Marcus Wood

The double standards of Torbay's Liberal Democrats and their short memories never ceases to amaze me.

Their call for the Mayor to hold a referendum on whether we should have a super casino is a bit rich after all they did to stop a referendum into whether we should have an elected mayor.

These are the same people who spent many months in 2004/05 criticising the very idea of a referendum when their own positions were threatened and who set up a mystery group financed by mystery money to fight a 'no' campaign which they ultimately lost.

They must think the public are either thick or don't remember their behaviour, or is it a question of jumping on any old bandwagon prior to May's council elections?

Where were they last year when the decision to press ahead with Torbay's application for a super casino was being openly debated within the Town Hall and on the Herald's letters page?

Where were they when Ian Handford arranged a public meeting at South Devon College last November? As far as I know only Cllr Jennings attended that debate and he was in favour of the casino.

The rest of them either couldn't be bothered or were also in favour.

If our MP is so against the idea where was he when, perhaps, he could have really influenced the outcome last year? He didn't attend the public debate either. He did his usual trick of keeping a low profile when it really mattered.

If a referendum was to have any real effect it should have been organised last year. The Lib Dems and their MP should have led from the front in opposing the very idea, but as usual they only do anything when it is too late.

It is pure electioneering which I hope the public see through. One day they might come up with a good, progressive idea of the way forward for Torbay, but ( excuse the pun ) don't bet on it.