The Madhouse Update

On 4 April 2005, after deciding the fate of six Asian fraudsters, Judge Richard Mawrey said that there was evidence OF 'MASSIVE, SYSTEMATIC AND ORGANISED FRAUD' in Birmingham.

Mawrey criticised the government's insistence that the postal voting system was working and the fact that they had dismissed many and various warnings as 'scaremongering', saying:

"Anybody who has sat through the case I have just tried and listened to evidence of ELECTORAL FRAUD THAT WOULD DISGRACE A BANANA REPUBLIC would find this statement surprising."

What would you call the enfranchisement of the criminally inclined alien to the massive detriment of the democratic process our ancestors put in place?I wouldn't call it 'surprising.' I'd call it treason.

Judge Mawrey continued:

"It indicates a state NOT SIMPLY OF COMPLACENCY, BUT OF DENIAL. THE SYSTEMS TO DEAL WITH FRAUD ARE NOT WORKING WELL... THE FACT IS THAT THERE ARE NO SYSTEMS TO DEAL REALISTICALLY WITH FRAUD…

Short of writing ‘STEAL ME’ on the envelopes, it is hard to see what more could be done TO ENSURE THEIR COMING INTO THE WRONG HANDS”.

The Guardian of 5 April 2009, added:

“In a damning judgment which ran to 192 pages, he said the system for registering postal vote applications was 'hopelessly insecure'. THERE WAS NO WAY OF CHECKING WHETHER THE PERSON WHO HAD APPLIED FOR THE VOTE WAS THE LEGITIMATE VOTER…

There had been ‘widespread theft’ of postal votes, either en masse from corrupt postal workers or on a smaller scale from the letterboxes of householders, the court heard. A lack of effective policing meant that fraud was compounded, Mr Mawrey said. Returning officers had neither the powers, resources or authority to investigate suspicious applications for postal votes, and the police were poorly trained to detect it.

In the Bordesley Green ward, he ruled that up to 2,000 postal votes were fraudulent, and in Aston 1,000. In many cases whole families had had their votes intercepted AND CHANGED BY LABOUR."

'Changed by Labour,' ladies and gents.

Such anti-democratic practices as these are widespread in Asia but, until recently, they were unknown here. The New Labour wannabes, Muhammad Azfal, Mohammed Islam, Mohammed Kazi, who set up and ran a 'vote forging factory,' and three other Labour candidates, Shafaq Ahmed, Shah Jahan and Ayaz Khan, all took part in the postal vote scam.

On 22 January 2008, The Daily Express reported thus:

“The UK's electoral system is ‘open to fraud’ and should be changed to improve postal voting and voter registration security... The damning report by the Council of Europe says it is ‘childishly simple’ to register bogus voters, and the system provides the anonymity to carry out fraud without detection…

The Council of Europe inquiry team visited London last year, pursuing growing concerns about postal voting fraud following a case in Birmingham in which five men were found guilty of widespread postal vote rigging in the 2004 council elections.”

New Labour still haven't changed the system back to what it was. It's just too hard to rig a ballot box. Unless, of course, they're made of cardboard.

Why do you think Gordon Brown's government are now giving us cardboard boxes to put our ballot papers in? Doesn't common sense suggests that it would be much more easy, for those inclined to subvert the electoral process, to tamper with a cardboard box than a wooden or a metal one?

Why do you think Tony Blair's government introduced the postal vote in the first place? Well, throughout Asia, and Africa for that matter, electoral fraud is routine and tolerated. I say that postal voting was foist upon the British people so that the criminally inclined immigrant could rig the vote that bit more effectively in his own behalf.

Who benefits from the immigrant vote, ladies and gentlemen? The mainstream political parties do. Who doesn't benefit? Those whom the immigrant will never vote for. The BNP and/or the National Front for instance.

It's not rocket science, is it?

As far as I know, no British Nationalist has ever profited, or tried to profit, from the abuse of the electoral system in this country.

On 11 April 2005, a month before the 2005 General Election, The Times reported thus:

"An investigation by The Times last June found widespread allegations of cheating and intimidation involving postal votes in Yorkshire and North West England...

Tony Blair said last week: 'OVERALL, POSTAL VOTING IS NO MORE PRONE TO FRAUD THAN OTHER ELECTORAL SYSTEMS'."

The postal vote is still with us. That New Labour would deliberately create such corruptible system, a system that would further disenfranchise and undermine the honest British citizen, speaks worlds for the malign, totalitarian mindset of those who rule our lives.

A chronological history of the postal vote follows:

In the 9 May 2000 issue of The Daily Telegraph, a few days after the May 2000 local elections, Paul Gribble, an advisor on electoral law, said this:

“There is a danger, because of certain changes taking place, that BRITISH ELECTIONS AS WE KNOW THEM WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN, AND THAT THEY MAY NOT CONTINUE TO BE SEEN TO BE FREE AND FAIR. EXTENSIVE REFORMS ARE UNDER WAY THAT WILL ALTER MANY VITAL ASPECTS OF ELECTION PROCEDURES. Some of them will reduce the opportunities for the procedures to be fully scrutinised and could well INCREASE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNSCRUPULOUS INDIVIDUALS TO CHEAT THE SYSTEM.”

In March 2001, 'Vote-rigging is easy,' by "journalist of the year", Nick Davies, was published by The Guardian.

This, in part, is it:

"VOTE-RIGGING IS WELL ESTABLISHED AND IT IS CRAFTED WITH RAT-LIKE CUNNING. Just about nobody in politics complains about it – because JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY IN POLITICS KNOWS THAT THEIR OWN PARTY HAS BEEN IMPLICATED. It’s the dirty little secret which they all share: they vote early and they vote often.

Now, in a move which looks at best over-confident and at worst like an invitation to corruption, THE ELECTORAL RULES HAVE BEEN CHANGED WITH THE EFFECT OF INCREASING THE POTENTIAL FOR ABUSE. And, despite a steady trickle of alarming revelations, ALMOST NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE, TO MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT: EVERY BOROUGH IS NOW POTENTIALLY ROTTEN.

The best and simplest way to procure false votes is to invent false voters – ‘ghosts’ as they are known in the trade. In the 1993 local council elections in Brighton, for example, Labour party workers discovered a cluster of individuals who had been registered to vote at local addresses but who appeared to have left no sign of their existence other than an application for a local Conservative supporter to cast their vote for them.

In the 1998 Hackney council elections, which ended with the jailing of two councillors this April, Lib Dem and Tory riggers registered one of their relatives in two different locations; logged eight fictional voters at the address of a derelict property; and registered more than 80 other ghosts by hijacking the names of students at a residential college, knowing that the students were unlikely to find out since they were foreign and/or too young to vote.

