Fighting electoral fraud

It would disgrace a banana republic- so said the trial judge when six Labour councillors in Birmingham were found guilty of vote-rigging.

Since that case last year, the question of how to combat electoral fraud has become increasingly urgent-- especially now that there are many highly marginal seats in which a few votes one way or the other could determine who becomes your MP.

The most recent local elections last month have led to eight new cases involving alleged irregularities.

At the moment, just one person in each household fills in an annual form to register people to vote.

The opposition parties and the independent electoral commission believe that one good way to crack down on fraud is to make individual voters responsible for their own registration.

The government opposes that idea- believing that it will lead to many people forgetting to register.

Lib-dem peer Lord Rennard

When the electoral registration bill returns to the Commons this week, Ministers will try to overturn changes made in the House of Lords-- opposition peers have inserted an amendment requiring the head of a household to get the signature of everyone for whom a vote is being claimed.

We spoke to Chris Rennard, Liberal Democrat peer and his party's chief executive of the Liberal Democrats. He told me why he thinks the change they are supporting is so important.