Another political spat has broken out after Labour accused Deal’s Tory MP of claiming to have saved Deal Hospital.

Labour’s Clair Hawkins, who will fight MP Charlie Elphicke’s seat in the next election in 2015, said the MP’s claims that his campaign saved the hospital were a “complete red herring.”

She said: “The problem now is the same as it was over a year ago when petitions and public meetings were held about the future of Deal Victoria Hospital: The removal of outpatient clinics and the difficulty local people will have getting to hospitals elsewhere.”

Last month, Mr Elphicke published a promotional newsletter claiming his efforts had saved the hospital. But it was only outpatient services under threat – never the entire hospital.

Ms Hawkins added: “We’d all be better off if Charlie Elphicke worked harder on the real issues rather than his own self-aggrandisement. ”

“We’d all be better off if Charlie Elphicke worked harder on the real issues rather than his own self-aggrandisement" Clair Hawkins

Cllr Mike Eddy, one of Deal’s county councillors, said: “If Mr Elphicke were serious about his concerns for Deal Hospital he would be asking the Secretary of State for Health to intervene to provide the people of Deal with a proper consultation on the removal of hospital services.”

But Mr Elphicke said he had already written to the Secretary of State, adding: “Their remarks come as quite a shock considering it was the Labour Party that has been going round telling everyone that Deal Hospital was going to close.

“It’s another case of the local extreme Labour Party trying to play politics with our health care. I think it’s a real disappointment they’re not being more positive,” he added.