However the Liberal Democrats have counter attacked by accusing the Eastleigh Tories of being "hypocritical" by "gagging" planning Minister Nick Boles. Eastleigh Borough Council leader Keith House has issued a challenge Nick Boles to say whether "he backs the responsible development plans extolled by the minister and being put into practice locally – or the ill-informed scaremongering of the Tory by-election candidate". Mr House also said: "The Conservative Planning Minister has called for building on open land and attacked ‘hysterical scaremongering of latter-day Luddites’ who oppose it, is that why the Tories are running scared of him coming to Eastleigh?"
“They have to answer a simple question – who speaks for the Tories on planning? If it’s their own planning minister, why won’t he come to Eastleigh to see the Liberal Democrats putting his instructions into action? Does he back Maria Hutchings or himself? The Liberal Democrats have a record of delivering responsible for development in Eastleigh. The Conservatives only have a record of irresponsible scaremongering.”
The by-election campaign is now in its third week and a countless number of Tory ministers have been shipped into Eastleigh, including the Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles but his junior Nick Boles has been conspicuous by his absence. Yesterday local the Tory leader Godfrey Olsen accused Liberal Democrats of "hypocrisy" for backing plans for 1,400 homes in Boorley Green although there does appear to be discrepancies between Maria Hutching’s position and that of the Conservatives in govenment.
