TORY leader William Hague has caused an East Lancashire rift in the run up to next week's party conference - because of his sleeping arrangements.

The Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Rev Alan Chesters, the new Lancashire president of the marriage guidance service Relate, has accused Mr Hague of lacking Christian values after it was revealed that he will share a Blackpool hotel suite with his fiancee, Ffion Jenkins.

The criticism has been backed by some senior East Lancashire Tories.

But others today stood up for the Conservative leader and said that his words about policy and plans to reform the party were more important than where he slept.

The Tory leader and his fiancee, who are due to marry in December, are booked into a suite at the resort's Imperial Hotel.

Conservative Central Office today confirmed that the couple would be sharing the suite, which is believed to include more than one bedroom, but it refused to comment on the couple's precise sleeping arrangements.

The Bishop of Blackburn, who last week presided over a giant celebration for golden wedding couples in the county, said: "I much regret that Mr Hague and his fiancee have taken this decision. "I am sure many Christian people would have wished the leader of the Conservative party to have shown a greater respect for Christian values for marriage and family life."

The message was backed up by Coun Jim Hirst, leader of the Conservative group on Blackburn Council.

He said: "Personally, I don't like this but he is free to do what he wants. Here we have a society that says we should be open-minded and relax our standards so there is a precedent for it. But I still think they should get married first."

Other East Lancashire Tories are backing the leader's right to choose what he does, pointing out that some Labour politicians have made, in their view, far more serious deviations from Christian values from marriage and family life.

Pat Jones, chairman of Burnley Conservative Association, said: "He is going to marry this lady, after all. I am more interested in how he is going to run the next Government rather than any more personal matters."

Ribble Valley Conservative MP Nigel Evans, who backed Mr Hague in the Tory leadership battle said: "I think people are far more interested in his policies and the majority of the public is fed up with this sort of intrusion into people's private lives."

And former Blackburn mayor Coun Edna Arnold said: "This is a matter completely for them and nothing to do with anyone else."

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