The real joy of raising electoral ghosts is that there are no ghost-busters: there is no system for checking the accuracy of the electoral register. Riggers can find a derelict building, or add a couple of extra houses to a street, or use the address of a hostel or anywhere else with a transitory population and simply bung in names…

Riggers are at their most inventive when they steal the votes of real people. They do this primarily by abusing the system for postal votes, which allow you to vote at a distance; and also proxy votes, which allow you to nominate somebody else to vote on your behalf…

More than 70 electors in St Ives in 1992 complained that Conservative supporters had used their votes by proxy without their consent. Some old people said they had signed blank forms without knowing what they were. Some said they had signed nothing, including one man who was supposed to have signed a request for a proxy vote without being able to spell his own name. Four of them were dead by the time they voted…

Reports of the abuse of absentee votes have bubbled through the system ever since Mrs Thatcher first introduced new rules to encourage overseas voters to cast their ballot by mail. The 1990 local elections saw a Labour councillor in Chorley, a Conservative councillor in West Lancashire and a Liberal agent in Sheffield all separately convicted for forging absentee votes. Since then, the theft of absentee votes by ones means or another has been reported in Brent, Burnley and Brighton... And it has led to convictions in Enfield, where one of the most senior Tory agents in London, Miles Parker, was fined £750 for forging proxy votes in a local election in 1992; and in Hackney where the riggers conned old people into signing a proxy form by telling them that it was a petition for rubbish collection.

Yet now, the government has done something very strange. When Mrs Thatcher’s boost for postal voting produced this outbreak of abuse, a Home Office working party considered the future of absentee voting and reported, in February 1994, that: ‘VOTING IN PERSON AT THE LOCAL POLLING STATION IN GENERAL PROVIDES THE LEAST OPPORTUNITY FOR PERSONATION OR ELECTORAL FRAUD.’ They considered suggestions that absentee votes should be given not simply to those with a specific need but to anyone who asked. However, they concluded: ‘A MOVE TO ABSENT VOTING ON DEMAND MIGHT INCREASE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR FRAUDULENT APPLICATIONS TO BE MADE WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE ELECTOR. ON BALANCE, WE CONSIDER THAT THE RISK OF INCREASED FRAUD OUTWEIGHS THE POTENTIAL ADVANTAGE FOR THE ELECTORATE OF MAKING ABSENT VOTING AVAILABLE TO ALL.’

In February, however, THE GOVERNMENT SET ASIDE THIS WARNING AND WENT AHEAD AND MADE ABSENTEE VOTING AVAILABLE TO ALL…

After Devon and Cornwall police investigated the St Ives scandal, they recommended that a postal vote should be valid for only a year. But the new postal votes are available for life. The Home Office working party in 1994 recommended that postal votes be confirmed, like a passport application, by an ‘attestor’ such as a doctor who could vouch for the application. But the new votes are available without attestation; applicants simply sign a declaration of their identity and include one other signature without any form of verification.

THERE ARE HUGE LOOPHOLES FOR THE RIGGERS. The new rules allow, for example, for a businessman who is based away from home to apply for his postal vote form to be sent to his work address. But by allowing secondary addresses, the system lets in the rigger: the canvasser identifies an elector who will not vote; the rigger applies for a postal vote in that elector’s name and asks for it to be sent, for example, to an address at a block of flats, where it can be collected at the front door; the voter knows nothing, the rigger has his vote. There is no mechanism for detecting the fraud.

The only check on the validity of the hundreds of thousands of new postal voters is that each applicant’s name must be on the electoral register. Which is no problem for riggers who steal the votes of real people. And for those who want to raise ghost votes, registration itself has been made much easier, with the introduction of rolling registration, allowing names to be added to the register at any time and also via the Internet.

The Electoral Reform Society are worried... 'As it is, IF YOU CREATE A GHOST VOTER, YOU WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY GET AWAY WITH IT,' a spokesman said."

http://www.nickdavies.net/2001/03/01/vote-rigging-is-easy/

Councillors Isaac Liebowitz, a school administrator, and Zev Lieberman, a "child carer", were both jailed for their fraudulent behaviours during the Hackney Council elections.

The Telegraph told us that:

“Special Branch officers, who spent 18 months investigating the matter, described it as ‘the largest attempt to subvert the democratic process’ that they had come across.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1316835/Hackney-poll-fix-councillors-jailed.html

Both of the imprisoned councillors were Jewish.

In 2005, Chief Superintendent Dave Murray of Thames Valley Police sent a letter to the Electoral Commission, saying:

“THE APPLICATION PROCEDURE TO ALLOW INDIVIDUALS TO HAVE A POSTAL VOTE IN LOCAL, EUROPEAN AND NATIONAL ELECTIONS IS SUPERFICIAL, CURSORY AND FLAWED”.

In 2005, Chief Superintendent Dave Murray of Thames Valley Police sent a letter to the Electoral Commission, saying:

“THE APPLICATION PROCEDURE TO ALLOW INDIVIDUALS TO HAVE A POSTAL VOTE IN LOCAL, EUROPEAN AND NATIONAL ELECTIONS IS SUPERFICIAL, CURSORY AND FLAWED”.

On 4 April 2005, after deciding the fate of six Asian fraudsters, Judge Richard Mawrey said that there was evidence OF 'MASSIVE, SYSTEMATIC AND ORGANISED FRAUD' in Birmingham.

Mawrey criticised the government's insistence that the postal voting system was working and the fact that they had dismissed many and various warnings as 'scaremongering', saying:

"Anybody who has sat through the case I have just tried and listened to evidence of ELECTORAL FRAUD THAT WOULD DISGRACE A BANANA REPUBLIC would find this statement surprising...

It indicates a state NOT SIMPLY OF COMPLACENCY, BUT OF DENIAL. THE SYSTEMS TO DEAL WITH FRAUD ARE NOT WORKING WELL... THE FACT IS THAT THERE ARE NO SYSTEMS TO DEAL REALISTICALLY WITH FRAUD…

Short of writing ‘STEAL ME’ on the envelopes, it is hard to see what more could be done TO ENSURE THEIR COMING INTO THE WRONG HANDS”.

On 5 April 2005, the BBC’s Barnaby Mason told us this:

“For several weeks, A SPECIAL ELECTION COURT HEARD LURID ALLEGATIONS OF POSTAL VOTES BEING STOLEN AND FORGED. SIX COUNCILLORS FROM TONY BLAIR'S LABOUR PARTY DENIED WRONGDOING.

According to petitions from supporters of rival parties, THREE OF THE COUNCILLORS - MUHAMMAD AFZAL, MOHAMMED ISLAM AND MOHAMMED KAZI - WERE FOUND BY THE POLICE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT IN A WAREHOUSE WITH HUNDREDS OF POSTAL VOTES SPREAD OUT ON A TABLE… Other allegations spoke of AN ATTEMPT TO BRIBE A POSTMAN TO HAND OVER A BAG OF BALLOT PAPERS, AND OF THREATS TO CUT HIS THROAT.

LABOUR PARTY SUPPORTERS WERE SAID TO HAVE INTIMIDATED VOTERS INTO VOTING THEIR WAY AND STOOD OVER THEM WHILE THEY FILLED IN THEIR BALLOTS...

