is hardly noted.

The supposed party of “economic reliability” has built an economy that is failing the many.

While those at the top continue to thrive, many millions are suffering the lingering effects of a failed, ideologically-driven, austerity project.