Labour says local people shouldn't have a say on phone masts.

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 10th Jul 2008

Labour MPs have voted against a Lib Dem attempt to give local people more of a say over mobile phone masts. And Conservatives, who could have helped ensure more democracy, sat on their hands.

"It's scandalous" says Wavertree Lib Dem spokesperson Colin Eldridge " When a company wants to put up a phone mast there are sometimes objections from local people. Current laws however are weighted on the side of the company as normal planning rules don't apply. There was a genuine chance to change the law to make phone masts subject to the same democratic scrutiny as other objects. And Labour bottled it".

The vote on the issue happened after Lib Dem MP Andrew Stunnell moved an amendment to tighten up the rules on mobile phone mast applications. He was taking part in debates on the Planning Bill, currently going through Parliament.