THE MERE EXISTENCE OF A POSTAL BALLOT MAKES IT EASIER TO BULLY SOMEONE TO VOTE A PARTICULAR WAY…

THE CURRENT PROBLEMS DATE FROM 2001, WHEN THE LAW WAS CHANGED TO MAKE POSTAL VOTING AVAILABLE TO ANYONE… CRITICS SAID IT WAS CALCULATED TO BENEFIT THE LABOUR PARTY MOST…

STRICTER CONTROLS MIGHT ELIMINATE FORGERY, BUT THE MERE EXISTENCE OF A POSTAL BALLOT MAKES IT EASIER TO BULLY SOMEONE TO VOTE A PARTICULAR WAY…

SOME OBSERVERS ARGUE THAT THE HIERARCHICAL AND PATERNALISTIC NATURE OF SOME ETHNIC MINORITY COMMUNITIES MAKES THEM ESPECIALLY OPEN TO SUCH ABUSE.”

On 11 April 2005, a month before the 2005 General Election, The Times reported thus:

"Labour is planning to legislate to stop cheating in postal voting immediately after the general election in spite of repeated assurances from ministers that the present system is safe...

An investigation by The Times last June found widespread allegations of cheating and intimidation involving postal votes in Yorkshire and North West England...

Tony Blair said last week: 'OVERALL, POSTAL VOTING IS NO MORE PRONE TO FRAUD THAN OTHER ELECTORAL SYSTEMS'."

On 13 April 2005, The Guardian quoted Peter Woodward, Electoral Services Officer at Cardiff City Council, thus:

"We have had electors talking to us saying that they were not happy... they FELT POLITICAL PARTIES WERE PUSHING THEM. There is a suggestion from some residents that they have been not exactly pressurised but HEAVILY ENCOURAGED INTO APPLYING FOR A POSTAL VOTE AND SENDING IT THROUGH THE PARTY INVOLVED. We are not happy about it...

I think it would be more wise for political parties to stay completely clear of the postal voting system in view of what has happened recently."

The Guardian added:

"EXPERTS BELIEVE UP TO 6M OF THE 44M VOTES LIKELY TO BE CAST ON MAY 5 WILL BE POSTAL VOTES AND, IN MARGINAL CONSTITUENCIES, THEY COULD BE DECISIVE...

Guidelines were issued to political parties by the Electoral Commission and the Association of Chief Police Officers, warning them to STEER CLEAR OF INVOLVEMENT IN POSTAL VOTING. 'Because of the risks of suspicions that the application may be altered and the risk of the application form being delayed or lost in transit, the local electoral registration officer's address should be the preferred address given for the return of application forms,' the guidelines said.

But some candidates are flouting this advice. In a personal letter to voters in east London this week, THE LABOUR MP OONA KING TOLD THEM TO FILL OUT THE ENCLOSED APPLICATION FORM 'AND RETURN IT TO ME AT THE ADDRESS SHOWN'...

The warnings came as the scale of alleged electoral fraud in the UK emerged. A survey by the Crown Prosecution Service, released to the Guardian, revealed there were 39 ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS INTO FRAUD, including cases where criminal charges have been made and those where lawyers were examining police reports.

Police forces in Woking, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Bradford and Burnley are investigating claims of postal voting fraud."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/apr/13/uk.localgovernment

On 13 April 2005, The Guardian quoted Malcolm Dumper, Executive Director of the Association of Electoral Administrators thus:

"We have had an electoral system in place for more than a century built on trust and we now find ourselves in a position of being ridiculed in other countries BECAUSE OUR PROCESS IS FLAWED."

On 15 April 2005, the same newspaper quoted him thus:

"THE POLITICAL PARTIES ARE FARMING THESE APPLICATIONS but if the process goes wrong we have to defend it… There has been this confidence issue and there are suspicions about there being too many people in the process."

On 1 May 2005, The Daily Telegraph quoted him thus:

“We do not have the time or the resources to carry out stringent checks and that means THERE IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR WIDESCALE FRAUD.”

The Telegraph’s David Harrison added:

“It was frighteningly easy. Within five days I WAS ABLE TO OBTAIN POSTAL BALLOT PAPERS ENABLING ME TO VOTE 11 TIMES IN THE GENERAL ELECTION - AND IN COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTIONS ON THE SAME DAY. NO CHECKS, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
I could, if I chose to, vote this week for candidates in areas ranging from London to York and from East Sussex to Cornwall.

Of course, I will not do that. The point of The Telegraph's investigation was not to steal votes, but TO EXPOSE HOW FLAWS IN THE POSTAL BALLOT SYSTEM MEAN THAT THE GENERAL ELECTION IS, DESPITE REPEATED WARNINGS AND SUBSEQUENT REASSURANCES, STILL WIDE OPEN TO VOTE-RIGGING...

Our investigation shows HOW EASY IT WOULD BE TO CARRY OUT POSTAL FRAUD ON A LARGER SCALE INVOLVING HUNDREDS OR EVEN THOUSANDS OF VOTING FORMS SENT TO MANY DIFFERENT BUT BOGUS ADDRESSES - AND TIP THE BALANCE IN FAVOUR OF ONE CANDIDATE OVER A LEGITIMATE WINNER, ESPECIALLY IN MARGINAL SEATS…

Election officials told The Telegraph that they did not have the manpower to check all the forms and admitted that the system was ‘wide open’ to fraud. ‘YOU HAVE PROVED THAT THE POSTAL VOTING IS EASY TO ABUSE AND, UNDER THE PRESENT RULES, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE,’ ONE SENIOR OFFICIAL SAID.

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE VOTING BY POST IS EXPECTED TO RISE TO MORE THAN 6.5 MILLION FOR THURSDAY'S GENERAL ELECTION, ABOUT ONE IN SIX OF ALL VOTES. ALL THE MAIN PARTIES HAVE ENCOURAGED POSTAL VOTING…

THE ASSOCIATION OF ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATORS, WHICH REPRESENTS ELECTION OFFICIALS, LAST NIGHT ACCUSED THE GOVERNMENT OF IGNORING CALLS TO TIGHTEN VOTING PROCEDURES.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1489083/No-checks-no-questions-asked-thats-how-easy-it-is-to-obtain-11-postal-ballots.html

On 15 April 2005, the BBC's Political Editor, Andrew Marr said this:

"THERE ARE REAL WORRIES ABOUT THE WAY THAT THE PARTIES ARE HANDLING LARGE AMOUNTS OF VOTES. We could see the situation after the election result is declared, where IN CLOSELY-FOUGHT MARGINAL SEATS, THERE ARE SUSPICIONS AND ACCUSATIONS AND DOUBTS ABOUT WHETHER THOSE RESULTS WERE FAIR".

The BBC added:

"A survey in The Times found that POSTAL VOTE APPLICATIONS OVERALL HAD ALMOST TREBLED SINCE 2001. IN SOME KEY MARGINALS THEY HAD RISEN BY ALMOST 500%."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4446957.stm

On 15 April 2005, The Guardian quoted Tony Travers, a political analyst at the London School of Economics, thus:

"What we are seeing is A GREATER ASSAULT ON THE USE OF THE POSTAL VOTE which has got out of control. THE PARTIES ARE BEING POLITICAL AND THE RETURNING OFFICERS ARE BEING NON-POLITICAL. ANYONE WHO BELIEVES IN CLEAN DEMOCRACY WOULD BE ON THE SIDE OF THE RETURNING OFFICERS."

