Keighley MP and former Bradford Council leader Kris Hopkins has called for a full parliamentary debate on the use of postal votes in this country.

Speaking during Business Questions in the Commons, he said he believed postal voting “has been proved to be open to corrupt practices and it is compromising our democratic process”.

Responding for the Govern-ment, deputy leader of the House David Heath acknowledged that concerns about the integrity of the postal vote process had been expressed for a long time. He added: “Postal votes form a useful part of our electoral arrangements, but nevertheless we must make sure that our electoral system has the highest possible integrity.

“The Government is committed to introducing the individual registration of voters and that will go a long way towards dealing with some of the potential abuses of the current system.”