The Communities Secretary Eric Pickles was accused of playing politics with green energy after it was revealed he blocked nine out of 10 applications for new wind farms in predominantly Tory regions.
Luckily for him, the fourth Tory in the region, Robert Sturdy, is standing down.
For Mr Bourne is top of the Tory list for his region.
But the three Tory MEPs in the region held their seats while Labour increased its share of the vote.
But, as polling this week suggested Nick Clegg's party could suffer losses across the South-west, and even fall into third place behind Labour in one Cornish constituency, the Tories have identified the region as a key battleground in its desperate search for a majority.
Leese was on good terms with Wigan's leader, Peter (now Lord Smithh, and with the region's only Tory, Trafford's dynamic 27-year-old boss, Sean Anstee.
Exeter, a red island amid the blue-and-yellow political map of the south-west of England, is one of only four Labour constituencies in the region, with the Tories holding 36 and the Liberal Democrats 15.
Andy Street will step down as managing director of the department store chain after being chosen by the Tories to compete for the region's newly created role of metropolitan mayor.
He said Labour could do "a better job of running our own region ourselves than the Tories ever have of running it from London".
The shadow Communities Secretary, Jon Trickett, said that the comments were proof of "the devastating impact the Tory Government's cuts are having on the region".