The Guardian added:

"TONY BLAIR IS PROMOTING HIS PARTY'S 'FARMING' OF POSTAL VOTE APPLICATIONS IN A NATIONAL MAILSHOT WHICH DEFIES ADVICE FROM RETURNING OFFICERS THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO THIRD PARTY INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROCESS.

Returning officers want political parties to withdraw from the postal voting process in the run up to the general election, in an attempt to restore public confidence in a system which has been undermined by recent fraud cases in Birmingham and Blackburn.

Enclosed in Mr Blair's letter to electors across the country is AN APPLICATION FORM FOR A POSTAL VOTE… On visiting the address, the Guardian discovered the centre was in fact LABOUR'S COMMUNICATION HEADQUARTERS FOR THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN. Inside a nondescript office, staff sat behind piles of completed postal vote applications - ALL OF WHICH RETURNING OFFICERS SAY SHOULD HAVE BEEN SENT DIRECT TO THEM BY VOTERS…

Mr Blair is not alone in acting contrary to their advice. MICHAEL HOWARD, IN A PERSONAL LETTER TO VOTERS, ASKS THEM TO RETURN THEIR APPLICATION FORMS TO A NATIONAL PARTY CENTRE IN DARTFORD, KENT, WHILE CHARLES KENNEDY REQUESTS ELECTORS TO RETURN THE FORMS TO THE PARTY'S LOCAL OFFICES…

A Guardian survey of more than 20 key marginal constituencies shows that POSTAL VOTING IS SOARING IN CRUCIAL SEATS WITH SMALL MAJORITIES…

In Haltemprice and Howden, where shadow home secretary David Davis is defending a 1,903 majority from the Liberal Democrats, APPLICATIONS HAVE RISEN FROM 2,000 IN 2001 TO 9,800. IN THE LABOUR MARGINAL OF KETTERING, ONE OF THE MOST HOTLY CONTESTED SEATS IN THE COUNTRY, APPLICATIONS HAVE REACHED 16,000, COMPARED TO 3,000 LAST TIME.

In Surrey South West, where the Conservatives are defending an 861 majority from the Lib Dems, 10,000 ELECTORS HAVE APPLIED TO VOTE BY POST SO FAR, AMOUNTING TO 10% OF THE TOTAL POLL. IN NEIGHBOURING GUILDFORD - LIB DEM MAJORITY: 538 - THERE HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 14,000 APPLICATIONS, COMPARED TO JUST OVER 3,000 IN 2001. THERE HAVE BEEN PREDICTIONS THAT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF POSTAL VOTES CAST IN THIS ELECTION COULD REACH SIX MILLION FROM A 26M TURNOUT…

While the practice of channelling applications via the parties is not illegal, the Electoral Commission and Association of Chief Police Officers are advising against it 'because of THE RISKS OF SUSPICIONS THAT THE APPLICATION MAY BE ALTERED AND THE RISK OF THE APPLICATION FORM BEING DELTAYED OR LOST IN TRANSIT'.

Last night, ALL THREE PARTIES SAID THEY WOULD CONTINUE WITH THE PRACTICE".

On 15 April 2005, the BBC reported thus:

"A DRAMATIC RISE IN POSTAL VOTES HAS RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT POTENTIAL FRAUD and logistical problems. THE MAIN PARTIES ARE ACCUSED OF ASKING VOTERS, ESPECIALLY IN MARGINAL SEATS, TO SEND POST VOTE APPLICATIONS TO THEM.

They say they are within the rules."

On 30 April 2005, Dr Liam Fox, co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, accused the Government of having 'casually accepted the corruption of Britain's electoral practices'... (and) TRADING AWAY THE INTEGRITY OF THE SYSTEM AND OUR NATIONAL REPUTATION FOR FAIRNESS IN PURSUIT OF THEIR OWN NARROW INTERESTS".

On 4 May 2005, the Independent on Sunday article, Straw's seat is a hot-spot of POSTAL VOTE fraud claims, by Anne Penketh, told us this:

“Returning officers will be on alert for possible voter fraud tomorrow after applications for POSTAL VOTES surged nationwide. It is estimated that SIX MILLION PEOPLE, 15 PER CENT OF THE ELECTORATE, WILL OPT FOR THE POST BOX OVER THE POLLING BOOTH.

In the Lancashire constituency of Blackburn, where THE FOREIGN SECRETARY, JACK STRAW, is defending his 9,249 majority, the VOTE-RIGGING ALLEGATIONS HAVE INTENSIFIED AS POLLING DAY NEARS.

‘I've come from Uzbekistan to Blackburnistan,’ says Craig Murray, Britain's former ambassador to the central Asian republic who is campaigning to unseat the Foreign Secretary. He left the Foreign Office after speaking out against the Government's use of intelligence obtained by torture.

‘This is very much a Labour rotten borough,’ he said. ‘There is a nexus of the police, the authorities and business - if we were in the Soviet Union, you would say mafia.’

The jailing of a Blackburn city councillor - AN ASIAN MUSLIM REPRESENTING LABOUR - for rigging POSTAL VOTES in the May 2002 local elections has failed to silence the rumour mill. Voters in the Muslim community, which makes up almost a quarter of the electorate, say now they are being strong-armed by mosque leaders and councillors to vote Labour. The number of postal votes registered in Blackburn IS 20,000, COMPARED TO 7,600 IN 2001.

THE POSTAL VOTE SCANDAL HAS ALSO HIT OTHER CITIES WITH A SIZEABLE ASIAN COMMUNITIES. Investigations are ongoing in Greater Manchester, Burnley, and Bradford, where a Tory councillor was arrested yesterday.

In Birmingham, where fraud marred last year's local elections, six Labour councillors (all Asian) have been sacked in a scandal that, the election commissioner, said ‘would disgrace a banana republic'...

One voter of Pakistani origin, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, told The Independent that postal fraud in Blackburn was widespread. ‘It's worse than Birmingham.’ Like other voters in Blackburn, the 57-year old Pakistani said Labour kept its hold through the mosque committee. ‘IT IS 100 PER CENT LABOUR. THEY CONTROL THE MOSQUE. THEY FRIGHTEN THE PEOPLE’…

It seems, however, that people are not going to the police. Locals say this is because voters fear reprisals from within the community, and THE POLICE ARE NOT TRUSTED.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/straws-seat-is-a-hotspot-of-postal-vote-fraud-claims-495025.html

On 5 May 2005, The Times told us this:

"Fifteen investigations involving eight police forces were under way last night into allegations of VOTING FRAUD AND MALPRACTICE DURING THE CAMPAIGN. TEN OF THE POLICE INQUIRIES CONCERN POSTAL VOTING. Scores of suspicious postal vote applications have been detected by electoral workers, with 182 BEING REFERRED TO POLICE IN BRADFORD ALONE. Detectives arrested a Conservative councillor in the marginal seat of Bradford West yesterday.

