STUDENTS from Dudley College got the chance to grill the shadow Home Secretary on a host of topics when he visited the borough.
Ed Balls MP met members of the Student Union at The Broadway campus for a question and answer session during a whistletop tour, organised by Dudley North MP Ian Austin.
Around 20 students questioned the MP for over an hour and vented frustrations on government cuts affecting young people in Dudley including the abolishing of the Education Maintenance Allowance, Connexions, the rise in student university fees, bus fares, benefits and housing.
Speaking to the News later, Mr Balls said: “They asked some really tough questions, which I expected.
But I think it is really short sighted for young people to be bearing the brunt of the government cuts.”
Following the Dudley College meeting, the shadow Home Secretary then visited Roberts Primary School in Lower Gornal, where he met around 100 members of the public.
The MP heard about priorities residents thought needed to be addressed in the area - with rising crime levels, government cuts to police officers and cuts to children's education, all coming out top.
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