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Tory party chairman: 'I drink beer and I love a game of bingo'

The Conservative party chairman has hit back at criticism of an advert he tweeted celebrating the cuts in bingo tax and beer duty that opponents called "condescending". Grant Shapps told the BBC: "Personally, I drink beer and I love a game of bingo".

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Danny Alexander: Tory bingo advert 'patronising'

George Osborne's Liberal Democrat deputy in the Treasury joined the chorus of criticism against the Tory bingo advert tweeted by Grant Shapps, saying he thought it was "patronising".

Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander told BBC2's Newsnight:

I thought it was a spoof at first, it's just pretty extraordinary.

It may be our Budget but it's their words, I think it's rather patronising.

Also I think it actually demeans some quite sensible things. There are good reasons to be supporting bingo, there are good reasons to be encouraging our pub sector to be stronger - that's the analysis behind those measures.

This language, well that's for Grant Shapps to justify.

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