How Ed Ball's austerity-lite agenda ruined Labour's election chances

One of the great joys of election night is watching particularly despised politicians getting their comeuppance. These occurrences have become known as "Portillo moments" in homage to the unseating of the the Tory Defence Secretary Michael Portillo in 1997.

Thanks to the SNP landslide in Scotland and the implosion of the Lib-Dem party, General Election night 2015 was full of "Portillo moments" including Danny Alexander (George Osborne's Lib-Dem sidekick for the last 5 years), Jim Murphy (the Blairite Scottish Labour leader), Vince Cable (the Lib-Dem who flogged off the Royal Mail on the cheap), Steve Webb (the Lib-Dem DWP minister who defended "Bedroom Tax" to the hilt), Douglas Alexander (A key Ed Miliband ally and adviser) and Ed Davey (the Lib-Dem energy minister with the incredibly flexible principles).

Despite all of these high profile oustings the biggest "Portillo moment" of the night belonged to the Labour Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Ed Balls, who lost his Morley and Outwood seat to a Tory...

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