THE regional assembly referendums will be scrapped in September if the Government is heading for a humiliating defeat, the Conservatives have claimed.

Spokesman Bernard Jenkin predicted Tony Blair would use a report by the Electoral Commission on abuse of all-postal ballots to wriggle out of staging the autumn polls in the North-East and Yorkshire.

He issued the Tories' strongest condemnation yet of the plans for voting by post, describing it as an attempt to "fix the electoral system".

But the Government insisted the referendums were on track to provide "a choice for the people, a choice to provide a better future for the North".

The row, in a Conservative-led debate on regional government, followed Labour's pledge to ditch all-postal ballots if the commission ruled against them in September.

Ministers said that would delay the polls from their expected November date - raising the prospect they would not be held before the general election in May or June.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Jenkin said: "We know the Prime Minister is less than enthusiastic about these referendums.

"After suffering a record humiliation at the local elections, he is no doubt less inclined to receive another kicking before the next general election.

"It's all too clear that, if the Government looks likely to lose the referendums by the time the commission is due to report in September, then they will cancel them."

Nick Raynsford, Local Government Minister, confirmed there would be no all-postal referendums if the commission produced "convincing evidence" this would be unsafe.

But he accused the Tories of wanting to deny the North-East and Yorkshire the devolved government already handed to people of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London.