Tories Blast Lib Dem MP over Euro Vote

Totnes mp Anthony Steen has blasted his Torbay counterpart for his decision to abstain in the Commons vote on an EU referendum.Mr Steen said he was baffled at Mr Sanders' stance.

He said: "How could our representative for the Bay be so disinterested in this as to abstain and yet he is passionate about a referendum on a casino for the Bay?

"Or perhaps he would abstain on that as well."

He added people would be disappointed they have been robbed of a referendum by the Lib Dems.

However, Mr Sanders said: "I want a referendum on membership of the EU. This is what people have voted for in a poll on my website, and national polls show two to one people want a referendum on EU membership, in or out, rather than the new treaty.

"The only MPs who voted against this were Conservative and Labour. Not a single Lib-Dem voted against.

"Before Anthony Steen criticises me he might perhaps want to speak with his Conservative colleagues who voted against."

Lib Dem MPs in South Devon have sought to play down the damage caused to party leader Nick Clegg by the rebellion over the referendum.

Among the rebels was Teignbridge MP Richard Younger-Ross.

In addition three senior frontbenchers - justice spokesman David Heath, countryside spokesman Tim Farron, and Scotland and Northern Ireland spokesman Alistair Carmichael - quit to join the revolt.

Mr Clegg, who has been leader for less than three months, is under pressure to reassert his battered authority at his party's spring conference this weekend after almost a quarter of his party defied an order and voted with the Tories in support of a public ballot, which was defeated in the Commons.

The Government comfortably saw off the Conservative bid to trigger a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty by 311 votes to 248, a majority of 63, as just 29 Labour rebels joined with the Tories.

A rebel Labour amendment was defeated by a similar margin of 311 to 247.

However 15 of the Lib Dems' 63 MPs, almost a quarter of the parliamentary party, defied orders to abstain and joined the vote for a referendum.

Mr Clegg has denied he had made a massive miscalculation in imposing a three-line whip, insisting he had the support of 'overwhelming majority' of Lib Dem MPs.

He said he would be speaking to the rebels, including eight junior frontbenchers, in the coming 'hours and days'.

Mr Younger-Ross, a junior culture spokesman, said: "If he wishes to speak to me I will explain my position. This was done with great sadness."

He was happy to carry on doing his spokesman role as long as the leadership wished.

In the wake of the vote, he said: "There are Tory rebels and Labour rebels. We have had a disagreement. The other parties have disagreements. We will move on to the next issue.

"I don't think it will damage Mr Clegg, and if anything he will come out of this stronger."

Mr Sanders, who is a party whip, admitted: "In the short-term we have taken a hit."

But he did not believe it would cause long-term damage.

"No one is being critical of Nick. It was the policy which was inherited when he became leader.

"People will come to see the referendum they are being denied, the really important one is the substantive question whether we should be in or out the EU, which Labour and Conservatives have dodged.

"It is their short-term gain. In the long-term it's the public who are going to lose because they have been denied the opportunity to have their say on the substantive issue that matters."

But Lib Dems have been left wondering how their party, long seen as the most united on Europe, came out of the votes looking the most divided.

Marcus Wood, Torbay's Conservative parliamentary candidate, said constituents had become disillusioned with politics.

"They are thinking why should I vote if the person I am voting for will not vote?

"At a time when people feel disillusioned with politicians, this type of thing makes all of our lives a lot harder."

Anne-Marie Morris, Teignbridge Conservative parliamentary candidate, said Mr Younger-Ross made the right decision.

She said: "He was consistent with the position he had stated in the past on what is a critical issue and I am pleased that he took the same view as the Conservatives,"

Trevor Colman, from Bishopsteignton, a stalwart UK Independence Party member who stood in the local and national elections and was one of the organisers of the Shaldon village ballot which went in favour of a referendum, branded the parliamentary proceedings 'a pantomime'.

Torbay in the running to host Spring Forum

Torquay is in the running to host the Conservative Party's spring forum next year, the Tory's chairman revealed yesterday on a whistle-stop visit to the resort.MP Caroline Spelman said the South West was due a conference visit from the party and faced opposition from only two other places.

If Torquay is chosen above Harrogate and Scarborough then the Bay could be in line for a £1million boost to the economy thanks to an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 visitors, including the entire shadow cabinet.

Mrs Spelman told the Herald Express: "We have been thinking for some time that we should come down here for our spring forum. This year we're in Newcastle and we try hard to travel the whole country.

"Torquay is one of the preferred options, along with Harrogate and Scarborough. I think it would be really good to come to the South West. It could be the last gathering before the general election so it will be an exciting time and potentially a very important launch pad for policies."

A decision looks set to be made within the next month, she confirmed.

It has been predicted the Conservative's forum in Newcastle this spring will reap £1million for the economy there, while also attracting national and international media.

Mrs Spelman visited Torbay as part of a tour of the South West, incorporating Exeter, Okehampton and Bristol.

She promised a Tory government would see coastal resorts benefit from regeneration and said she realised a better infrastructure would be key to helping the resort prosper.

Mrs Spelman, who is the MP for Meridian, said: "I've certainly seen your infrastructure problems. I can see that a bypass is the critical thing which is going to be important to the regeneration of Torbay.

"We need to crack on with coastal regeneration in a number of places. It's a big problem that I don't think Labour have got to grips with. There's a history of negligence if you look around the periphery of the country.

"Torbay has a lot to offer but it needs fresh thinking, which it looks like the directly elected mayor system is encouraging.

"The bypass and regeneration are the most important things and having a directly elected mayor is one way of driving it forward."

Prospective parliamentary candidate Marcus Wood told Mrs Spelman how Torbay was now in gear and getting things done thanks to mayor Nick Bye's election, following a period of 'being in neutral'.

She advocated the system, saying it works when the electorate have chosen it and it drives forward changes because local authorities are no longer 'caught in coalition'.

Mrs Spelman also pledged a Conservative government would trust local government more than Labour, allowing them to free up money by securing bonds against their assets.