The number of investigations is likely to rise sharply from today. Senior police officers expect calls for fresh inquiries as electors discover that their votes have been stolen and members of political groups demand that suspect election results be overturned. The arrest in Bradford, the second by West Yorkshire Police in 24 hours, comes after investigations by The Times into claims of postal ballot fraud.

Jamshed Khan, 51, campaigned for Haroon Rashid, the Conservative candidate in Bradford West, the 68th most vulnerable Labour seat. The Times disclosed that he had 13 voters registered at his home and 12 more at a derelict house he was registered as co-owning until recently…

In Birmingham, where THE FIRST ELECTORAL COURT FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY WAS CONVENED THIS YEAR TO CONVICT FIVE LABOUR COUNCILLORS OF VOTE-RIGGING, West Midlands Police have conducted house-to-house inquiries to verify postal vote applications to avoid a repeat of the ‘INDUSTRIAL SCALE’ FRAUD that blighted the city in last year’s local elections.

Police in the Birmingham Sparkwood and Small Heath constituency are also investigating an allegation that A LABOUR SUPPORTER APPLIED POSTAL IN HIS NEIGHBOURS’ NAMES…

The Leicestershire force is holding two postal inquiries. In Leicester South accusations by the Liberal Democrat candidate, Parmjit Singh Gill, that ASIAN COMMUNITY LEADERS COULD BE TRYING TO RIG THE POLLS are being looked into…

Two claims of POSTAL VOTE fraud in East London have been reported to the Metropolitan Police. Both allegations concern properties in Bethnal Green & Bow, THE SEAT BEING FOUGHT BY OONA KING FOR LABOUR and George Galloway for Respect.

Thames Valley Police have two investigations in High Wycombe... Bedfordshire Police in Luton are checking an allegation THAT A CONSERVATIVE SUPPORTER TOOK ADVANTAGE OF AN ELDERLY WOMAN SUFFERING FROM ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE BY PERSUADING HER TO LET HIM VOTE FOR HER BY PROXY."

On 27 April 2006, speaking in Bethnal Green, the MP, George Galloway, said that New Labour's encouragement of the postal vote system made them 'at best complacent and complicit at worst' in the scandal engulfing Tower Hamlets.

The Guardian quoted him thus:

"THIS MAY BE ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS EXAMPLES OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION IN MODERN BRITISH HISTORY. TOWER HAMLETS IS THE WORST COUNCIL IN ENGLAND - IT IS CORRUPT, INCOMPETENT, INSENSITIVE, UNDEMOCRATIC AND SECRET...

POLITICAL CORRUPTION ON THAT SCALE IS UNPRECEDENTED IN BRITAIN SINCE AT LEAST THE EARLY PART OF THE 19TH CENTURY. IS THIS A BANANA REPUBLIC? IS THIS A CORRUPT POLITICAL DICTATORSHIP WHERE VOTE-RIGGING CAN BE TOLERATED?"

John Rees, national secretary of the Respect party, said although the system had been set up by Labour, the Liberal Democrats appeared to be the main perpetrators.

"The system is administered by Labour, the main culprits we have discovered so far are THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/apr/27/localelections2006.uk

In an October 2006 paper submitted to the Metropolitan Police Authority, Scotland Yard's Assistant Commissioner, Andy Hayman, said this:

“Some community contacts have remarked on how SUCH PRACTICES THAT ARE SEEN AS ACCEPTABLE OUTSIDE THE UK HAVE BEEN ADOPTED IN RESPECT OF UK ELECTIONS - FOR EXAMPLE, THE HEAD OF AN EXTENDED FAMILY INSTRUCTING FAMILY MEMBERS TO VOTE FOR A PARTICULAR PARTY OR CANDIDATE. POSTAL VOTING INCREASES THE RISK, AS THE SAFEGUARD OF A TRULY SECRET BALLOT IS REMOVED...

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WAYS THAT THE POSTAL VOTING SYSTEM CAN BE ABUSED AND SUCH ABUSE CAN AMOUNT TO CRIMINAL OFFENCES OF FORGERY, DECEPTION AND CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD...

Postal voting application forms can appear complex and can result in assistance being sought to complete such forms. This leads to third parties being given an opportunity to apply for postal ballots where this is not the preference of the voter, to re-direct postal ballot forms, or even for postal ballot papers to be handed over to third parties. There is evidence that such activity has occurred WITHIN THE BENGALI COMMUNITY in Tower Hamlets...

It is the view of the Special Prosecutions Unit that WIDESPREAD USE OF POSTAL VOTES HAS OPENED UP A WHOLE NEW AREA TO BE EXPLOITED BY THE FRAUDSTER, AND THE OPPORTUNITY HAS BEEN TAKEN."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4410743.stm

On 23 October 2006 the BBC told us this:

"Two Liberal Democrat councillors were found guilty of using proxy votes to secure a council seat in Burnley. Manzur Hussain and Mozaquir Ali face imprisonment after a jury at Preston crown court heard that the fraud denied 160 householders a vote in the local election of June 2004".

On 24 October 2006, The Guardian said this:

"Serious concerns over the safety of postal voting have been raised by one of the country's most senior police officers. Andy Hayman, assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said THE SYSTEM WAS OPEN TO WIDESPREAD CORRUPTION AND NEW LEGISLATION INTRODUCED TO IMPROVE ITS SECURITY WILL NOT ELIMINATE THE PROBLEM.

He revealed that 30 INVESTIGATIONS HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT OR ARE CONTINUING INTO THIS YEAR'S LOCAL ELECTIONS IN LONDON. A major inquiry is under way in Tower Hamlets, east London, and Scotland Yard's special prosecution unit has consulted the Crown Prosecution Service and is considering bringing criminal charges against several suspects.

In a report for the Metropolitan police authority, Mr Hayman said: 'POSTAL VOTING ON DEMAND REMAINS A SERIOUS AREA OF VULNERABILITY WHERE THE INTEGRITY OF THE ELECTORAL PROCESS IS CONCERNED... It is the view of the SPU that postal voting must be properly managed and scrutinised, otherwise the integrity of the electoral system will be compromised'...

Mr Hayman said communities where ENGLISH WAS A SECOND LANGUAGE were particularly vulnerable. 'This is because POSTAL VOTING application forms can appear complex and can result in assistance being sought to complete such forms. This leads to THIRD PARTIES BEING GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR POSTAL BALLOTS WHERE THIS IS NOT THE PREFERENCE OF THE VOTER ... OR EVEN FOR POSTAL BALLOT FORMS TO BE HANDED OVER TO THIRD PARTIES'."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/oct/24/uk.localgovernment

In 2007, the Electoral Commission said this:

“In many areas of the UK we have noted concerns that the current structure for the delivery of electoral administration is CLOSE TO BREAKING POINT and we believe it is insufficiently robust and coordinated to meet the challenges of elections in the twenty-first century…

The most important challenge facing all of those involved in running elections… is to reaffirm a shared commitment to PUTTING ELECTORS AT THE HEART OF ELECTORAL POLICY AND DECISION-MAKING”.

