Back to school for Ed Balls

Electioneering was child's play for Labour big-hitter Ed Balls when he hit the campaign trail at a Black Country school.

The schools secretary toured the recently refurbished Wrens Nest Primary School in Dudley and had to be dragged away from classroom after classroom by clock-watching party strategists. Their pleas for Mr Balls to speed up often fell on deaf ears.

The minister refused to leave a reception class until he had finished reading a story for his wide-eyed audience of five-year-olds.

With politicians up and down the land no doubt enduring sleepless nights as polling day approaches, Mr Balls told the tale of restless Mr Bear struggling to get some shut eye in Jill Murphy's book Peace at Last.

He later spoke to parents in the school's adult learning class. Mother-of-three Tammy Watts, aged 23, of Hillside Road, Wrens Nest, proudly showed the MP a picture of children Leon, five, Robert, four and Rosehanna, one.

After spending more than 40 minutes at the school in Foxglove Road, Mr Balls was finally ushered away to a waiting car. He had earlier visited cash-strapped charity St Thomas' Network in Beechwood Road, Dudley, to lend his support to Ian Austin as he seeks re-election in Dudley North.

Stopping off at a class for 14 to 16-year-olds excluded from mainstream schooling, Mr Balls was taken aback when he asked a group of lads why they had been "chucked out" and Thomas Frye replied: "Flame throwing."

The youngster told Mr Balls he hoped to become a carpenter.

Speaking to the Express & Star on the visit, Mr Balls criticised Tory-run Dudley Council for slashing £75,000 from the St Thomas' Network budget.

"These young people need a second chance," he said.

"To cut funding seems to me to be very short-sighted."

By Mark Mudie