General elections 2010: Ed Balls clings on in Morley and Outwood
By Marina Kim
Ed Balls has survived in his Yorkshire seat in what was a head-to-head race with the Conservatives.
Antony Calvert increased the Conservatives’ vote since 2005 elections to 17,264 (35.3%), but still fell short from Mr Balls who won with 18,365 votes (37.6%).
This represents a 9.3% swing from Labour to the Conservatives.
A visit by David Cameron to the Coca-Cola factory in this constituency has riled Ed Balls, who would not have expected to defend this seat as strongly as he has.
Mr Balls replaced retiring MP Colin Challen who had had an overwhelming Labour majority in 2005.
Morley, famous for its textiles, is a market town and civil parish. It is located about five miles southwest of Leeds city centre. Outwood is a former mining area north of Wakefield.
