Labour has been urged to slash minimum living space requirements to help it achieve its housing targets.

One-bed flats only need to be around the size of a disabled parking bay, according to think tank Centre for Cities.

Current regulations stipulate that developers must build to a minimum floorspace of 37 square metres (398 sq ft) for flats lived in by one person.

But the think tank argues the dimensions – which have been enshrined in law for the past decade – are too large and should be more than halved.

It wants design codes to be brought in line with the Netherlands, where the minimum space for a studio is 18 square metres (or 194 sq ft).