Local people feel the pinch.

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 7th Oct 2008

Like everyone else in the country residents of Eastbourne are suffering from rocketing food and energy prices. The government's own figures show that bread is up a fifth, butter and eggs by over a third and potatoes by over a quarter. Hardest hit are pensioners and others on fixed incomes.

Local Lib Dem Parliamentary campaigner Stephen Lloyd, joined forces recently with the Lib Dems' Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable MP, to highlight the real increase in the cost of living. They took a supermarket basket of basic groceries which together cost less than £10 last year. The same basket now costs over £12, a quarter higher. "People are feeling the pain of the credit crunch and rocketing prices," said Stephen. "The government is doing too little, too late to help people get through the hard times."

"We need to put money back in the pockets of people who are struggling to make ends meet. Liberal Democrats are calling for a 4p cut in the rate of income tax, paid for by upping taxes on pollution and closing tax loopholes used by the very rich."

He added: "We would get tough on unnecessary and wasteful government spending, and use some of the money saved to cut taxes even further for those on middle and low incomes. Energy companies have also recently made massive profits from their customers. It's time that they provided more help for those on low incomes. No one in Eastbourne should have to choose between putting food on the table or keeping their home warm."