On 8 March 2007, Hélène Mulholland said this in The Guardian:

“BRITAIN COULD BE THE FIRST WESTERN DEMOCRACY TO FACE MONITORING OVER VOTE-RIGGING AND ELECTORAL FRAUD, Guardian Unlimited has learned. A European human rights watchdog is considering plans to scrutinise the UK's council and regional government elections this May following concerns over vote tampering and postal ballots. The move would prove highly embarrassing for Tony Blair's government, since the majority of countries already monitored are fledgling democracies from the former eastern block.

Despite the protestations of the elections minister, Bridget Prentice, a delegation from the council of Europe visited London last week following concerns that VOTE TAMPERING WAS UNDERMINING UK DEMOCRACY…

THE UK GOVERNMENT TRIED IN VAIN TO RESIST THE VISIT.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2007/mar/08/postalvoting.wales

On 26 February 2007, the MP George Galloway was quoted thus by The Guardian:

"Postal voting on demand has nothing to do with making it easier for people to participate in our democracy. IT IS ALL ABOUT ENABLING THE MAJOR PARTIES TO ORGANISE AND MANIPULATE THEIR VOTE TO GIVE THEM THE BEST CHANCE OF WINNING. IT IS BUT A VERY SMALL STEP FROM THIS TO OUTRIGHT THEFT, FRAUD AND COERCION OF THE VOTE."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/feb/26/postalvoting.politics

On 31 October 2007, the former Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Sir Alistair Graham, said that the Committee had been…

“… deeply shocked about the denial not only in the Commission, but also IN THE THEN DEPARTMENT FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS, ABOUT THE SCALE OF POSTAL VOTE FRAUD AND THE FACT THAT NOBODY WAS MONITORING WHAT THE SCALE OF THAT FRAUD WAS”.

In 2008, a Council of Europe communiqué said this:

“It does not take an experienced election observer, or election fraudster, to see that THE COMBINATION OF THE HOUSEHOLD REGISTRATION SYSTEM WITHOUT PERSONAL IDENTIFIERS AND THE POSTAL VOTE ON DEMAND ARRANGEMENTS MAKE THE ELECTION SYSTEM IN GREAT BRITAIN VERY VULNERABLE TO ELECTORAL FRAUD.”

In 2008, the Joseph Rowntree Organisation commissioned Stuart Wilkes-Heeg of the School of Sociology and Social Study at Liverpool University, to write a study of the fairness of the voting system in the UK.

Extracts from the document, Purity of Election in the UK: Causes for Concern, are cited below:

“Current controversies about the integrity of elections in the UK are WITHOUT PRECEDENT IN RECENT BRITISH POLITICAL HISTORY…

The… governmental insistence that appropriate safeguards are in place has created a growing impasse in its relationship with the Electoral Commission, WHICH HAS REPEATEDLY CALLED FOR MORE STRINGENT MEASURES TO ENHANCE BALLOT SECURITY.

The Gould report on the 2007 Scottish elections… suggested that VOTERS HAD BEEN TREATED ‘AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT‘ and a Council of Europe monitoring report… concluded that BRITISH ELECTIONS ‘ARE VERY VULNERABLE TO ELECTORAL FRAUD’…

PRACTICES ASSOCIATED WITH TRADITIONAL FORMS OF PAKISTANI ‘CLAN POLITICS’ HAVE BEEN A COMMON FACTOR IN A SIGNIFICANT MINORITY OF RECENT PROSECUTIONS FOR ELECTORAL FRAUD…

Public confidence in the electoral process in the UK was already very low by West European standards in 1997. There is clear evidence to suggest that PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN UK ELECTIONS MAY HAVE DECLINED FURTHER OVER THE PAST DECADE. Surveys conducted on behalf of the Electoral Commission show AN INCREASE IN THE PROPORTION OF ELECTORS REGARDING POSTAL VOTING AS BEING ‘VERY OR FAIRLY UNSAFE FROM FRAUD’ FROM34 PER CENT IN 2004 TO 46 PER CENT IN 2005...

On one side of the divide, a range of critical voices, drawn from the ranks of LEGAL EXPERTS, SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS, JOURNALISTS AND ACADEMICS, HAVE EXPRESSED SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT THE SECURITY OF POSTAL VOTING, POINTING TO APPARENT FLAWS IN THE SYSTEM AND TO WIDESPREAD ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD…

On the other side of the divide, THE GOVERNMENT HAS CONTINUED TO ARGUE THAT THE EVIDENCE OF ELECTORAL MISCONDUCT IS NEGLIGIBLE AND THAT APPROPRIATE SAFEGUARDS ARE IN PLACE TO PROTECT AGAINST ELECTORAL FRAUD…

The Metropolitan Police have suggested that IN COMMUNITIES WHERE ENGLISH IS A SECOND LANGUAGE THE COMPLEXITY OF POSTAL VOTING FORMS HAS MADE IT EASIER FOR THOSE SEEKING TO MANIPULATE THE ELECTORAL PROCESS…

Key Findings:

Experienced election observers have raised serious concerns about how well UK election procedures measure up to international standards.

There have been at least 42 convictions for electoral fraud in the UK in the period 2000–2007.

GREATER USE OF POSTAL VOTING HAS MADE UK ELECTIONS FAR MORE VULNERABLE TO FRAUD AND RESULTED IN SEVERAL INSTANCES OF LARGE-SCALE FRAUD.

There is widespread, and justifiable, concern about both the comprehensiveness and the accuracy of the UK’s electoral registers – the poor state of the registers potentially compromises the integrity of the ballot.

THERE IS A GENUINE RISK OF ELECTORAL INTEGRITY BEING THREATENED BY PREVIOUSLY ROBUST SYSTEMS OF ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATION HAVING REACHED ‘BREAKING POINT’ AS A RESULT OF PRESSURES IMPOSED IN RECENT YEARS.

Public confidence in the electoral process in the UK was the lowest in Western Europe in 1997, AND HAS ALMOST CERTAINLY DECLINED FURTHER AS A RESULT OF THE EXTENSION OF POSTAL VOTING.

THE BENEFITS OF POSTAL AND ELECTRONIC VOTING HAVE BEEN EXAGGERATED…

THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT MONEY CAN HAVE A POWERFUL IMPACT ON THE OUTCOME OF GENERAL ELECTIONS, particularly where targeted at marginal constituencies over sustained periods of time.

