GE2010: William Hague Launch Campaign Poster in Leeds

Mr. Anthony Calvert, the Conservative's Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Morley and Outwood, and a good friend to those of us south of the Humber, who is fighting to unseat Labour's Ed Ball MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, has been enjoying some success at the beginning of the 'Long Campaign'.

On Monday, as part of the national launch of the poster campaign that is being seen as the Conservatives' opening salvo in the General Election battle, Mr. Calvert welcomed William Hague MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary, to Dewsbury Road in the constituency he is contesting which is one of the Conservatives' target seats in Leeds.

Echoing the message of the poster, Mr. Hague said:

"We can't go on as we are with five more years of Gordon Brown.

"He has doubled the national debt and he is planning to double it again."

He said a central plank of Tory policy was to cut the size of the nation's deficit by reducing administration and waste and by freezing the wages of public sector staff, apart from the lowest paid.

Mr. Hague said that would free up money to invest in the NHS. He claimed hard working people had been let down by Labour and were

"about to be clobbered by an increase in national insurance contributions."

He also reaffirmed the Conservatives' aim to develop a high speed rail link between London and the North that would include Leeds.

Thanking activists yesterday Mr. Calvert said:

"I know everyone is just itching to get rid of this tired, discredited and increasingly desperate Labour government.

"Thanks to all who braved the bad conditions on Monday to join me and other Yorkshire PPCs at the launch of the poster campaign... [W]e had close to 40 supporters and helpers joining in. The event was a huge success and was featured heavily in the local and national news.

"This coming 5 months will be a tough slog, but I am sure we are up for it."

There was national coverage of the poster launch in the press and the launch in leeds attracted the cameras of the BBC's flagship Newsnight programme.

Morley & Outwood Constituency 2005 General Election
Notional Result*

Labour: 19,956 (50.2%), Conservative: 10,172 (25.6%), Liberal Democrat: 4,030 (10.1%), Other: 5,570 (14%). Giving Labour a majority of 9,784 (24.6%).

Candidates for the 2010 General Election

Ed Balls MP, Secretary of State for Children Schools and Families (Labour), Mr. Antony Calvert (Conservative), Mr. James Monaghan (Liberal Democrat), Mr. David Daniel (United Kingdom Independence Party), Mr. Chris Beverley (British National Party), Tracy Greenwood, Deputy Party Leader (Peoples National Democrat Party).

*Figures based on details available on ukpollingreport.com.