A NEW scheme to introduce postal voting in next year's district council elections has been rejected on the grounds of cost.

The opposition Labour leader on Bromsgrove District Council, Councillor Peter McDonald (Uffdown and Waseley), urged members at the meeting of the full council at the Council House, in Burcot Lane, last Tuesday, to consider the possibility of postal voting to increase participation and the number of young voters to next May's district election.

He said: "We need to modernise the electoral process to increase participation.

"In other areas where the scheme has been piloted it has proved a success and, in some cases, the turnout has doubled.

"Here in Bromsgrove we are lucky sometimes to see a 30 per cent turnout."

Cllr Colin Wilson (Lab-Uffdown and Waseley) seconded the motion and asked Bromsgrove District Council members to put a pilot scheme in place to cover certain wards in the next district election.

Tory council leader, Cllr Dennis Norton (Con-Norton) said the Government might not approve the scheme as there were only a limited number available and it would prove costly.

An investigation showed that a postal election would increase the cost from around £40,000 to £55,000.

He also noted that if there was a national referendum on the Euro next year, the postal voting would be cancelled at short notice.

The majority of the council voted against the motion.