Council of war
Angry parish meeting has web gripped
HILARIOUS footage of a bad-tempered parish council meeting has become a worldwide hit online.
The fiery clashes from the normally sedate town meeting have made one local government official a star.
Jackie Weaver, hosting the session, became the target of rage from some members of Handforth Parish Council.
One shouted, in a line now much quoted online: “You have no authority here, Jackie Weaver.”
As the meeting descended into an ugly free-for-all, Ms Weaver kept her cool, saying: “It is nothing if not lively in Handforth.”
The chaotic video call had started with someone mumbling “f*** off ” under their breath. Council chairman Brian Tolver was booted out of the call after questioning Jackie’s “authority” and furiously demanding that she “stop talking”. Two others were also excluded. Mr Tolver defended himself yesterday, saying: “I was trying to explain the correct procedure to this lady and say that her actions were way out of order, but she seems to have believed that she could do whatever she chose.” Clips of the spat in the town near Manchester have been viewed millions of times.
Jackie, chief officer of the Cheshire Association of Local Councils, said she was “surprised” by the reaction.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, she added: “Most of the time I’m trying to encourage people to get involved in parish councils, to raise their profile, and I guess the plus side of this is that it has certainly done that.
“There is an element of bullying and bad behaviour in local councils.”
Former Chancellor George Osborne tweeted that Handforth Parish Council had not been “quite so lively” when he was an MP in Cheshire.