Article For Folkestone Herald and Kentish Express

23 May 2005

One of the disturbing things to have emerged in the aftermath of the General Election campaign is the extent to which postal ballots seem to have gone astray.

I have received countless letters from people who live abroad but who are registered to vote in this constituency whose voting forms didn’t arrive in time. Even more worrying are reports that bags of postal votes have been lost.

In view of the size of the majority it is clear that these mishaps would not have affected the result in this constituency. And they are, of course a long way from fraud. But these do, nevertheless, give cause for concern.

The findings of fraud made in the High Court recently about the conduct of last year’s local elections in Birmingham come into a very different and much more serious category. To have our electoral system described by a High Court Judge as resembling that of a banana republic is something which should make us all sit up and take notice.

There are a number of changes to the system which could and should be made. Indeed they should have been made before the General Election.

The Electoral Commission have, for example, recommended that voting registration should be by individuals rather than households. This would obviously make it easier to check. Another recommended change is to increase the time between the last date of the election so that the opportunity for checks to be carried out is greater.

These changes should be introduced as soon as possible. There are important local elections in many parts of the country (though not here) next year and we also face the prospect of a referendum on the European constitution.

Our democratic process used to be the envy of the world. That this is no longer the case should be regarded as a matter of great concern.

The necessary action to put things right should be taken without delay