IT IS likely that voters in future elections in Britain will have to register individually and will face tighter controls before being allowed to vote.

This could include the necessity to provide photographic identification.

This is not an attempt to increase security or bring in identity cards by the back door, although many may see it as that.

But instead it is in a bid to cut the risk of fraud following the publication of a damning Joseph Rowntree Foundation report which says the current system is vulnerable to large-scale fraud.

In the past seven years alone there were 42 convictions for electoral fraud.

It is now apparent that the government's "quick fixes" to solve declining voter turnouts have failed to take sufficient notice of security concerns.

The focus on postal and electronic voting have been touted as success stories in increasing turnout but scant attention appears to have been paid to concerns about the increased risk of cheating.

While we support any attempt to increase voter turnout, it is obvious that this should not be done at the expense of the integrity of the system.

For without integrity the extra votes counted are, in the long run, worthless and for all the successes claimed for postal and electronic voting, the whole system risks being undermined.

If that happens then voter apathy will only increase and our sometimes pitiful election turnouts will fall even further.