News that more than 1,100 postal votes have been registered so far in just one ward in the Bradford North constituency is deeply disconcerting.

Up to today the number asking for a postal vote represents about ten per cent of the Bradford Moor ward alone. Across the whole of Bradford more than twice as many people have applied for them than at the last general election.

So even accepting that the Government has made it easier to apply for a postal vote, the figure is disturbing and is bound to raise fears of malpractice and even corruption.

There have already been widespread rumours of bullying tactics and allegations that some people are being coerced into applying for postal votes so that those votes can be manipulated. Bradford Council chief executive Ian Stewart is right to insist that every application will be scrupulously checked.

However, it is clear already that whatever the outcome in Bradford North, there have been enough seeds of doubt sown to ensure that the result, whatever it might turn out to be on June 7, will be accompanied by more controversy.

At the very least, there will need to be an in-depth inquiry into these worrying allegations and into the whole issue of whether or not the postal-vote system can work in such a hotbed of political strife.