OUTSIDE OF MINISTERIAL CIRCLES, THERE IS A WIDESPREAD VIEW THAT A FUNDAMENTAL OVERHAUL OF UK ELECTORAL LAW, ADMINISTRATION AND POLICY IS URGENTLY REQUIRED.”

http://www.jrrt.org.uk/uploads/Purity%20of%20Elections%20in%20the%20UK.pdf

On 22 January 2008, The Daily Express reported thus:

“The UK's electoral system is ‘open to fraud’ and should be changed to improve postal voting and voter registration security... The damning report by the Council of Europe says it is ‘childishly simple’ to register bogus voters, and the system provides the anonymity to carry out fraud without detection…

The Council of Europe inquiry team visited London last year, pursuing growing concerns about postal voting fraud following a case in Birmingham in which five men were found guilty of widespread postal vote rigging in the 2004 council elections.”

On April 28 2008, The Times told us this:

"THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM IS CLOSE TO BREAKING POINT AND THE MAYORAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS ON THURSDAY ARE VULNERABLE TO LARGE-SCALE FRAUD, Gordon Brown is warned today.

Efforts to improve turnout by increasing postal voting have RAISED THE RISK OF FRAUD AND UNDERMINED CONFIDENCE IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESS, a damaging report from the Joseph Rowntree Trust concludes...

THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION HAS REPEATEDLY DEMANDED TOUGHER LAWS TO IMPROVE INTEGRITY. THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE SAID IN JANUARY THAT BRITISH ELECTIONS HAD BECOME “CHILDISHLY SIMPLE” TO RIG.

THE GOVERNMENT IS RESISTING FURTHER REFORMS.

'It is very concerning that ministers tend to focus on ‘quick fixes’ to solve declining turnout AND IGNORE GENUINE CONCERNS ABOUT HOW EASY IT IS TO CHEAT THE SYSTEM,' the report’s author, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, says.

THE DOCUMENT CLAIMS THE GOVERNMENT HAS EFFECTIVELY TURNED A BLIND EYE TO ELECTORAL FRAUD...

The Times exposed allegations of widespread postal vote rigging in the 2004 local and European elections BUT LABOUR WAITED UNTIL IT HAD WON THE 2005 GENERAL ELECTION BEFORE ACTING…

The Electoral Commission said that more reforms were needed. 'We continue to urge the Government to replace the system of household registration with individual voter registration,' a spokesman said. 'IN MANY PARTS OF THE UK, STRUCTURES FOR DELIVERING ELECTIONS ARE STRETCHED TO BREAKING POINT'."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3828322.ece

On 2 May 2008, The Guardian quoted Tony Wright, MP, New Labour's Chairman of the Public Administration Select Committee, thus:

"ALMOST ALL THE ABUSE CASES THAT WE HAVE HAD HAVE INVOLVED MINORITY COMMUNITIES. We should not be mealy-mouthed about it. IT IS IMPORTING CULTURAL PRACTICES FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER, AND IF WE ARE SERIOUS ABOUT BRITISHNESS, SURELY ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE TO GOT TO BE SERIOUS ABOUT IT IS TELLING EVERYBODY THAT LIVES HERE ABOUT THE INTEGRITY OF DEMOCRATIC POLITICS".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/oct/23/localgovernment.uk1

Kelvin Hopkins, New Labour MP for Luton North, also a committee member, said this:

"I HESITATE TO SAY THIS, BUT ONE OF THE REASONS OUR PARTY IS RELUCTANT TO DO THIS, (introduce individual voter registration) IS BECAUSE IT MIGHT ACTUALLY DENT OUR SUPPORT IN CERTAIN AREAS".

A third member of the committee, Gordon Prentice, New Labour MP for Pendle, added:

"OUR ELECTIONS ARE WIDE OPEN TO FRAUD. WE HAVE JUDGES THAT HAVE SAID IN RECENT MONTHS AND YEARS THAT THE UK IS LIKE A BANANA REPUBLIC WHEN IT COMES TO AN ELECTION. The electoral commission has for three years now been saying we should bring in individual voter registration…

In my constituency at the moment… 27 VOTERS ARE REGISTERED AT A CERTAIN ADDRESS, which begs the question who the head of household is, who signed the form that certified the other 26 are legally entitled to vote".

Charles Walker, MP for Broxbourne, described the electoral system as debauched, adding:

"IN MANY PARTS OF THIS COUNTRY, IT IS ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN, THREE OR FOUR HUNDRED VOTES".

New Labour MP, Michael Wills, the Justice Minister, was quoted thus:

"THE IDEA THAT WE ARE JUST SHRUGGING OUR SHOULDERS, SAYING IT DOES NOT MATTER, IT BELONGS TO THAT COMMUNITY, THIS COMMUNITY, IS NOT TRUE. IT IS FRAUD.”

On 6 May 2008, The Daily Mirror told us this:

"A Lib Dem councillor at the centre of an illegal votes scandal could face a police investigation. Labour officials slammed Cllr Ayoub Khan, who romped to victory in last week's local elections, and called for immediate action."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news-old/top-stories/2008/05/06/exclusive-police-probe-councillor-in-rigged-votes-scandal-115875-20406791/

On 7 January 2009, The Halifax Evening Courier told us this:

"A former councillor is wanted by police investigating election fraud. Mohammed Najib was arrested last May after the local elections, it emerged yesterday. But he failed to answer bail in September and is now believed to be abroad.

Calderdale's first Asian councillor lost his Labour seat in Park ward last year after a 22-year stint. It is believed Mr Najib is now living in Pakistan and inquiries are being made to trace him there".

http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/Najib-wanted-by-police-over.4849665.jp

On 14 January 2009, Gordon Cole QC was quoted thus by The Yorkshire Post:

“Had this conspiracy been carried on through to the end, had it been successful, then Haroon Rashid may very well have been elected as an MP and be sitting in the House of Commons… THESE DEFENDANTS SOUGHT TO MANIPULATE THAT POSTAL VOTE SYSTEM, RIG THE VOTING SYSTEM SO THAT HAROON RASHID COULD AND WOULD BE ELECTED…

THIS WAS A WELL ORGANISED ATTEMPT TO SUBVERT THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN THIS COUNTRY. TO GET ELECTED BY DISHONEST MEANS.”

The Yorkshire Post added:

“Rashid knew exactly what was happening and was the ‘controlling mind‘, at the top of the hierarchy.

Alyas Khan and Jamshed Khan, were the next tier down, organising the scam. And at the bottom, Reis Khan, Sultan and Rafiq all completed the forms”.

On 16 April 2009, Paul Jeeves said this in The Daily Express:

“Cherie Blair’s stepmother has become embroiled in accusations of voting irregularities days after being chosen as a Labour candidate. Steph Booth swept to victory in the vote to select Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Calder Valley in West Yorkshire after party chiefs controversially decided that POSTAL VOTES would be allowed.

Mrs Booth lost the main vote 35 to 22, but after postal votes were added scored a 95-52 majority.

It has now been claimed her supporters approached Labour Party members and helped them fill in their postal voting forms, which is against the rules.

She is also alleged to have leaked a list of local party members to the Unite union which subsequently sent letters backing her against rival Susan Press. Calder Valley branch secretary Paul Clarke is to write to the regional Labour Party demanding a full investigation… A Calder Valley Labour Party member said:

‘I attended the hustings and Sue Press was the clear winner. However, someone had been round canvassing – so many were cast in favour of Steph she won on the strength of POSTAL VOTING.

