I live in Portugal and, a few months ago, British people residing here were urged to take part and vote in the forthcoming General Election.

I therefore wrote to my former council office in Brighton in early March applying for a postal vote for myself and my wife.

On March 28, Brighton and Hove City Council replied to me and my wife in separate envelopes acknowledging receipt of the application and enclosing duplicate forms and literature, asking us to complete another form to apply to vote by post.

This we duly completed and returned the same day, thinking we would receive a voting form.

How wrong could we be?

On April 7, a single letter, addressed to both of us, informed us the council had allowed us to vote by post, that a form to vote with would be sent a week before the election and we should ensure it was returned by election day, otherwise our vote would not be counted.

Well, six days from the election and, guess what, we still had received no forms.

Why, when I contacted the council in March, does it have to wait until just before the election, which was announced three weeks ago?

Would it not be easier for people living abroad to vote at their consulate and the votes to be sent to England in the diplomatic bag?

Or send the forms out in good time?

Or even by email with appropriate security codes built in, the same as for banking transactions?

On the internet, you can vote on various issues and these controls prevent a second vote.

In these days of almost immediate communication, it is a nonsense to go through this time-consuming rigmarole with no guarantee that your vote will be registered.

One could be forgiven for suspecting government would prefer it if you didn't bother to vote.

They rush around for four weeks beforehand, telling us what a good job they have done or will do and pleading for your support, yet when you try, this is what happens.

No wonder apathy rules.

Will this also apply to any future Euro Vote for which we have been told we are also registered?

-Graham Roberts, Lagos