Election fraud in Birmingham has grown from a cottage industry into a vehicle of mass production and is making a mockery of democracy, a senior politician claimed last night. John Hemming, leader of Birmingham Liberal Democrats, said that in many inner city wards Thursday's city council elections would be decided by people who were intimidating residents and stealing thousands of postal votes. His comments were backed by a leading academic who warned of a collapse in public confidence in the secret ballot following the Government's ill-thought out review of postal voting. Coun Hemming (Acocks Green) was speaking after more than 200 Labour and People's Justice Party supporters clashed in Small Heath. Police arrested a woman, the daughter of PJP leader Shouket Ali Khan, on suspicion of disturbing the peace. She was released on bail without being charged. The fracas, the latest in a string of incidents concerning alleged misuse of postal votes in Birmingham, was caused by the appearance of a postman with a bag containing scores of blank postal votes. Coun Ali Khan said: "The Labour Party is getting desperate for the Muslim vote after community leaders rallied Muslims not to vote Labour. The Labour vote is collapsing." Government moves to abolish restrictions on postal voting have produced a huge market in the fraudulent acquisition of ballot forms, not just in Birmingham but across the country. The almost daily allegations of postal votes going astray is destroying the principle of the secret ballot, according to Chris Game, a senior local government lecturer at the University of Birmingham. Mr Game said: "What is happening is undermining people's confidence. There is potential for all sorts of abuse, from families where one person is interested in politics and does the voting and on a bigger scale within political parties themselves. It is an accident waiting to happen." Mr Game pointed out that the latest recommendation from the Electoral Commission would see restrictions on postal voting relaxed even further, by scrapping the need for ballot papers to be witnessed. "This is one of the commission's most questionable judgements. The implications are massive," he added. Police called for calm in the Bordesley Green ward, which has chalked up a city record with the highest number of postal votes ever recorded - 8,500 out of a voting population of about 18,000. Sunday evening's Small Heath incident came amid widespread reports of fraud and blank votes being collected by bogus door-to-door canvassers, and even being bought for £3 a time. Police are investigating cases of approaches being made to postmen, one of whom was reportedly offered £500 for the contents of his sack of blank votes. Officers met with community representatives in an effort to restore calm and avoid further trouble. More than 70,000 postal votes for the city council elections have been applied for in Birmingham, the highest total recorded. | 
