Man barges into councillor’s surgery – and makes bizarre demand

Councillor Danny Meredith

A Rochdale councillor says he was was strong-armed into taking a drugs test by a member of the public following a bizarre confrontation at his weekly surgery.

Councillor Daniel Meredith said he was speaking to ward residents at The Strand Community Hub in Kirkholt on Wednesday when a disgruntled man demanded he take a test for narcotics. 

The member for Balderstone and Kirkholt, who was awaiting colleague Councillor Philip Massey, said he tried to de-escalate the situation. 

The man, the councillor said, claimed there were rumours he had been taking drugs – and wanted him to set the record straight

The council’s cabinet member for regeneration and housing took a test – which came back negative for any traces of drugs. But ‘confrontational’ man wasn’t finished, Councillor Meredith added.

“I told him to go back to whoever was spreading these malicious rumours and tell them the test came back negative,” he said.

“He then said ‘I’m not done, I want the rest of the cabinet to do a test’ and said that I should lead on it. I told him it is not fair to do this. He then started to get a bit irate.”

The man has reportedly been bombarding councillors with similar requests as part of a bid to get MPs routinely drug tested. 

Councillor Meredith added: “He could have done anything. Anyone can just turn up. 

“At the end of the day, we are doing this for local people to speak to us about issues they have.”

Coun Meredith works as a senior charge nurse for the NHS. He stressed that councillors are ‘just normal people’.

George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter