DAVID Cameron said he would “love a Portillo moment” by ousting cabinet minister Ed Balls as he launched a campaign raid into the Education Secretary’s backyard.
The Tory leader targeted Mr Balls directly as he visited the newly-created seat being fought by Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s closest political ally.
Party strategists believe the slump in Labour opinion poll support has put constituencies like Morley and Outwood, in West Yorkshire, within their reach despite needing a 10.47% swing to reverse a notional 8,669 majority.
Such a prized scalp on election night could prove as symbolic as the unexpected defeat of Tory cabinet minister Michael Portillo in 1997 – probably the most memorable moment of the 1997 election.
“We’d all love a Portillo moment but that’s up to the voters,” he said as he spoke to staff in the giant Coca Cola bottling plant in Outwood, near Wakefield, where a number of people from Huddersfield have jobs.
