From dodgy dossiers to dodgy ballots...
Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, has been re-elected with a reduced majority amid warnings of widespread electoral fraud in his Blackburn constituency.
At a public meeting in the town's cathedral, the Liberal Democrat and Conservative candidates accused the Foreign Secretary's supporters of rigging ballots to keep Labour in power.
Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, has been re-elected with a reduced majority amid warnings of widespread electoral fraud in his Blackburn constituency.
At a public meeting in the town's cathedral, the Liberal Democrat and Conservative candidates accused the Foreign Secretary's supporters of rigging ballots to keep Labour in power.
The usually safe Labour seat, where a quarter of the constituents are Muslim, made a party list of "vulnerable" seats under threat from anti-war sentiment. As a result, campaigning among the town's seven parliamentary candidates became increasingly fevered, with rumours of "dirty tricks" and postal vote fraud growing daily.
Imtiaz Ameen, 33, the Conservative candidate, told Mr Straw at the meeting: "I cannot believe you say there is no fraud. The worst case of postal vote fraud has been carried out in your own back yard by members of your party."
Tony Melia, 44, the Liberal Democrat candidate, visited Mr Straw in his constituency home last weekend to lodge a complaint that Labour Party councillors were collecting unopened postal ballots.
Postal vote applications in the constituency have risen dramatically since 2001, from 7,603 to 20,351. Fears of ballot rigging were fuelled after Muhammed Hussain, 61, a former Blackburn Labour councillor, was jailed for collecting blank ballot papers in the 2002 local elections.
Imtiaz Ameen, 33, the Conservative candidate, told Mr Straw at the meeting: "I cannot believe you say there is no fraud. The worst case of postal vote fraud has been carried out in your own back yard by members of your party."
Tony Melia, 44, the Liberal Democrat candidate, visited Mr Straw in his constituency home last weekend to lodge a complaint that Labour Party councillors were collecting unopened postal ballots.
Postal vote applications in the constituency have risen dramatically since 2001, from 7,603 to 20,351. Fears of ballot rigging were fuelled after Muhammed Hussain, 61, a former Blackburn Labour councillor, was jailed for collecting blank ballot papers in the 2002 local elections.
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