I had hoped to avoid the car crash that is Handforth Parish Council but every time I turned on the television or went on Twitter, there was Jackie Weaver who patently had read the standing orders and did have the authority, or at the very least had administrator control of the Zoom meeting and in this day and age, that’s the power that counts.

There were a couple of things that really surprised me about the Handforth PC circus though.

The first was the fact the whole thing was brought to the public’s attention by a 17-year-old boy from East London called Shaan who watches videos of online council meetings ‘for fun’.
Good on him (I think).

Shaan told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “In my spare time, I watch random videos of council meetings because one, I have a massive interest in policies enacted by local authorities, and two, all of these videos are usually absolutely hilarious – from old councillors struggling to use zoom and amazing arguments, but none have ever matched Handforth!”

Harking back to a time when I was 17, the concept of watching grumpy old men arguing about dog poo and potholes wasn’t particularly high on my list of pastimes. I was more into trying to get served in pubs and chasing girls.

READ> Meet the teens who made Handforth Parish Council go viral

Somewhat ironically, I got my first job as a trainee reporter when I was 19 and was regularly sent to report on…parish councils where I had to listen to grumpy old men argue about dog poo and potholes.

The other thing I found surprising about the Handforth furore is that people who were introduced to the world of very local politice were surprised that passions could run so high to the point of men who should know better shouting at women.

Those who thought the scenes in Handforth were unusual have obviously never been a local newspaper reporter.

In my experience, what usually happens is one group or political party will have had control of a parish or town council for a long time until an election that suddenly changes things.

So take Middlewich Town Council for example when Middlewich First – a group of independents – took enough seats to challenge the existing order. I recall that didn’t go too well for a time.

In the area where I live, I sometimes attend my parish council as a member of the public ‘for fun’ – yes seriously, my life is now that dull. My parish council is almost as fractious and divided as Handforth, maybe more so, and I fully expect to see Jackie Weaver called in to negotiate at some point in the not too distant future.

It has got so bad, ‘cease and desist’ solicitors’ letters alleging libel and harassment have been issued by one councillor to other members of the council and their supporters following some pretty grim social media posts. 

But there’s potentially another problem with parish councils where one group has long-standing total control and thinks it can do what it likes, doesn’t have to answer to anyone and doesn’t take well to being scrutinised or questioned.

This can be just as toxic and I well remember being threatened with legal action for reporting on one particular council’s shenanigans.

In a way, I quite like the fact people can be quite passionate about things that many others just find trivial but it’s certainly very sad to see grown men acting in the way those Handford Parish Councillors did.

Could I suggest a little time on the naughty step and a little time out might help? After all, if people are going to act like children, it seems reasonable to treat them as such.

READ> Handforth Parish Council's 'Jackie Weaver' clip, explained

Handforth Parish Council's 'Jackie Weaver' clip, explained

Apropos of absolutely nothing Jackie Weaver is chief officer and is on the executive board of ChALC, the Cheshire Association of Local Councils.

According to its website, ChALC is a member-based organisation that exists to promote the rights and interests of town and parish councils across Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington, Trafford and Halton Boroughs.

ChALC also provides professional support for member councils in all aspects of their work and when necessary can provide formal, legal advice on a wide range of council-related issues.
All very Cheshire-based then. But I do wonder why it couldn’t find a headquarters somewhere within the area we know as Cheshire and is actually based in Whitchurch, Shropshire.