'Attack ad' brings in cash to oust Minister

A video by Antony Calvert, who is standing for the Tories against the Schools Secretary in the new seat of Morley and Outwood, was put online yesterday inviting small donations to help fund his challenge.

With Mr Balls defending a majority of about 9,000, the video urges voters to offer money to the Tory campaign by raising the prospect of inflicting a similar wound on Labour as the defeat of Michael Portillo – who had a majority of 15,000 – had on the Tories in 1997.

Within hours, insiders reported pledges of more than 1,500, mostly in small sums which will go towards literature and campaign material.

Mr Calvert said: "Me and my team are out and about in Morley and Outwood throughout the week knocking on doors and talking about the issues that matter to voters.

"They know it is a choice between five more years of Gordon Brown and Ed Balls' tired government making things worse or David Cameron and the Conservatives with the energy, leadership and values to get Yorkshire moving."

Mr Calvert says he came up with the idea of the video, which was circulating around internet blogs yesterday, after witnessing fundraising techniques used in the US presidential campaign.

But Labour has laughed off Mr Calvert's video, with one insider describing it as "pretty desperate". Although Mr Balls has received thousands of pounds of funding from unions, Labour activists say their campaign is funded largely by small donations.