The Liberal Democrats have had a good night in the local elections, including Merseyside, but a candidate has been accused of unorthodox campaigning techniques.
Newly elected St Helens Lib Dem councillor David Smith has been accused of reaching into people’s front doors and removing rival leaflets during the local elections campaign.
Residents of the Merseyside council filmed two incidents we are aware of which have been reported to Merseyside police.
Two security videos appearing to show Labour Party leaflets being removed from properties were posted on social media by residents and shared by Labour Party members.
Local Labour councillor Jeannie Bell who had complained about the alleged activity told us: “I believe it’s been reported to the police and until the police and or election commission investigation takes place it would be inappropriate for me to comment.”
Merseyside Police confirmed they were aware of complaints and had passed them onto the local election monitor.
“This has been flagged to St Helens council,” said a spokesperson for Merseyside Police. “The council’s monitoring officer is aware of the issue and is dealing with the issue now. The police have been made aware of the allegations but there is no criminal investigation as of yet.”
Teresa Sims, Leader of St Helens Liberal Democrat Group would not be drawn on the accusations, saying they were “purely speculation at this time.”
The Liberal Democrat Party has been approached for comment and David Smith via the party but he does not have much of a social media presence yet, though we found this image of him in his recent advert in a local paper:
