As if being a UK soldier isn’t difficult enough in Iraq. The likes of body armour and ammunition have been in short supply either due to incompetence or political wrangling - a situation that has directly lead to deaths. Now, to add insult to injury, thusands of troops are going to be denied their vote:

The Herald: Thousands deprived of election vote

TENS of thousands of British servicemen who risked their lives to bring democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan will be unable to vote in the general election after the Ministry of Defence failed to deliver postal ballot leaflets in time for them to register.

You can probably expect a minister to be wheeled out to plea that this debacle is “more cockup than conspiracy”. But it’s worth noting that after the aforementioned supply problems and the perceived treatments of the Scottish regiments, a lot of the troops aren’t exactly going to be keen to put their cross in the New Labour box.

Tony Blair would have you cheer our lads for their hard work in bringing democracy to Iraq. You know, so Iraqis could have the vote?

UPDATE: It seems there’s been something of a rise in the number of soldiers voting with their feet:

The Guardian: Big rise in deserters ‘fuelled by Iraq war’

The number of soldiers to desert the army or go absent without leave has more than doubled over the past year, the Ministry of Defence has revealed. There are now more than 500 soldiers whose whereabouts are unknown.