The Labour government has, in effect, forced the closure of thousands of Post Offices across the country - not a popular policy but in reality there probably were too many and some were losing loads of money. It makes sense to close - or at least carefully consider - the viability of those struggling ones, but what has happened is that this has gone too far and some have closed and had a crippling effect on the local community. One such example, as I said last week, was Tilling Green in Rye. Old Town - a key battlefield at the May 1 local elections - was also targeted as a community which could lose its PO, and to be fair to our Labour MP Michael Foster, he - and many others - have fought tooth and nail to save the facility. On Monday evening, last week, Michael called me with some embargoed news to say the Old Town PO had been saved. Great news, I thought. Then came the press release from Postwatch which said eight more POs were to close, including Old Town. Confused? I was. That Thursday morning, BBC South East Today were broadcasting the fact that indeed it was to close, and my phone was red hot. I was telling people who called me - including Councillor Richard Vallery - that no, they had got it wrong, there was no need to worry, the PO was saved. But of course it wasn't as simple as that, politics isn't as simple as that. So what is the truth?

Old Town Post Office will be closing. The difference is that some sort of service will be retained. That only became clear late Thursday morning last week. It is unclear what shape the new service will take. It will certainly be a much reduced service, and that is hugely disappointing. The Labour Party acted appallingly by producing posters and a leaflet last Wednesday declaring that the Post Office 'service' had been saved, and well done Labour. Absolute drivel, not true, and shame on the Labour candidates for doing that. They have made a huge mistake by trying to mislead the voters of Old Town, and if I lived there I would make a conscious effort on May 1 NOT to vote for them if they employ such tactics. Any political party hardly deserves your vote with such behaviour, and I expect the electorate will teach them a lesson in that ward on May 1.

And what of our MP? Well, I like our Michael, and of the 22 years I have spent in local media he is one of the hardest-working MPs I have come across. And I have come across many. But in the last month or so he has become more agitated than normal, and I think that is because he knows his party is on tough times, both locally and nationally. He didn't want me to run the regeneration funding story three weeks ago, but the residents needed to know the truth. And he was very uptight over the PO saga. I think he realises that his local party overstepped the mark with its leaflet and posters, and yes it may backfire, although to his credit he has been putting pressure on the Post Office bosses to do what it can. His Tory rival Amber Rudd is clear on this - she calls it extraordinary spin from Michael, she says it is Labour policy which is closing these POs despite opposition from residents. Many will agree with her, though would the Tories be closing them as well? Probably, but of course, it is much easier to be in opposition, and Amber and her Tory colleagues will be making the most of this, and why not?