The letter of protest calls on the government to redress the situation fully in the advertisement it is about to place in the main daily newspapers this Wednesday, reminding the public about the election procedures.

The Home Office leaflet presents a fictitious example of a ballot sheet with fictitious names on the list under each party. The parties mentioned are also fictitious (e.g. the Millenium Party) apart from Conservative, Labour, and Liberal-Democrats.

Richard Johnson, Natural Law Party Chairman, said: "The leaflet is misleading, unfair and undemocratic. By including three real parties, the leaflet gives the appearance of being a real ballot paper, and thereby discriminates against those parties who are not mentioned. This is not just a theory: some of our supporters have actually rung us up to ask why we are not on the ballot, after seeing that leaflet. Had they not rung us up, they might have decided not to vote and therefore would never get to see the real ballot paper."

Mr Johnson added that the leaflet had been sent out after the nominations for the elections had closed. The Home Office could therefore have sent out a leaflet that reflected the true situation. "Otherwise they ought to have included no real parties, only fictitious ones. Then there would have been no confusion: everyone would have known immediately that it was an example and not the real thing."

Natural Law Party leader Dr Geoffrey Clements said: "The Home Office leaflet will tend to dissuade people against voting for us. This is a shame, since the Natural Law Party was formed precisely to bring new, scientifically validated solutions into politics – solutions that are not being offered by other parties. The electorate should not be deprived of the opportunity to vote for something worthwhile, and public money should not be used to promote just three of the parties."