The Conservative Work and Pensions Secretary Ian Duncan-Smith is spearheading the welfare reform and insists the system is broken, and has polling to show that a majority of the public agree.

BBC: Is incapacity assessment working?

Imposing rules of any sort is unpopular with county auditors, polling officers and the other people who rule the roost in the current system.

ECONOMIST: Washington state politics

Moreover, the national-list system should mean that people need not cast their votes in their local polling station if they can reach a safer one somewhere else.

ECONOMIST: Iraq