NEW laws on postal voting will not prevent fraudsters following in the footsteps of a disgraced Blackburn councillor, campaign-ers claimed today.

Falsely applying for a postal vote, providing false information to an electoral registration officer and applying "undue influence" over a voter will all become offences if approved by the House of Lords.

Ballot papers will also be given barcodes for security checks while all votes will have to be submitted 11 days before the close of the poll to allow administrators more time to check papers.

Government ministers reviewed the law following the jailing last year of Mohammed Hussain, 62, from Bastwell, and other cases, including accusations of election rigging in Birmingham in 2004.

But Lord Tony Greaves of Pendle, who has led the national campaign for the tightening up of postal voting, said the proposed bill did not go far enough.

He has called for 35 amendments ahead of the Bill arriving in the House of Lords next Tuesday.

Lord Greaves said the key amendment he was striving for was introducing individual registration with a person's signature rather than the current system of household registration.

He added: "This is a move in the right direction. I am pleased that the government has been listening but much more needs to be done." Ribble Valley Tory MP Nigel Evans agreed with Lord Greaves's wish for individual registration.

He added: "I am very pleased at this move but it is long overdue."

Hussain encouraged supporters to round up and falsely complete 250 postal votes in the Bastwell ward during the Blackburn with Darwen Council elections in May 2002.

His fraud turned out to be unnecessary as he won the election by more votes than the fraud.

But Hussain was jailed for three years in April 2005 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

Government ministers hope the new bill will gain Royal Assent in time for the May 4 local elections.