Liberal Democrat canvasser caught on camera telling voter he would like to ‘kick’ Labour councillor

This is the moment a Liberal Democrat canvasser is caught on camera telling a voter he would like to ‘kick’ the Labour candidate for the upcoming local elections. The activist was knocking doors in the Cheadle Hulme North ward - a bellwether seat which is again set to be a key battleground in Stockport.

The doorbell camera captures him talking to a resident in Cheadle as he tries to win them round to voting for Lib Dem candidate, Michael Hannon. To take the ward, Mr Hannon will have to oust Labour’s Councillor David Meller, who won the seat by just two votes in 2018, defeating the Lib Dems’ Claire Halliwell after three recounts.

Coun Meller is now cabinet member for economy and the driving force behind projects such as the controversial relocation of Central Library as well as being a firm advocate for walking and cycling schemes. But he is clearly not universally popular, as the Lib Dem canvasser made quite plain over the weekend.

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On the video he is heard telling the resident of his extreme dislike of the Labour candidate.

“If I could kick David Meller, I would,” he says. “I’m sorry, I just don’t like him, it’s not anybody else in Labour, it’s just him - and I have good reason for it actually.”

Coun Meller is demanding an apology, branding the incident ‘unacceptable’ and ‘nasty’. He has reported it to the Cheadle and Bramhall neighbourhood police inspector, who is now understood to be liaising with the council's elections office.

Stockport Lib Dem leader Coun Mark Hunter said his group did not condone threats or violence of any sort - but accused Labour of making a mountain out of a molehill for political gain.