Britain goes to the polls again tomorrow for the local council elections and in Bradford they look set to be dogged by controversy even before the vote has taken place.

The issue of postal voting - which led to an inquiry last year - has already produced a new police investigation into vote-rigging allegations.

Whether or not the allegations are proved, the system of postal voting has already been thrown into disrepute and debates about its future are again raging.

All of which brings us back again to the big issue of why so few people vote in local elections. Whether it's because they feel their vote doesn't really make a difference or whether they simply can't be bothered, local democracy is the victim.

But if you don't vote you can't complain about the outcome. And whether or not you care for the result in political terms, the quality, style and type of service your authority provides will be affected by which party has control of the Council.

But these elections are about more than that. Complacency may bring a poor turnout - but it may also bring an opportunity for the creeping invasion of undue influence by one of the most invidious threats this country has ever faced to its standards of fairness, honesty, decency, humanity and justice.

This newspaper has traditionally maintained a staunchly independent and non-partisan approach to local politics but today we are deliberately breaking that rule with this simple message: use your vote tomorrow and vote for anybody you choose - but NOT the vile, racist, poisonous and bigoted BNP.