Mrs Booth is married to Cherie’s father, the actor Tony Booth. Asked about the high POSTAL VOTE… She said former Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie had phoned to congratulate her following the result.”

On 29 April 2009, The India Today web site reported thus.

“THE USE OF BIRADERIS - EXTENDED CLAN OR TRIBAL SYSTEMS - BY FIRST GENERATION PAKISTANI AND BANGLADESHI MUSLIMS AS WELL AS THEIR POLITICAL MASTERS IS HELPING FUEL WIDESPREAD RIGGING OF POSTAL VOTES AND OTHER ELECTORAL MALPRACTICES IN BRITAIN, a report said… The report by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, a national charity promoting democratic reform and constitutional change, says HALF OF THOSE CONVICTED ARE PAKISTANIS AND BANGLADESHIS...

HALF OF THE 42 PEOPLE CONVICTED FOR ELECTORAL MALPRACTICE SINCE 2000 ARE BRITISH MUSLIMS…

EXTENDED FAMILY AND KINSHIP NETWORKS, FREQUENTLY WITH THEIR ORIGINS IN SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH, ARE MOBILISED TO SECURE THE SUPPORT OF UP TO SEVERAL HUNDRED ELECTORS, EFFECTIVELY CONSTITUTING A ‘BLOCK VOTE‘…

EACH OF BRITAIN’S THREE MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES - LABOUR, CONSERVATIVES AND THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS - HAD AT SOME STAGE TRIED TO GAIN POLITICAL ADVANTAGE THROUGH ‘THE PROMISE OF A MUSLIM CANDIDATE CLAIMING TO BE ABLE TO ‘GUARANTEE’ A MINIMUM NUMBER OF VOTES ARISING FROM THEIR SUPPORT WITH A WIDER CLAN’.

As a result, ACCUSATIONS OF ELECTORAL MALPRACTICE ASSOCIATED WITH BRITISH MUSLIM CANDIDATES HAVE BEEN MADE AGAINST CANDIDATES FROM ALL THREE MAIN PARTIES…

THE BIRADERI SYSTEM IS WIDELY THOUGHT TO DISENFRANCHISE VOTERS, GIVEN THE COMBINATION OF A PATRIARCHAL CLAN SYSTEM AND WIDESPREAD USE OF POSTAL VOTING, IN WHICH BALLOT PAPERS ARE COMPLETED WITHIN THE FAMILY HOME OR, IN SOME CASES, TAKEN TO A CENTRAL FACILITY - SO CALLED ‘VOTING FACTORIES’ - FOR COMPLETION BY PARTY REPRESENTATIVES”.

On 2 May 2009, The Times quoted prosecutor, Charles Miskin, QC, thus:

“This week the newspapers are full of what has been called the swine fever pandemic, but there has been another epidemic that has been working its way across the United Kingdom in recent years… ONE THAT ATTACKS, AFFECTS AND CORRODES THE ROOTS OF OUR DEMOCRACY… POSTAL VOTING HAS BEEN IN HIGH DEMAND AND AS A RESULT THERE HAS BEEN A SURGE OF BALLOT FIXING, THE LIKE OF WHICH HAS NOT BEEN SEEN SINCE VICTORIAN TIMES...

THE DEFENDANTS, ALL OF PAKISTANI ORIGIN, REALISED THE LACK OF REQUIREMENTS TO PROVE IDENTIFICATION WHEN REGISTERING FOR A POSTAL VOTE."

The Times also quoted Judge Gordon Risius as having said:

“In any democratic country, a conspiracy to corrupt the electoral process is by its very nature a serious criminal offence. IF IT SUCCEEDS, AS IT DID HERE, THE WISHES OF A MAJORITY OF THE VOTING COMMUNITY ARE THWARTED.”

The Times added:

“Mahboob Khan, 46, was jailed for 4½ years for his role in a scam that prosecutors described as part of AN EPIDEMIC THREATENING TO DESTROY BRITISH DEMOCRACY. Eshaq Khan, a father of ten, who ousted a longstanding former Labour mayor to snatch victory in a council seat, was also jailed.

THE RIGGED POLL IN SLOUGH IN MAY 2007 HIGHLIGHTED HOW EASY THE INTRODUCTION OF POSTAL-VOTING-ON-DEMAND HAS MADE IT TO STEAL ELECTIONS…

MAHBOOB KHAN, WHO PLEADED NOT GUILTY, WAS JAILED FOR CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD, CONSPIRACY TO PERVERT THE COURSE OF JUSTICE AND PERJURY. ESHAQ KHAN, 52, AND BASHARAT KHAN, 46, WERE JAILED FOR 3½ YEARS FOR THE SAME OFFENCES.

ARSHAD RAJA RECEIVED 18 MONTHS FOR CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD; ALTAF KHAN, 53, WAS JAILED FOR FOUR MONTHS FOR CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD AND GULNAWAZ KHAN, 58, EIGHT MONTHS FOR PERSONATION”.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6207605.ece

On 12 June 2009, The Halifax Evening Courier told us this:

"Two cousins of ex-councillor Mohammed Najib voted for him under false names, a court heard.

Saeed Aslam, 21, and Gularif Bostan, 27, admitted impersonating other people when they voted in the Calderdale Council elections on May 1, 2008.

Prosecutor Simon Orme said the pair went to a polling station at Warley Road Primary School, Halifax, with Mr Najib...

Aslam... and Bostan... were sentenced to 12 months' community service with 300 hours of unpaid work and £60 costs.

In a separate hearing, a former Calderdale councillor denied election fraud. Mohammed Saghir... appeared before Calderdale magistrates charged with five counts of applying for proxy votes under different names."

http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/Excouncillor-Najib39s-cousins-in-poll.5360936.jp

On 19 September 2009, Paul Dale said this in The Birmingham Mail:

"Police are investigating THE WORST OUTBREAK OF VOTER FRAUD AT A BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL ELECTION FOR FIVE YEARS. ALMOST 400 POSTAL VOTES CAST AT THURSDAY’S SPARKBROOK WARD BY-ELECTION – A THIRD OF THE TOTAL ISSUED – WERE REJECTED AS LIKELY FORGERIES.

Council officials, backed by the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, called in the police after saying they suspected an organised plot to influence the result of the by-election, which was won by Respect candidate Shokat Ali...

At one stage during the Sparkbrook by-election count HALF OF ALL POSTAL VOTES CAST WERE HELD BACK FOR DETAILED CHECKS AFTER TELLERS BECAME SUSPICIOUS."

The full result at Sparkbrook:

ALI SHOKAT (RESP): 2495
MOHAMMED AZIM (LAB): 2228
ABDUL KADIR (CON): 799
NAEEM QURESHI (LIB DEM): 506
Charles Alldrick (Green): 213
SAKANDER MAHMOOD (IND): 55.

If you type the phrase 'postal vote fraud' into Google you'll get 6,570 hits.