麻豆约拍

How badly are you feeling the pinch this Christmas? Latest figures show incomes in Kent have, on average, risen by less than 2% this year.

Official figures released today show inflation is currently running above 5%. What has caused the problem and is there any hope that things are going to improve?

John and Clare chat to Fraghiskos Filippaios, a senior lecturer at Kent Business School, and Sarah Barwick, a cook and cleaner from Ulcombe, who speaks about how the rising cost of living is affecting her.

Also on the programme, High Speed 1 turns two today, and passenger numbers on Kent's high-speed rail service have increased by around one million in the last year.

We speak to commuter Sarah McKinley, Mark Sheppard, director of Kent-based firm London Village Rentals, and Roger Gale, Conservative MP for Thanet.

And, retail guru Mary Portas believes struggling high streets like Margate need a weekly market to bring a bit of life back.

We take to the streets of the town to find out if she is right.