I’ve been knocking on doors now in Mile Oak and North Portslade since the beginning of the year.

A common theme that has emerged since day one is how ordinary working people are finding it difficult to make ends meet.

This is due to a combination of low wages and the cost of the basics, that everyone has to buy, going up faster than inflation.

This is now borne out by a recent report published by the New Economics Foundation called The Real Britain.

This leads to choices having to be made between heating and eating or clothes for children or the adults.

If you add the obscene rise in property values and private rents you have a recipe for hardship and heartache.

This is why the move to a Living Wage, if Labour are elected, is a crucial first step to getting people back on their economic feet again.

I’ve been hugely impressed by the folk that I’ve met over the past 11 months, both young and not so young, but we need to give working people the right to earn a decent wage, live in decent accommodation and make their way in the world.

This isn’t pie in the sky stuff. It’s just the sign of a civilised and fair society.

Peter Atkinson, Labour Candidate, North Portslade Wolseley Road, Portslade