Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Local chaos warning over threat to council Zoom meetings
LOCAL decisions may grind to a halt in May unless Robert Jenrick acts fast.
Emergency Covid rules letting councils and their committees meet online expire on May 7.
Mr Jenrick, the Local Government Secretary says a new law will have to go through Parliament to let councils continue over Zoom, but there is no time left to pass it before the May deadline.
This could disrupt planning applications, pub licensing and road improvements.
It could also mean no more entertainment from seeing council meetings spiral out of control like when Jackie Weaver became a web star after the video of her dealing with an unruly Zoom meeting of Cheshire’s Handforth Parish Council went viral.
Shadow Local Government minister Kate Hollern said the failure to extend remote participation was irresponsible and will stop virus-vulnerable councillors supporting their communities and giving the public a say decisions.
Lawyers in Local Government and the Association of Democratic
Services Officers are launching a High Court bid to keep the meetings going virtually.
The Local Government Association said: “We urge the Government to allow councils the flexibility to determine how they hold meetings.”
A Local Government Ministry spokesman said: “We are carefully considering next steps.”
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Vet Peter Wright works at Skeldale Veterinary Centre, the original James Herriot practice in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, and he appears in This Week on The Farm on Thursdays at 8pm on Channel 5. Q I recently rescued a six-month-old Great Dane. A pal has warned me about a condition called bloat they can suffer from. What is it? A Bloat or gastric dilatation is a lifethreatening condition, most common in large, deep-chested breeds. The stomach fills with gas and can lead to an extremely painful blockage requiring rapid surgery. Contributing factors are gulping food, followed immediately by exercise. Watch out for swelling, drooling, straining to be sick or gagging and restlessness. If in any doubt see a vet promptly.
SHE LOVES YOU (1963)
This was written by Lennon and McCartney at the Turk’s Head Hotel in Newcastle, where they were staying while on tour.
As they practised the falsetto “ooohs” on the tour bus, they were warned it sounded too feminine but stuck with it.
Also distinctive were the “yeah yeah yeahs,” which Lennon later said were originally just fillers.
Macca’s dad told him to change the lyrics to “yes yes yes” so it would be proper
English but the band stuck to their guns – and the tabloids christened them the Yeah Yeah
Yeah band. She Loves
You was the Beatles’ second No1 and sold
1.3 million copies in the UK.
ALL MY LOVING (1963)
Here, Macca sings to an absent lover, promising to be true. He has previously said it was the first song he ever wrote where he thought of the words before the tune. They came to him while he was shaving.
The girl he was missing at the time was actress Jane Asher. The pair would later announce their engagement on Christmas Day in 1967. The Beatles’ later hit, We Can Work It Out, was also inspired by Asher, who had left to do an acting tour in Bristol while Macca stayed in London. The couple split in 1968.
FRESH-FACED George, Paul, Ringo & John in 1963