Regular readers here will remember the strange tale of the Labour Party and postal vote ‘irregularities’ in the course of local elections in the UK.

Now the Sunday Times reveals this:

“MINISTERS ditched a bill to combat postal voting fraud even though leaked cabinet minutes show they agreed it was essential to make the electoral system secure. The papers show that a cabinet committee chaired by Peter Hain, the Commons leader, decided that the safeguards were “clearly needed” to prevent electoral fraud in postal votes. Ministers went so far as to draw up a bill but then dropped it after a government-commissioned study showed it would reduce the turnout of key Labour voters such as the young and poor. The disclosure will reignite the row over postal voting. It follows a senior judge’s warning last week that the British electoral system is now wide open to fraud and would “disgrace a banana republic”.”

That Tony Blair’s rule has been marked by abuses of power is no secret, but that it may have descended into outright electoral fraud is, well, disappointing, and something to remember the next time you hear him pontificating about the spread of democracy.

With elections coming on May 5th, the Tories need to be on this story, relentlessly.