SO there we have it, the final statement from the Electoral Commission that a postal voting system, by this government, would not work.

Bolton council had to set up two emergency polling stations after thousands of ballot papers went undelivered, one local authority said it had to reprint nearly 250,000 papers, another was reported to be delivering ballot packs by hand after production delays, and police investigated claims of election fraud in at least two other areas of the North-west.

They cannot say they were not warned either, because the Electoral Commission - and some of Labour's own MPs - suggested it would be open to abuse. Indeed, the parliamentary premonitions came true as a Liberal Democrat candidate was held on suspicion of election fraud.

All this for increasing turnout by just five per cent. The answer to the question about turnout is more complex than simply changing the voting system. When up to 60 per cent of people don't even bother to vote, the big question that remains is what the politicians need to do to re-engage the voters.

Ian Upton

Thomas More Close

Bolton