They are quite right that politicians must be in tune with those they seek to represent, but it needs to be a year-round affair!

I accept that, as the MP, I have an advantage in living in the town. I've always lived here so I'm in tune with, if you like, the town's "heartbeat". That's why I instinctively know more easily what local opinion may be. I'm also proud that my office in Hastings is the most accessible of any MP in the country- a live voice (that's Emily) to answer every query (9.30 to 4.00 every day) and a place where constituents can come and talk and discuss their concerns, week-in and week-out, year round.

In the Labour Party we have also been, not just talking, but listening. Throughout the past year, we've held major public meetings on Climate Change, development aid and on the local Labour Manifesto, and most of our local Labour councillors hold surgeries on a monthly basis. Yes, talking with voters is what we must all do but it needs to be not just at election time, and the listening is just as important as the talking.

It seemed last week as if the Conservatives had for once been listening when they called in Parliament, for 'no further Post Office closures'. Well and good you may say. I thought that too. On further examination, however, this was a deeply cynical ploy and a cruel deception on those who are fighting for their local Post Offices.

Currently, the Post Office has 14,000 branches, 4,000 of which are profitable and 10,000 of which lose money. The only way those unprofitable branches can stay open is by public subsidy and that's why the Labour government are currently subsidising £150m a year (that's about £18,000 for each loss-making Post Office) and have guaranteed some £1.7b over the five year period to help the Post Office develop its future. The Tories, when in power, never subsidised one penny and yet they closed 3,500 offices.

Come the debate, the Tories offered no extra cash to support their campaign. Most cynical of all, when pressed, they were not prepared to say whether the "no closure guarantee" was to last a week, a month, or until next Tuesday!

You simply cannot treat the public in that way and that's why I and most of my colleagues were not fooled by the Tories crocodile tears. There is a need to get to grips with Post Office services but there is also a need to be honest with our voters and say how we are going to put promises into action.

However, there is some good news when it comes to the Old Town Post Office. There is still hope that the Post Office will change its mind after Post Watch and local residents made clear their opposition but even if not, the government's direction to Post Office Ltd, to accept local authority subsidies to keep branches open, has now been picked up by the Labour group leader, Jeremy Birch. If the Post Office say that they will no longer support the Old Town Post Office then a Labour council would use Government money from Working Neighbourhoods to pay the losses so as to keep that office open.

That's what listening means.