Liverpool Liberals print local election leaflets in Polish

Then, anglers at a Welsh beauty spot were baffled by notices in the Eastern European language warning them of huge fines for illegal fishing.

Now, in a sign of the times, a political party in Liverpool has decided to translate all its leaflets into Polish to try and win votes from the city's booming immigrant community ahead of next month's local elections.

The Liberal Party say the city's Polish population has grown significantly since the expansion of the EU in 2004, with an estimated 5,000 Poles currently living and working in the area.

They claim the leaflets are needed to inform Poles who cannot speak English about their right to vote and to explain their policies.

Under current electoral regulations, anyone from an EU or Commonwealth country who lives in Britain is entitled to vote in local elections, providing they have registered by April 18.

But the news hasn't gone down too well with the locals. One resident, who did not want to be named for fear of being branded racist, said: "When will this end?

"Are we going to start translating and distributing election leaflets into every language of every minority in this city?

"If people want to vote in Britain they should at least have some grasp of the English language.

"Translating information into an immigrants' home tongue is hindering integration into the British way of life."

Chris Lighten, spokesman for Liverpool Conservatives, agreed that the idea was encouraging segregation.

"I worry when politicians start targeting one particular racial group or nationality," he said.

"Part of Liverpool's attraction is the diverse local population but the whole point of elections is that you have councillors who represent everyone and not just a particular nationality."

But Steve Radford, a Liberal councillor in the city's Tuebrook ward, who came up with the idea, last night defended the decision.

"I decided to dot his after visiting constituents last week," he said.

"I realised that there were several Polish families who'd moved into the area were not registered to vote.

"The number of Polish residents in Liverpool has grown significantly. Many of them are relative newcomers and speak only limited English. Some don't realise they have the right to vote and even if they do, don't know how to go about it."

As well as informing Poles exactly how to vote, the leaflets also spell out the threat from the far right BNP party, which is fielding nine candidates in Liverpool in the elections.

"Sometimes people in England can be blase about democracy, but the Polish are a group who have suffered because of dictatorship the value of a democratic society," Councillor Radford added.

"The leaflets spell out the threat of the Far Right and we feel the Polish community, as one which has a history of being on the wrong side of fascism, will unite against these parties."

The leaflets will be distributed around Polish shops and community groups next week.

Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, West Yorkshire, said the leaflets were 'misguided.'

"What we should be trying to do is promote integration in order to get better community cohesion in Britain," he said.

"The first basic principle of integration is to make sure everyone speaks English.

"The Polish community is never going to learn English if everything in translated into their own language.

"People who continue to pander to this are hindering integration. It is totally counterproductive, misguided and completely wrong."