There are calls for local elections to be delayed as a row erupts over the delivering of campaign leaflets in Liverpool during lockdown.
Local and mayoral elections were due to take place last May, but were delayed by a year because of the pandemic.
They are due to take place this May, with Liverpool due to hold votes for local councillors, the city mayor, the regional mayor and the Police and Crime Commissioner.
But with Covid-19 still wreaking havoc across the country and infection levels still dangerously high in Liverpool and the wider region, the city's Liberal Democrats have written to Home Secretary Priti Patel calling for a two month delay.
Group leader, Cllr Richard Kemp, said: "“To have the elections on the current date would make them unsafe and liable to fail to reflect the views of the population.
"Delaying them for two months, subject to any other problem that might arise in the medium term, will make them safe and with a good level of participation.
"The problem will start in March when each Party will have to make more than 300 house calls to get necessary forms filled in. In some cases, people will be asked to fill in 4 sets of forms."
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Cllr Kemp said his local party have voluntarily stopped all external campaigning but this has been disputed by the local Labour group who claim that Lib Dem leaflets have been delivered in some city areas.
Labour's Deputy Mayor, Cllr Wendy Simon said: "“To continue to leaflet campaign at the peak of the pandemic is grossly irresponsible, and I’m calling on Liverpool’s Liberal Democrats to stop immediately.
"Political campaigning for Party advantage is not like staffing a food bank. I have banned Labour leafleting at this peak of the pandemic because public health comes before Party political advantage."
Nationally, the Lib Dems have come under fire for continuing to deliver party leaflets during the national lockdown.
But the Lib Dems insisted that their activists were allowed to leaflet because it counts as a form of “volunteering”.
Cllr Kemp said that in Liverpool, while the group has ceased campaigning, one batch of leaflets had accidentally gone out to homes.
He said: ""The Liberal Democrats in Liverpool have ceased to campaign externally from the date that the lockdown started although we understand that one of our deliverers who had already been given leaflets did not see our recall message and did indeed deliver one small patch.
"Whilst it is quite clear that we could legally deliver leaflets under two provisions of the Government relating to local exercise and voluntary community campaigning we have chosen not to do so as we feel that at this stage we would be setting the wrong example to the community. All our extensive campaigning is currently by telephone or online.
"I find it very sad that at a time when the council is being buffeted by inspections and bad press globally that the Labour Party is trying to deflect attention away from these problems with an attack on the Liberal Democrats about something that is not taking place within our city"
