EU referendum bill vote 'a parliamentary stunt'

Liberal Democrat MPs will not be in Parliament on Friday when the Conservative-backed bill on an EU referendum is debated by MPs.

Cabinet minister Danny Alexander told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show "we are not going to be there" for what he called "this sort of parliamentary stunt".

He also played down recent polls, saying "UKIP will come, UKIP will go".

The private member's bill, from Tory MP James Wharton, paves the way for an in-out referendum on the EU in 2017.